| SIGNER: Gene Baker APPROXIMATE SIZE: 3-1/2'x5-1/2" MARKS / STAMPING: Hand-signed by Gene Baker ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Original COMMENTS / CONDITION: Standard 3-1/2''x5-1/2'' postcard (featuring the ''Sand Lot Kid'' statue at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY on the front) which has been hand-signed by Gene Bakercollector. Comes from a collection of signed postcards assembled by a collector in the late 1980s-early 1990's (judging by the signers). All autographs in this particular collection are on the same medium: a photo postcard of the "Sand Lot Kid" statue outside Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY. Some of the players signed the front (photo) side of the postcard, some the back, and a few signed both sides (just to be sure). The name and rookie year of the player is pencilled on the back of each card, assumedly by the collector. For the sake of time, only the signature side of each card has been scanned. If you need to see the other side, please let me know. As with all of my signed items, the signature is guaranteed to pass further inspection by any major authenticator, or your money back. See scans for signature quality and photo condition. BIO: Eugene Walter Baker was born in 1925 in Davenport, IA and died in 1999 in Davenport, IA. He went to college at St. Ambrose University. He played major league baseball from 1953 to 1961 as infielder for the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, appeared in the 1960 World Series, and was selected in 1955 as an All-Star. Baker, a Negro League player, became a 29-year-old rookie with the Chicago Cubs. Although subject to racism, he played alongside Ernie Banks for several years, and then spent a few years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, including their 1960 World Series win. 1961 finished off his major league career, but only one month later, Baker was asked by the Pirates to become the first black minor league manager with an affiliated team (there had been black managers for independent teams, but never for a minor league team in a major league structure). He managed the Batavia club in the Class D New York-Pennsylvania League. The team improved quite notably under Baker, partly because Baker also played and hit .387. In 1962, he was a player and coach at Columbus. In 1963, he returned to the Pirates as a coach. When Danny Murtaugh was thrown out of a game, Baker became the interim manager for two games, making him the first black to manage a team in a major league game. However, it would not be until Frank Robinson became player-manager for the Cleveland Indians in 1975 that a black man would be appointed as a Major League manager. Baker managed Batavia again in 1964, and served the Pirates additional years as a minor league coach and manager. He then became their top scout in the midwest for 23 years. SKU: L08553
Item: L08553
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