1950-51 Toleteros of Lorenzo "Piper" Davis. Graded a 2 by SGC. This is a pop 11 card at SGC.
Davis was an Alabama native who played in the Negro American League from 1942 to 1950 for the Birmingham Black Barons. Davis was the manager of the Black Barons in the late 1940s, including 1948 when the led the league in RBI and they played in the last Negro World Series ever played, losing to the Homestead Grays. He is probably best known for being the mentor to his young and upcoming Black Barons teammate, Willie Mays.
On multiple occasions, Davis came close to being acquired by a major league team. The Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate MLB, signed Davis as their first black player, but he never played for the team. In addition to the Negro Leagues, he played professional baseball in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, as well as the California Winter League, and in the Pacific Coast League with the Oakland Oaks. When he wasn't playing baseball, he played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters.
The standard 1950-51 Toleteros issue marked a major visual upgrade, switching to color photography and larger cards measuring roughly 1¾" x 2½". Unlike the earlier sets, these cards are blank-backed rather than game cards. The issue is especially prized for its striking photography and legendary player roster, including rare cards of Negro League stars such as Josh Gibson.