1950-1951 Toleteros Willard Brown SGC FAIR 20

Sold For:

$2,100

Year:

1950

Auction:

2023 Fall

Lot #:

1439

Category:

Postwar Baseball - 1950s Cards

Graded FAIR 20 by SGC. Modestly graded example of Hall of Famer Willard Brown from the 1950-1951 Toleteros issue. The Toleteros sets include players from the Puerto Rican Winter League from 1948 to 1951 and are particularly significant as they include many players who appear in few or no other card sets. Included are many Negro League stars, as well as many Major Leaguers who played in the Puerto Rican Winter League during the off-season. This card represents one of the very few contemporary cards ever issued of legendary Hall of Famer Willard Brown, who had a reputation as one of the most feared sluggers in Negro League history. Perhaps the greatest testament to his hitting prowess is the fact that Josh Gibson himself bestowed Brown with the nickname “Home Run.” Brown starred with the Monarchs for fourteen seasons from 1935 to 1951 (he missed time due to military service, and one year was spent in the Mexican League), leading the club to six pennants. In 1947, Brown followed in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson by playing in the Major Leagues, briefly joining the St. Louis Browns. Although he played in only twenty-one games with the Browns, he became the first black player to hit a home run in the American League. He later returned to the Negro Leagues and then finished his career in the minors, playing with a number of clubs in the Texas League. Brown was one of seventeen Negro League players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 by special election, ten years after his death. The offered card has bright colors, superb image quality, light corner wear (weaker bottom left), and centering toward the top. Downgraded largely due to two spots of paper loss along the reverse. Opening Bid $300.