Before the Negro Leagues were officially formed, Black baseball clubs were already building their own traditions. One of the biggest dates on the calendar was Thanksgiving Day. Cities like Philadelphia, New York and Chicago packed their ballparks to watch teams such as the Cuban Giants, Gorhams and X-Giants square off in games that felt like early championships.

Thanksgiving became a rare chance for Black communities to gather in huge numbers and celebrate athletes who were shut out of the major leagues. Newspapers covered these matchups the way they later covered holiday football. Fans treated them as can’t-miss events.

These Thanksgiving games helped shape the culture that eventually produced the formal Negro Leagues. They gave players visibility, gave clubs financial stability and showed just how strong the appetite for Black baseball already was. It’s a chapter of baseball history that deserves more love every November.

1952 Yamakatsu B & W JBR28 🔴 Jimmy Newberry
Jimmy Newberry is one of the first two Black American players to integrate professional baseball in Japan.
He pitched in the Negro League for the Birmingham Black Barons in the 1940s, and was a teammate of a young Willie Mays in 1948.
In 1952, Newberry and infielder John Britton signed with the Hankyu Braves, becoming the first African American players in Japanese professional baseball.

2001 Fleer Greats Of The Game #46, Lester Lockett autograph ⭐ Negro League
Lester Lockett never made it to The Show and his Negro League career is one of those that doesn’t always get the spotlight, but he was the kind of steady, fundamentally sound player who helped his teams win and earned the respect of both teammates and opponents.
His best season, statistically, came with the Baltimore Elite (pronounced E-Light) Giants in In 1948, when he led the league in batting average (.362), hits (85), and total bases (126).

One of the older cards I have.

I recently learned about the vintage era of card collecting (pre ~1985) versus the junk wax era (late 80’s and early 90’s). My luck is that I collected during the junk wax error 😑

Here’s a link to all the pre 1985 cards on eBay: https://ebay.us/d7QBr2

Two great facts on Cooper is that he had older brothers who played in the Negro Leagues and one of them caught for Satchel Paige. And the other is that Cecil Cooper batted .352 in the year 1989 but he didn’t get much attention because George Brett was flirting with .400