Lot # 1061: 1950 Springfield Cubs and Montreal Royals Contract Purchase Payment Stubs (5) for Negro League Baltimore Elite Giants Jim Gilliam, Joe Black & "Toots" Ferrel

Baseball historians grow your collection with the addition of these (5) 1950 Springfield Cubs and Montreal Royals contract purchase payment stubs. These payment records covered the contracts of Baltimore Elite Giants Jim Gilliam, Joe Black and Leroy "Toots" Ferrell.

All three of these Negro League stars were sold by the Elite Giants to the Brooklyn Dodgers AAA minor league affiliate, the Montreal Royals, upon the conclusion of the Giants' 1950 season. Early in 1950, the Giants had sold Gilliam and Ferrell to the Springfield Cubs. Unimpressed, the Cubs demoted Gilliam and then returned him to the Giants. Ferrell's path is obscured, but he also returned to the Giants for the 1950 season and then served in the military during the Korean War. Black won the NL Rookie of the Year award while playing for the Dodgers in 1952, and Gilliam captured the same award, when he was promoted to the Dodgers in 1953.

All (5) of these contract purchase records remain crisp and appealing. Featured are: 1) Springfield Cubs first payment of $1,000 for Gilliam; 2) Springfield Cubs second payment of $4,000 for Gilliam; 3) Springfield Cubs first payment of $500 for Ferrell; 4) Montreal Royals $500 option payment to purchase the contracts of Gilliam, Black, and Ferrell; 5) Montreal Royals final payment of $10,000 ($5,000 each) for Gilliam, and Black.

Note: This piece arrives from the Richard Powell collection. Mr. Powell was an instrumental figure in Negro League history and responsible for moving the Elite Giants franchise from Nashville to Baltimore prior to the 1938 season. He later served as the team's general manager, and under his tutelage, fielded a lineup of legends including Roy Campanella, Junior Gilliam and Joe Black.