H99.29.40

Photograph shows Sammy Workman wearing an Oakland Larks baseball uniform and wearing a mitt with a baseball sitting inside it on his left arm. He is posing in front of a blank wall. Workman traveled with the Oakland Larks on their barmstorming tour in 1947. He performed an exhibition of his athletic abilities before each game. Workman was without hands or feet. One newspaper article from the Eugene Register-Guard, Eugene Oregon, Aug. 10, 1946 (or 1947) "One of the feature attractions of the exhibition baseball game here next Monday night between the Oakland Larks and the Hills Creek Billies will be a performance by Sammy Workman, armless and legless baseball artist who travels with the West Coast Negro League champions [the Larks]. Sammy, who uses no artificial limbs, is considered one of the greatest attractions in baseball and has appeared in many organized baseball parks. 'His exhibition of fielding, catching, throwing, batting and running is worth the price of admission alone,' says Manager Jimmy West, 'and the entertainment feature awes fans with his ability and inspiration in spite of physical handicap...."