Broadside advertising a game between the Athletics and Zulu Cannibal Giants
date: label: Date
content: 1934-1937
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Zulu Cannibal Giants, American, 1934 - 1937
label: Subject of
content: Georgetown Athletics, American
label: Owned by
content: Syd Pollock, American, 1901 - 1968
notes: label: Caption
content: Based in cartoonish stereotypes, the Zulu Cannibal Giants was a Black baseball team that barnstormed across the South from 1934-1937. The team was based in River City, Kentucky. Using popular vaudeville and minstrelsy entertainment tropes, the players wore grass skirts, headdresses, and war paint; they also played under “native” names, as can be seen in the lineup listed on this poster. The Cannibal Giants were not an official Negro League team; rather they were considered an independent team. John “Buck” O’Neil purportedly played under the name, “Limpopo” for a time.
label: Description
content: A broadside advertising a baseball game between the Georgetown Athletics and the original Zulu Cannibal Giants. The broadside has black ink on beige paper. Text at the top reads: [Baseball / Athletics / VS. / The Original / Zulu Cannibal Giants]. The center of the broadside has a cartoon that depicts the stereotypically caricatured players from the Zulu Cannibal Giants crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Africa with bats shaped like clubs. Line-ups for the teams are printed on either side of the cartoon. Text at the bottom reads: [Sunday, June 22nd / Moss Park / Georgetown, Kentucky / Game Called 3 P.M. Admission: 60¢ (Incl. Tax)]. The back of the document is blank.
label: Statement
content: Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Georgetown, Scott County, Kentucky, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Baseball
label: Topic
content: Minstrel (Music)
label: Topic
content: Segregation
label: Topic
content: Sports
label: Topic
content: Stereotypes
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Racist and Stereotypical Objects
label: Classification
content: Memorabilia and Ephemera - Advertisements
label: Exhibition
content: Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 052
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Mr. Troy Kinunen
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2016.84
objectType: label: Type
content: broadsides
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 12 × 9 in. (30.5 × 22.9 cm)