2010 Negro Leagues Baseball

On July 15, 2010, the U.S. Postal Service issued two 44-cent Negro Leagues Baseball commemorative stamps at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. The issue honored the legacy of Black professional baseball and marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Negro National League.

Known as the father of Negro Leagues baseball, Andrew “Rube” Foster (1879–1930) organized the Negro National League in 1920, establishing the first successful league of Black professional baseball teams. He served as its president until 1926. The league adopted the slogan “We are the ship, all else the sea.”

The Negro Leagues showcased some of baseball’s greatest athletes, strengthened Black communities, and challenged the racial barriers that excluded Black players from the American and National Leagues. Former Negro Leagues players helped transform the sport through integration, including Jackie Robinson, who played for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945 before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Artist Kadir Nelson of San Diego, California, painted the continuous scene spanning the two adjoining stamps. One depicts a play at home plate, while the other features Foster’s portrait. Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, Virginia, served as the stamp designer, art director, and typographer.

The stamps were issued in panes of twenty, containing ten of each design. A total of 80,000,000 stamps were produced, with 40,000,000 of each design. At 44 cents each, the combined original face value was $35,200,000. The stamps are cataloged as Scott 4465 and Scott 4466.