Negro League Commemorative Baseball Cap

On February 13, 1920, on the second floor of the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri, Andrew "Rube" Foster and seven other Black baseball owners founded the Negro National League. The "1920" stitched in red and white across the front of this cap marks the moment Black baseball stopped barnstorming alone and became an organized league of its own.

This commemorative cap is a walking museum. The front features "Negro Leagues 1920" in bold script. Wrapped around the crown, the panels, and the brim are the embroidered team logos of legendary Negro Leagues franchises and Black baseball clubs, each one carrying a piece of the story.

Founded in 1920 by Andrew "Rube" Foster, the Negro National League was the first successful, organized professional African American baseball league in the United States. The Eastern Colored League followed in 1923, the second Negro National League in 1933, and the Negro American League in 1937. Across forty years, more than 2,600 African American and Latin-American players took the field in the Negro Leagues, including Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, Oscar Charleston, Hilton Smith, Buck O'Neil, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Larry Doby, Roy Campanella, and Jackie Robinson. Negro Leagues teams introduced shin guards, batting helmets, and night baseball under portable lights, five years before the white major leagues followed. In December 2020, Major League Baseball officially recognized the seven Negro Leagues of 1920 to 1948 as Major Leagues, restoring the records and statistics of these athletes to their rightful place in baseball history.

The teams stitched on this cap:

Kansas City Monarchs (interlocking KC): Founded in 1920 by J.L. Wilkinson, the Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in Negro Leagues history, winning ten league pennants and two Negro World Series titles. Home to Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, Buck O'Neil, and a young Jackie Robinson in 1945.

Homestead Grays (G): Based in Pittsburgh and later Washington, D.C., the Grays dominated the Negro National League in the 1930s and 1940s, winning nine consecutive pennants between 1937 and 1945. Featured Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and Cool Papa Bell.

Pittsburgh Crawfords (P): Owned by Gus Greenlee in the 1930s, the Crawfords fielded what many historians call the greatest team ever assembled, with five future Hall of Famers in their prime: Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, and Judy Johnson.

Philadelphia Stars (P with star): Founded in 1933, the Stars won the second Negro National League championship in their first season and remained competitive through the league's final years. Their iconic star-and-P logo is one of the most recognizable in Negro Leagues history.

Birmingham Black Barons (BBB): Steel-mill town heroes of Alabama, the Black Barons captured three Negro American League pennants in the 1940s. A teenage Willie Mays played his first professional baseball in Birmingham in 1948.

Baltimore Elite Giants (E): Founded in Nashville in 1921 and relocated to Baltimore in 1938, the Elite Giants were a Negro National League powerhouse, capturing the 1949 Negro American League pennant. Roy Campanella began his Hall of Fame career as a catcher with the Elites at just 15 years old.

New York Black Yankees (NY script): Founded in 1932 and originally backed by tap-dancing legend Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, the Black Yankees played in the Negro National League and called Yankee Stadium and other major venues home throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Brooklyn Royal Giants (BG): Founded in 1905 by John Wilson Connor, owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the Royal Giants were one of the longest-running franchises in Black baseball history, claiming eastern championships in 1909, 1910, 1914, and 1916 before joining the Eastern Colored League in 1923.

Memphis Red Sox (M): One of the most stable franchises in the Negro American League, the Red Sox played in Memphis from the 1920s into the 1950s and were the only Negro Leagues team owned by Black brothers, Drs. B.B. and J.B. Martin.

Chicago American Giants (interlocking CA): Founded by Rube Foster himself, the American Giants were the dominant force in early Negro National League play, winning the first three NNL pennants from 1920 to 1922 and continuing as a powerhouse for decades.

Cleveland Buckeyes (C): Founded in 1942 and managed by Quincy Trouppe, the Buckeyes captured the 1945 Negro World Series, sweeping the Homestead Grays in four games for one of the great upsets in Negro Leagues history.

Detroit Stars (D): Founded in 1919 by John "Tenny" Blount and Rube Foster, the Stars were charter members of the original Negro National League in 1920 and a fixture in Detroit through the early 1930s.

St. Louis Stars (STL): Home to Cool Papa Bell, the speedster historians still call the fastest man ever to play baseball. The Stars captured three Negro National League pennants in 1928, 1930, and 1931.

Cuban X-Giants (X): Comprised of defecting Cuban Giants players, the X-Giants were the dominant Black baseball team of the late 1890s and early 1900s, predating organized league play.

Harrisburg Giants (H): Pennsylvania's Eastern Colored League entry from 1924 to 1927, managed by player-manager and Hall of Famer Oscar Charleston, featuring one of the greatest outfields in Black baseball history with Charleston, Rap Dixon, and Fats Jenkins.

Atlanta Black Crackers (A script): Atlanta's premier Black baseball team, the Black Crackers played in the Negro Southern League and briefly in the Negro American League, capturing the second-half NAL pennant in 1938.

Baltimore Black Sox (B in orange circle): Eastern Colored League champions in 1929, the Black Sox featured the iconic orange-on-black "B" cap design, one of the most distinctive logos in all of Negro Leagues baseball.

Constructed from a durable wool blend with embroidered logos on every panel, this cap features a structured six-panel build, curved brim, and an adjustable hook-and-loop (velcro) back closure for a comfortable fit. Available in royal blue, black, brown, and gray.

A portion of every sale supports the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, helping preserve the stories, artifacts, and legacies of the players who built this game before they were allowed to play it on its biggest stages.

Wear the history. Wear the league. Wear 1920.