17.25x19 1/8 high quality wood frame has archival mat with recessed center holding 10x11 5/8" vintage cardboard mount which has 6 3/8x8.25" photo in center with 14 players in uniform. Mount has neatly hand-lettered text at bottom “American. Giants. Palm Beach, Fla 1928." Photo itself has neatly hand-lettered names in script of players: Wickware, Redding, Francis, Demorr, Williams, Whitworth, Diegan, Foster, Duncan, Petway, J. Williams, Hill, Grant, Barber. Photo was obviously taken during the off season when teams went South to play exhibition games at hotels. The team was formed in 1911 by Andrew “Rube” Foster and became the premiere independent baseball team in the West throughout the 1910s. Foster organized the first viable professional black league, the Negro National League, in 1920 with his American Giants as the cornerstone franchise. Outfielder John Preston Hill played for the Negro Leagues from 1899 to 1925 and with the Chicago American Giants from 1911 to 1918 and had a lifetime batting average of .326. Bruce Franklin Petway was a Negro League catcher who played for several teams including the Chicago American Giants from 1911 to 1918 and reportedly threw Ty Cobb out three times in 1920 when Cobb tried to steal bases. Petway batted .390 that year and led the Cuban League in stolen bases in 1912. Dick “Cannonball” Redding was one of the premiere pitchers of the early Negro Leagues. In 1911 at the age of 20 he won 17 consecutive games in his rookie season and compiled a 43-12 record in his second season. He played from 1922 through 1938 with various teams including the Chicago American Giants. Mount has some wear, most noticeable at left side which has 8" vertical crease and 4" diagonal crease. Photo emulsion has yellowed with age and photo has slight fade with 1/8x2" moisture mark running vertically just to right of center. Image area and text has Good/VG appearance. An historical baseball item ready for display. It is important to note that photos of Foster in uniform are extremely rare, last auction a 1909 Leland Giants postcard w/Foster sold for $22,137 (see next item #1399). From the Richard Merkin Collection and comes with Hake’s COA.