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1941 Homestead Grays Negro Championship "Radio" Trophy Presented to HOFer Raymond Brown
One of the few Negro League Trophies known to exist, let alone with provenance. This was presented to Negro League pitcher and future HOFer Raymond Brown for his role in the Homestead Grays' Negro National League Championship of 1941. Interestingly, this piece has a long history with Leland's. It was purchased by Leland's Chairman Josh Evans' antiques dealer parents in the late 1970s on a buying trip to Maine. The radio came along with a silver plaque presented to Raymond Brown for pitching a number of shutout innings against the New York Yankees. Otherwise it would have been lost to posterity as nobody knew who this was, let alone a legendary Hall of Fame. Josh later sold it to pioneering Negro League collector Elvin Rawlins who later sold it back to Leland's many years later along with his collection. The radio was then sold at auction and ended up in the National Pastime Museum where it was later sold and consigned back to Leland's to this auction. And here it is. These Official League Baseball Trophy Radios were sold in the 1930s and 1940s as a functioning radio. In fact, it is meant to have a diecut metal piece across the speaker that reads "Trophy" which was always missing. Engraved on the brass band around the base is "HO. GRAYS, CHAMPS 1941." The radios were purchased by Grays owner Cum Posey to present to the players. We do know that other players got them as this is the second one we have seen other than Brown's. We do not know or remember who the other one was presented to. The radio is not working and also shows significant wear but is all original. The 1941 Homestead Grays are one of the better Negro League teams of all time. They won the Negro National League Championship powered by Hall of Famers Buck Leonard, Jud Wilson and of course Ray Brown. They also boasted such talent as Roy Partlow, Terris McDuffie, Johnny Wright, Wilmer Fields, Vic Harris Howard Easterling and many others. Lot will come with a handwritten Letter of Authenticity from Joshua Leland Evans which will go into significant detail of the story of the radio's provenance. He also personally guarantees the authenticity.
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