Commissions: Institutional

The Negro Leagues Baseball stamps, to be issued in June, pay tribute to the all black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960. Drawing some of the most remarkable athletes ever to play the sport, including Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, the Negro leagues galvanized African American communities across the country, challenged racist notions of athletic superiority, and ultimately sparked the integration of American sports.

The Negro Leagues Baseball stamps pay tribute to the all black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960. The two 44 cent stamps comprise one scene painted by Kadir Nelson.

In 1920, Andrew Rube Foster (1879 to1930) who began his baseball career as a pitcher established the Negro National League, the first successful league of African American teams. Nicknamed Rube after defeating major league pitcher George Edward Rube Waddell in 1902, Foster is considered the father of Negro leagues baseball. He is featured on the stamp.