RAY DANDRIDGE - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED BASEBALL CO-SIGNED BY: BUCK LEONARD - HFSID 289786

NEGRO LEAGUE GREATS: BUCK LEONARD and RAY DANDRIDGE
American League (Brown) baseball signed by both
Baseball signed: "Buck Leonard", "Ray Dandridge". Rawlings Official American League Baseball, Bobby Brown, President, signed by both in blue ink. (Neither has signed in the sweet spot, perhaps not wishing to claim precedence.) BUCK LEONARD (1907-1997), a lefthanded power hitter, teamed with legendary slugging catcher Josh Gibson to lead the Homestead Grays to nine consecutive Negro National League championships from 1937 through 1945. The duo was dubbed the "Thunder Twins" by the black press: Leonard was called a black Lou Gehrig, Gibson a black Babe Ruth. While Gibson slugged tape measure home runs, the pull-hitting Leonard, who feasted on fastballs, demonstrated his smooth, powerful stroke by hitting line drives off and over the walls. Leonard was equally smooth and consistent at first base. He was a smart fielder who always made the right play, and a team leader. Leonard, whose Negro League career began in 1933, was offered a Major League contract in 1952, but he felt he was too old to accept. Still, he starred in the Mexican League through 1955. Leonard and Gibson were both enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1972. Diminutive, bow-legged RAY DANDRIDGE (1913-1994) was one of the best defensive third basemen in the history of the Negro National League - or any other league. A contact hitter who consistently batted .300 or better, Dandridge played seven years with Newark of the Negro National League, eight summers in the Mexican League and 11 winters in the Cuban Winter League. After the color barrier fell, he played four years with the Giants' Triple-A affiliate at Minneapolis, batting .318 overall and winning the American Association MVP in 1950. At the advanced age of 36, Dandridge batted an astounding .362 and led all American Association third basemen with a stellar .981 fielding percentage. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.  Lightly toned. Unknown minor stain at "Leonard" signature (legible). Otherwise, fine condition.