
NEGRO LEAGUES CENTENNIAL TEAM BOBBLEHEAD SERIES: Jose Colemenar del Valle Mendez

Item Number: | 2076458 |
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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 Jose Colemenar del Valle Mendez, a member of the Almendares. Mendez was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
New York Giants manager John McGraw assessed Méndez's market value at the then princely sum of $30,000. Méndez rose to fame in the Cuban Winter League, leading Almendares to seven pennants in nine seasons. Cuba often offered top black players the best baseball competition available to them, with the talent pool spread over only three teams. El Diamante Negro (The Black Diamond) served as the Kansas City Monarchs' first manager in 1920, leading the team to the first Colored World Series championship in 1924, then to a repeat appearance in 1925, when they fell to Hilldale. Méndez was part of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1939.
New York Giants manager John McGraw assessed Méndez's market value at the then princely sum of $30,000. Méndez rose to fame in the Cuban Winter League, leading Almendares to seven pennants in nine seasons. Cuba often offered top black players the best baseball competition available to them, with the talent pool spread over only three teams. El Diamante Negro (The Black Diamond) served as the Kansas City Monarchs' first manager in 1920, leading the team to the first Colored World Series championship in 1924, then to a repeat appearance in 1925, when they fell to Hilldale. Méndez was part of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1939.