The Soul of Baseball: Portraits of Negro Leaguers
Home Base: A History of New York City's Love Affair with Baseball
Separate and Unequaled: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues
Center for Negro League Baseball Research 6th Annual Negro League Baseball Reunion
Ann Arbor Art Center 90th Annual All-Media Exhibition
Jerry Malloy Negro Leagues Conference, Cleveland, OH
The Art of Baseball, 15th Annual Exhibition
Jerry Malloy Negro Leaugues Conference Exhibit
Baseball As Art
Contact Phillip Dewey
negro leagues history
Ray Dandridge
mixed media with found objects
Collection of Tom Hardiman
Ray Dandridge was called the greatest third baseman never to make the Majors. His velvet touch and rifle arm complemented a lifetime plate average of .355. In 1944, he finished third in the league in stolen bases behind Henry Kimbro and Cool Papa Bell. Dandridge's career was split between the Negro Leagues and the Latin leagues where he was lionized as one of the greatest players. In 1939, Dandridge played in three different leagues—Venezuelan, Mexican, and Cuban—he helped his first two teams win championship titles and in Cuba his team, the Cienfuegos, lost a title by one game. Dandridge returned to the States after nearly a decade in the Mexican leagues and in 1949, at 35, he was recruited by the New York Giants and assigned to their AAA farm club in Minneapolis. There, Dandridge compiled batting averages of .363, .311, and .324. He was the league's MVP in 1950 and led the Millers to the league championship. Yet he was never promoted to the Giants and retired from baseball a couple of years later.
In this portrait, I have placed billboards behind Dandridge of a Caribbean theme to harmonize with his Veracruz uniform. It was not uncommon for Negro Leaguers to play year-round out of financial necessity, spending their winters playing abroad in warmer climes. The velvet border behind his portrait is a visual pun on his famously soft touch with the glove.
John Henry "Pop" Lloyd
Martin Dihigo
"Smokey" Joe Williams
Josh Gibson: Dependable Champion
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