John Henry "Pop" Lloyd was the best black baseball player of his era and the only man who could potentially rival Babe Ruth as the best in the world during the early 1920's. Because of the color of his skin, nobody really knows how good he was because he was barred from playing on the biggest stage, but by all accounts, he was incredible. Due to the time period in which he played (his prime years were during WWI when baseball photography was scarce) and the fact that he toiled in the Negro Leagues, there are perhaps 5-10 vintage photographs of Lloyd that exist in totality. The offered original image is one of the only ones that show him at the plate. Using his large frame to begin his swing, the image shows a technically perfect combination of balance and form in a photo that could be used to teach batting form to players nearly 100 years later. Lloyd is pictured in 1924 in uniform with the Almendares club of Cuba and the image is stamped on the back from noted photographer Jose Luis Lopez Gomez and with the handwritten nickname "Sam" Lloyd on the back which he sometimes went by. As far as we are aware, there have been exactly two individual photographs of Lloyd to hit the market in the last 20 years, with this being one of them. A silver gelatin image in nice shape overall with note to some wear on the lower right, this is a unique opportunity to acquire a Hall of Fame worthy image of one the rarest and greatest players ever to take the field!

Size: 4.25x6.25
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 3/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 8/10