Topsy Turvy Brand (private collection)

Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, two of baseball’s all-time greats, are featured in this series. Catcher Gibson (1911‒1947) is the subject of the portrait “Josh Gibson Brand.” His slugging prowess was legendary—those fortunate enough to see him play in the Negro Leagues during the 1930s and ’40s called him the greatest hitter who ever lived. He was frequently called the “Black Babe Ruth” by white audiences, while black fans called Ruth the “White Josh Gibson.” The yin-yang nature of their relationship is depicted in “Topsy-Turvy Brand.” Gibson, also the subject of “Homestead Brand,” played primarily for the Homestead Grays, perennial Negro League powerhouse, and Pittsburgh Crawfords.  Josh suffered a brain tumor and died at age 36 while still an active player...

Homestead Brand

...Legendary pitcher, showman and folk philosopher Satchel Paige, Gibson’s frequent battery mate, is the subject of the other three paintings. Often billing himself as “The World’s Greatest Pitcher” Paige (1906?‒1982) would go anywhere, at any time, to pitch. The portrait “Satch Brand” shows Paige in the uniforms of the two teams he was most closely associated with during his long career, the fabled Kansas City Monarchs and the Cleveland Indians. “Rookies Brand” features pitcher Joe Nuxhall, signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a teenager during WWII, and Paige, who entered the American League as a “rookie” at the estimated age of 42 with Bill Veeck’s World Champion Indians in 1948. Finally, in “Po’ Boy Brand” (a reference to Paige’s love of fried catfish, not his economic state), Paige is shown standing next to his private plane, which he used to fly to barnstorming dates throughout the country. (And, yes, he did once crash it in a cornfield.) “Don’t look back,” Satch cautioned. “Something might be gaining on you.”