ABOUT
BLACK BALL

Black Ball brand and logo was established in St. Louis in 1994 and expanded to Peoria in 1995. Black Ball quality clothing, memorabilia and accessories will once again pay homage to the father of Negro League Baseball, Rube Foster, the Baseball leagues, the team's, the team owners, the players and the communities that were impacted by Negro League Baseball globally.

Black Ball NLB is committed to making an impact in the community. We have currently extended our services to brand marketing, brand strategies and business solutions. These services allow us the opportunity to partner with community influencers. We have talents that span multiple industries – business development, finance, fashion, professional and collegiate sports, entertainment, sales and marketing.

MEET THE Players
Meet Elonda L. Gatewood
Business Development – Event Management – Design Management
Elonda L. Gatewood has more than a decade in business development experience, providing organizational structure, change management and financial management.  Elonda has a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from Maryville University.

Elonda’s career has provided her experience in finance with companies such as Stifel and Equifax, business and event management with American Airlines Center, Dallas Mavericks and Prada.  Elonda explores her creativity through fashion design of couture garments for editorial spreads, fashion shoots, and developing brands through private labeling. She is opening her first fashion design academy, affiliated with a textile store in Dallas, TX.
Meet Marc Anthony Porch
Chief Urban Liaison
Marc Anthony Porch is a social scientist, as he's called by his elder statesmen Sudan Mahmoud. He launched Black Ball in Peoria, Illinois November of 1995 at Peoria Northwoods Mall. He was the first black person to own and operate a store in this mall. Marc is a life long Baseball historian, as a child his elders were amazed at how he would give them real time box scores statistics on a daily basis from reading the sports section of the local newspaper.

He's been intrigued and fascinated with history, the actual facts which is truth all his life. Marc realized many of the great players he would read about in the sports section of his local newspaper were great Black men. He understood Negro League Baseball was much more than just baseball. The owners, men and women, were the foundation of the economic business base that was Black Wall Street nationwide. The Black Ball Caravan will be the driving force in the revitalization of the once pristine business communities nationwide.

Our focus still will be honoring the Negro League teams, players, owners and to partner with MLB, to revitalize little league baseball in the inner cities, to shape and mold the next-generation players, businessmen and businesswomen. It's an honor to be Barnstorming for the past and present living legends of the Negro Leagues.
Meet H. Sudan Mahmoud
Major Principle
H. Sudan Mahmoud; (Un-regulated Cambrist Forex trader) Specializing in commodites, Oil, and Precious Metals) very well versed in Bio-Mass productions Zea-Maize ( corn) along with sludge removal and viable Real Estate development and International Financing procurement.

President and CEO, Energy,
Oil, and Transportation Inc.
205 North Michigan suite 800 Chicago, IL 60601

Member of Muslim Scientists and Engineers.
Meet Jermaine Smith
Tenor
The tenor is closely associated with the role of Sporting Life, which he recently made his contract debut with the Metropolitan Opera and Atlanta Opera. In recent past, at Teatro San Carlo in Napli, Italy, Seattle Opera and Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Hollywood Bowl's premiere performance of Porgy & Bess in concert, Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Porgy and Bess as well as in Cape Town Opera's guest engagement at the newly opened opera house in Oslo, Norway a couple of seasons ago. He has also preformed the role in Japan, Germany, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sicily, The Grand Canary Islands and in this country at Union Ave Opera, Opera Pacific, and in Francesca Zambello's production at both Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera. Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fort Worth Opera, and Glimmer GlassFestival. Also, has brought his portrayal to Paris's Opera-Comique, the Theatre de Caen, the Granada Festival, the Opera de Luxembourg, and the Santa Fe Symphony. He has made numerous appearances with the St. Louis Symphony. Smith is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory of Music and University of Missouri-St. Louis.