Fri Jun 14, 2024 8:39 am
This will be very interesting. Appreciate the dialog. Around the year 2000, I started reading about the Negro league ballpalyers. I took my son to several card shows, and spent time with Double Duty Radcliffe, he was a trip. Double Duty had a season pass to all White Sox games and you could see him holding court in his wheel chair by the box seats. Mr. Reinsdorf treated him like royalty.
I was playing with my strat board game and decided to create my own cards for about twenty Negro league ballpayers. I had them compete against the four HOF teams that Strat offered. I only had anecdotal evidence, I suppose I glorified some stats. I know I created an 11 mil card for Pop Lloyd. And Josh Gibson's card would probably be a $17 mil card. Anyway, with the cards I created they had a .500 record when I played against the HOF all time great cards. That was about right I guess. Barnstorming, the Black and Brown players did very well against the white players. Pop Lloyd out played Ty Cobb in a 24 game series in Cuba one off season. Cobb was so pissed he quit the team and left Cuba, Lol.
More two cents, Satchel and Smokey Joe Williams need much better cards.
Anyway, one afternoon, I called Strat to speak with customer service, during the conversation I mentioned the cards I created for the Negro leaguers. The gentelman was interested, I remember him telling me his name was Hal. I did not realize who I was talking to until years later. I did have some discussions with Scott Simkus, who actually did much research for Strat.