Presented are two unique, hand-painted circa 1920s or 1930s vintage bowling pins depicting Negro League standouts Rube Foster, an inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and his half-brother, Bill Foster, also a Baseball Hall of Famer Rube Foster was a star right-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues with a lifetime record of 336-195-11. Rube Foster reportedly gained his Rube nickname after besting star Philadelphia left-hander Rube Waddell in a post-season exhibition game played sometime between 1902-05, in which Waddell was playing under an assumed name. Rube Foster gradually transitioned into a manager's role, and he founded and ran the Chicago American Giants, a club which became the best team in the Negro National League, created and run by Rube Foster. That [first] Negro National League was the first long-time, African American professional league in the United States. Bill Foster was the much-younger half-brother of Rube Foster. A left-handed pitcher, Bill Foster had a career record of 110-56 pitching for a variety of teams in the Negro Leagues, but mostly for the Chicago American Giants (1913-22, 1932-35 & 1937). He was a 2-time World Champion in the Negro Leagues.

The vintage, wooden bowling pins are 18.4" tall and have a base diameter of 1.75". Each of the images are approx. 3" tall. Both Rube and Bill Foster are in Chicago American uniforms. The hand-painted image of Rube Foster shows the weight he put on as a manager after his playing career. The hand-painted image of Bill Foster shows him at the top of his wind-up. Both depictions have incredible detail, with the caps, belts, team name on the jersey and their colorful socks. Both pins show real wear, with scuffs, abrasions, chips and some staining. As in real life, the Rube Foster pin outweighs the Bill Foster pin, by 25.6 ounces to 23.25 ounces. The pins, created by an unknown artist, present a great remembrance of two key personages of the first Negro National League 

Estimated domestic USA shipping cost only. Does not include handling or insurance: 26.62 Please feel free to contact us for a more accurate shipping cost.