Negro League Memorabilia Collectors

[Shoeless Moe]

Telegram/Letter, dated June 9, 1915, signed by W. S. Peters, manager of The Chicago Union Giants.

This is both an exceptional and rare early Negro League telegram/letter, notable both for its stunning photographic letterhead and its outstanding baseball content. In his letter, Peters writes to a Mr. J. V. Brasfield advising him his club will be in town to play. Brasfield was the president of the Henry Greys, an independent baseball team located in Henry, Illinois, twenty miles southwest of Chicago.

The colorful letterhead proclaims that The Chicago Union Giants are the "Oldest Colored Team On The Road/Our 36th Season." Thus the team was founded in 1879. Peters was not only the owner and president of The Chicago Union Giants, but a former player as well. Peters joined the club as a first baseman in 1887. By 1890 he was managing the team. In 1901, when owner Frank Leland merged The Chicago Union Giants with the Columbia Giants, Peters formed his own club, naming the team Peters Union Giants. In 1905 Leland changed the name of his club to the Leland Giants, at which time Peters then renamed his club The Chicago Union Giants. He remained the owner of the club until 1923.

This is an extremely early Negro League telegram/letter and one that predates the formation of the Negro National League (the first organized professional league for African American teams) in 1920. Prior to that time, as this letter shows, the scheduling of games was done quite informally, with teams booking games as they traveled across the country.

Item is in very good condition for being over 100 years old. Comes from the former Estate of Negro League player/manger Lou Dials.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Dials


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os5La_07zSM



Only other similar one I could find was at REA in 2013 and sold for $1185.00

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=25785

Get a DEAL here on a very neat piece of history!


$600 or best offer shipped