Top 100 Negro League Cards of All-Time

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Phil,

Thanks for producing such a really interesting list. The attempt to rank the cards shows true thought and analysis. What makes any such list particularly hard is the fact that so many great players (Paige, Cool Papa Bell, etc ) never had any cards issued during their careers. I am particularly impressed by your inclusion of such players as Bill Holland, Chet Brewer and Sam Bankhead.

Aside from the obviously unintentional oversight of the 49-50 Toleteros Hilton Smith, I thought that the most valuable inclusions in the top 100 would be the George Scales 26-27 Mallorquina; the 1950 Dominican Willard Brown; the 23-24 Billiken Edgar Wesley; and the 23-24 Tomas Gutierrez Edgar Wesley. Wesley, one the Negro League's earliest great sluggers, was ranked by William F. McNeil as the premier Negro League first baseman of the 1900-1925 era.

I also join Matt in thinking that Dave Brown, and maybe Frank Duncan and Valentin Dreke, should be included. Certainly Dave Brown-- because his back story of short brilliant career/murder make his two cards (23-24 Tomas Gutierrez and 23-24 Billiken supplemental) highly collectible.

Who would I drop to make room? Well, six cards for Minnie Minoso seem excessive since even the Negro League HOF Committee passed him over because he, like Roy Campanella, had a solid major league career and may one day be admitted on that basis. To be consistent with Luis Aparicio, I would limit his inclusion on the list to his earliest card. I also feel that four cards of George Scales in the top 100 are too many.

Now an argument. I believe strongly that the 1930-31 Harrison Studio Card of Josh Gibson (not the Pop Lloyd Punch card) should be rated as No. 1 because:

1. The 1930-31 Harrison Studio set is the sole American based issue from the Negro League era.
2. It features the only contemporaneous card of the Negro League's greatest slugger shown on his own card during his playing days. (Lloyd has five other issues.)
3. It was issued in 1931- the first full year of Josh Gibson's career (he was 18) with the Homestead Grays- and is therefore a true Rookie card.
4. It shows Gibson in his 1931 Homestead Grays uniform-- perhaps the Negro League's greatest team of all time.
5. There is one known copy of the card - making it rarer than the 1910 Punch Lloyd.
6. The card is double autographed by Josh Gibson - also making it the only full body image autographed by Gibson currently known to exist.