Help with Negro League Photo
 

Any help on this photo wold be awesome! I was told this team was from keokuk, IA...or maybe NE Missouri...or maybe I got told a story?? It looks like WST on the jerseys...then there is an older looking guy in a different uni in the middle? The gloves look like maybe 30's?

Nothing? Crickets? There's gotta be someone famous in this photo!!!!!:p

I don't know of any black teams in Iowa then other than the Buxton Wonders.

I guess I could likely cross Iowa off the list as this is not them!!

True, but you could compare each player to pictures of the Buxton team from the 1920s (the town was dismantled before 1930) and you might get a match. The players likely found other teams.

I think we need to remember that, though economics have lead to less photographic evidence then for there white counterparts, that there were a lot of church, school and town teams made up of black players. If you read any biography of a black athlete growing up in the 20's and 30's almost all of them played on some sort of team. The pitchers may be rare but the teams were not

Not so many black semi-pro teams in Iowa back then. If you find a photo of a black team from Iowa during that era, and you are hoping a star was on the team, it behooves you to do the comparison I suggested. Most of the better players ended up on the Wonders or a non-Iowa team such as Chicago or KC.

will do when time permits...thanks scott.

Many teams
 

I had many negro teams during this time period. As was mentioned above, town, school, church, etc. There were also a number of traveling teams such as the Wonders although none quite as notable. Due to the many railroad coal towns emerging in the state, lots of no longer existing towns piped up. Some towns had organized colored teams. There is much non-white baseball in Iowa, check eBay. Right now there is a broadside of a colored team playing as well as a sweet native American team postcard. Doubtful any of your pictured players are notable but never know.

Craig

Good luck Pete. I have several different photos of the Buxton teams - pm your email and I will send them to you when I get back in town. If I have any other black Iowa teams I'll send those as well. I have run across Buxton players on non-Iowa teams before so it's not impossible.

I have seen this photo before, I don't recall the details on it but there were no significant players pictured.