Card Statistics
O’Neal Pullen and Ajay Johnson are presented together in this Helmar T3 card representing the Philadelphia Royal Giants, posed side by side in matching pinstriped uniforms while displaying a large “ROYAL GIANTS” pennant. The composition has the character of a commemorative team photograph rather than an action scene. Pullen stands at left with his hands behind his back, while Johnson stands more casually at right with one hand at his hip. The large red-and-white pennant forms the visual center of the card, tying the two figures together and giving the image an unusually strong documentary quality.
The original artwork was painted by Natalia Valiukavich in watercolor. She handles the white uniforms with restrained cream, gray, and pale blue washes, reserving the strongest color for the deep navy caps and stockings and the red interlocking chest emblems. The pennant introduces an especially bold graphic element, its large red lettering cutting across the lower torsos. Behind the players, the green field and softly colored sky are kept simple, allowing the paired portrait and team insignia to dominate.
O’Neal Pullen was a catcher whose career included the Brooklyn Royal Giants and Baltimore Black Sox, but he became particularly significant through his participation in the celebrated 1927 Philadelphia Royal Giants tour of Japan. Pullen was one of the professional Negro League players recruited for that trip and later remained active in Pacific Coast and winter baseball. He subsequently organized Royal Giants tours to Hawaii, helping extend Black professional baseball’s reach across the Pacific. (Baseball Reference)
Ajay Johnson was a pitcher recruited from manager Lon Goodwin’s Los Angeles White Sox for the same 1927 Royal Giants tour. Johnson proved especially effective in Japan: he defeated the Tomon Club 6–2, later threw a two-hit shutout against the Sundai Club, and followed that with a 14–0 shutout of Rikkyo University. Away from baseball, Johnson was a Los Angeles police officer and later became one of the first Black lieutenants in the history of the LAPD. (Society for American Baseball Research)
The pairing of Pullen and Johnson is therefore especially appropriate. Both were members of the 1927 Philadelphia Royal Giants squad that toured Japan, Korea, China, and Hawaii, a historically important undertaking that introduced many Japanese spectators to high-level Black American baseball. The Royal Giants went 35–2–1 on the broader tour, while their games in Japan drew substantial crowds and helped establish a lasting connection between Black American baseball and the developing Japanese game. (National Digital Library of Ethiopia)
Numbered #113, the Pullen & A. Johnson card stands apart from the conventional single-player portraits in the T3 series. Its paired subjects, prominent team pennant, and direct connection to the Royal Giants’ 1927 international tour make it as much a historical commemorative image as a player card.
Original watercolor artwork by Natalia Valiukavich.
- Description: with team banner
- Team: Philadelphia Royal Giants
- Population (# Sold): 19
- First Date Sold: 2021-05-11
- Latest Date Sold: 2026-01-06
- Card Status: Retired
- # Sold in past year: 1
- Highest Auction: $ 52.00
- Average Auction Result: $ 24.52
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