Baseball stamps from the US Postal Service

On July 15th, the U.S. Postal Service will release Negro Leagues Baseball stamps. They are two stamps that comprise a single side-by-side design. Here is the excerpt from the USPS.com website:

On July 15, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri, the Postal Service™ will issue a 44–cent, Negro Leagues Baseball commemorative stamp in two se-tenant designs, designed by Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, Virginia.

The Negro Leagues Baseball stamp pays tribute to the all–black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960. Considered the “father” of Negro leagues baseball, Andrew “Rube” Foster (1879–1930) established the Negro National League in 1920, the first successful league of African–American baseball teams. Although no longer a vital component of American baseball after about 1960, the Negro leagues led to lasting changes within the sport. The two se–tenant stamps feature a scene painted by Kadir Nelson of San Diego, California.

It is great to see the Post Office, and lately many others, paying tribute to these men who braved a great deal to play a kid's game which they loved. Some of them were eventually accepted by the Major Leagues, but most never got a fair shake or a chance. All players today owe them a great deal.