Jim LaMarque was a top hurler in the Negro American League during
the 1940s. According to some sources, he
led the league in wins during the 1947, 1948 and 1949 seasons while pitching
for the famous Kansas City Monarchs team.
During the 1950 season, LaMarque joined the semi-pro Fort Wayne
Capeharts. The Capeharts were in the
midst of preparing to defend their 1949 National Semi-Pro Baseball
Championship. Many of the players were
working at other jobs and could not join the team for the tournament. Thus, several new players were added,
including LaMarque and future MLB player Pat Scantlebury. The Capeharts won the tournament and were
then invited to Japan to play in the "1st Inter-Hemispheric
Series".
This baseball card was part of a set produced in honor of the
series. LaMarque is depicted in his
Capeharts uniform, with his name printed in Japanese at upper right. This Capeharts card set was unknown to the
hobby until December 2022. At this
point, this card is one of only two examples known to exist.
Blank back
Size: 1 5/8" x 2 1/4"
Condition: Ex, but it is
oversized and contains small portions of adjacent cards from the original uncut
sheet at right and at bottom.