May 07, 2020 - Sale 2534

Sale 2534 - Lot 392

Price Realized: $ 875
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(SPORTS--BASEBALL.) Pollock, Syd. Letter by the owner of the Indianapolis Clowns, on illustrated letterhead. Typed Letter Signed "Syd" as owner of the Indianapolis Clowns to Joe Lewis of Portsmouth, VA. One page, 11 x 8 1/2 inches, on illustrated letterhead; folds, minimal wear. Tarrytown, NY, 19 August 1949
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The Indianapolis Clowns were a team in the Negro American League, famous for their comedy routines as well as their ballplaying prowess. Their most famous player during this period was Goose Tatum, better known as a Harlem Globetrotter. They later signed Hank Aaron to his first professional contract and then replaced him with Toni Stone, the first woman player in an American men's league. After the demise of the Negro Leagues, they lasted for more than a decade as an independent barnstorming team.
Syd Pollock was a white entrepreneur who owned the Clowns for their entire existence. In this letter, Pollock discusses his fears that an unscrupulous promoter was cheating the Clowns and other Negro League teams on ticket counts. He cites the great Oscar Charleston, then manager of a rival club, as an authority: "I was in Philly last nite, and both Oscar Charleston of Philly Stars, and Bunny Downs of our club were under the impression that something was radically wrong with the count we got at Portsmouth Wednesday nite. They claim the way the tickets were torn in half, it was possible to resell same, also there were small rolls of tickets around that we did not get numbers of. . . . Ticket sellers and takers have made a racket on our Negro American League games and just taken advantage of the fact we have no representative at gate." An interesting glimpse into these ball clubs as the Negro Leagues drew to a close.