Chicago American Giants highlighted in National Bobblehead Museum’s Black History Month commemorative series

A couple of Chicago American Giants bobbleheads are among a collection of “mystery” figurines the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum released Friday to celebrate Black History Month.

The release is in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, and consists of 50 unique bobbleheads that will be sent to buyers randomly, making it a mystery which bobblehead fans will receive. Individual models also are available.

National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum

Andrew “Rube” Foster was a pioneer for the Black baseball community, receiving the nickname “the father of Black baseball.” He brought players and fans from across the country to the South Side when he founded the Chicago American Giants in 1911 and negotiated for the team to play at South Side Park, the then-home of the White Sox.

Foster, also a Hall of Fame pitcher who played 21 seasons, in 1920 created the Negro National League, the first successful African American league. The American Giants were a charter team of the league and won two World Series over 32 seasons.

Foster bobbleheads include a vintage version and a centennial team model, each selling for $30.

The mystery bobblehead boxes are available at different quantities and rates: one for $20, three for $50 and five for $75, with an $8 flat-rate shipping charge per order, according to Phil Sklar, chief executive of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee.

“These boxes will give people a mix of some of our most popular Negro Leagues bobbleheads from the past five years featuring legends like Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Cool Papa Bell and many of the other legends that played in the Negro Leagues, making this a perfect opportunity to start a new collection or grow an existing collection,” Sklar said.

Proceeds support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and its mission to preserve and celebrate African American baseball history and its impact on the social advancement of America.

On June 20, Major League Baseball will stage a Negro Leagues tribute game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama – the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S. and a National Historic Site.