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The Negro National League was formed in 1920 by “The Father of Black Baseball”, Rube Foster. Floyd “Jelly” Gardner was the leadoff man for Foster’s Chicago American Giants to help usher in Black Baseball’s Golden Age.

A star from the get-go, the outfielder used his speed to bunt his way aboard, take the extra base, and run down fly balls. Though Gardner’s team lost the game, they won the inaugural league championship.

Adept at the drag bunt, Gardner had his career year in 1924. According to Seamheads Negro League database, Gardner established career highs in both batting average (.325), and on-base percentage (.432).

A World War I veteran, Gardner played for the Detroit Stars, Homestead Grays, and the New York Lincoln Giants in addition to his 11 seasons with the American Giants. He played on four pennant-winning teams.

Gardner retired from the game in 1933 at age 38. In the 1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll of Greatest Black Players, he was picked for the 5th team along with Cooperstown men Turkey Stearnes and Ray Brown. After leaving the game he worked as a railroad porter for many years before retiring in 1965. Gardner died in 1977 in Chicago.

In 2005, the Hall of Fame organized the Committee on African-American Baseball. The committee was charged with identifying players worthy of induction.

Their initial list was comprised of 94 men including Gardner. Eventually the committee elected 17 African-American players from the Negro Leagues and the pre-Negro League era.

Should more Negro League players be voted into Cooperstown, it stands to reason they would be from this recommended list.

In the collection is the rarely-seen signature of Floyd “Jelly” Gardner on heavy card stock.