Jim Zapp Autographs
James Stephen Zapp (April 18, 1924 – September 30, 2016), nicknamed "Zipper", was an American baseball outfielder who played baseball in the Negro leagues and minor leagues from 1945 to 1955. Spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Elite Giants, Zapp is described as an above-average power and contact hitter. When Zapp began playing in integrated baseball with the Paris Lakers of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League, he broke the league's RBI record total for a single-season, which still stands today.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Zapp, as an adolescent, attended a Catholic school which did not provide a baseball program. Although he occasionally played softball as a teenager, his relationship with baseball began by an unusual approach—after he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942, Zapp joined a segregated military team while stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Impressed with his performance on the field, coach Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones—a former running-back in the NFL—transferred Zapp to his white team, making him and first baseman Andy Ashford the only two black players to join the integrated line-up. During his stint, Zapp contributed to back-to-back titles in the 1943 and 1944 seasons. Zapp remained active in navy baseball until 1945, when the Second World War came to a close and he was honorably discharged.
While stationed at Staten Island, New York, Zapp was signed by the Baltimore Elite Giants as a backup corner outfielder, initially on a weekend basis, then full-time for the winter season. In 1946, he returned home and joined the Nashville Cubs. The following year, Zapp played for the Atlanta Black Crackers, showing a hint of his power hitting by knocking 11 home runs in half a season. Frustrated by the team's inability to pay its players, Zapp abandoned the Black Crackers, jumping off the team bus in New York City to share housing with family. Incidentally, Zapp was branded as temperamental although he "didn't call it temperamental," he told reporter Brent Kelly, "If I didn't think the owners was treating me right, I'd quit, ask for my release, or whatever, as long as they didn't give me my money. Sometimes they did not". Zapp surmises his decision later denied him an opportunity to play in integrated Major League Baseball. As he stood in front of a nightclub in New York City, Zapp was recognized by a talent scout, and signed to join the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948.
Read more about Jim Zapp on Wikipedia
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Current items with a signature of Jim Zapp
These are the most current items with a signature of Jim Zapp that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | Jim Zapp Signed 1984 Decathlon Card #46 JSA AUTO NgL B. Elite Giants "Zipper"! | $65.00 |  |
Traded items with a signature of Jim Zapp
The most expensive item with a signature of Jim Zapp (Cherry Hill Mall Negro League Baseball Star Signed Photo Lot (4) Jim Zapp & More) was sold in October 2025 for $139.90 while the cheapest item (1991 JIM ZAPP HAND SIGNED AUTOGRAPHED BIRMINGHAM BLACK BARONS POSTCARD EX/MT) found a new owner for $0.99 in October 2021. The month with the most items sold (2) was February 2016 with an average selling price of $7.00 for an autographed item of Jim Zapp. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in October 2025 with $139.90 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $0.99 was October 2021. In average, an autographed item from Jim Zapp is worth $19.95.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Jim Zapp were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | "Baltimore Elite Giants" Jim Zapp Hand Signed 3X5 Card COA | $19.99 |  |
| 2010 Allen & Ginter Jim Zapp Autograph A&G Negro League Auto | $19.99 | |
| 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter #243 Jim Zapp HAND Signed zwb 2872 | $20.00 | |
| Cherry Hill Mall Negro League Baseball Star Signed Photo Lot (4) Jim Zapp & More | $139.90 | |
| Jim Zapp 1986 Fritsch Negro League Baseball Stars Autographed Card #46 | $19.92 | |
| Jim Zapp Autograph Negro League Baseball Stars (15,810) | $21.49 | |
| Jim Zapp Autographed Negro Leauge Card | $106.00 | |
| JIM ZAPP Negro League Birmingham Black Baron SIGNED Baseball Negro League | $9.99 | |
| Jim Zapp Signed 1984 Decathlon Card #46 JSA AUTO NgL B. Elite Giants "Zipper"! | $65.00 | |
| Jim Zapp Signed 1984 Decathlon Card #46 JSA AUTO NgL B. Elite Giants "Zipper"! | $65.00 | |
| JIM ZAPP SIGNED 1986 FRITSCH NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL STARS #46 ON-CARD AUTO | $19.99 | |
 | Jim Zapp signed Birmingham Black Barons Negro League B&W 8x10 Photo Framed- COA | $94.94 | |
| Jim Zapp signed Birmingham Black Barons Negro League B&W 8x10 Photo- COA | $46.94 | |
| Jim Zapp Signed Small Index Card JSA Authentic & advertisement from 2002 | $54.90 | |
| Vintage Jim Zapp Nashville Cubs Baseball Signed Lot Negro League | $29.99 | |
