NEGRO LEAGUES CENTENNIAL TEAM BOBBLEHEAD SERIES: Hilton Lee Smith
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Item Description
The Negro League Centennial Team (1920-2020) is comprised of 30 of the greatest African-American and Cuban players from 1895-1947 plus a manager and a team owner. Each individual is depicted on a baseball-shaped base with replica of Kansas City's Paseo YMCA, the site where the Negro National League was organized on February 13th, 1920. The bobbleheads are officially licensed by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and approved by the families when applicable. Each player is individually numbered to only 2,020. This bobblehead is of Hilton Lee Smith, a member of the Kansas City Monarchs. Smith was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
Smith possessed the best curve ball in Negro League history. Many of Smith's teammates believed he was the best pitcher in the Negro Leagues during the final decade (1937-1946) of undiluted play. Among the challenges the Monarchs and other Negro League teams faced during World War II was gas rationing and the appropriation of team buses. The war required constructing massive munitions complexes, which could not be done safely in large cities. New factory complexes were created in rural areas. With inadequate local housing, workers had to be transported from 50 miles away and more. Workers were transported in using buses the government acquired by any means possible.
Smith possessed the best curve ball in Negro League history. Many of Smith's teammates believed he was the best pitcher in the Negro Leagues during the final decade (1937-1946) of undiluted play. Among the challenges the Monarchs and other Negro League teams faced during World War II was gas rationing and the appropriation of team buses. The war required constructing massive munitions complexes, which could not be done safely in large cities. New factory complexes were created in rural areas. With inadequate local housing, workers had to be transported from 50 miles away and more. Workers were transported in using buses the government acquired by any means possible.