Armstrong Secret 9

[3] During the Jazz Age, the popularity of baseball made for an attractive medium used by American entertainers and public figures for self promotion.

Both softball and baseball teams were formed by big name bands led by Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, and Louis Armstrong.

Unifying teams with bands gave a professional platform for all to evolve and grow in their craft as well as perform on a significantly larger scale in front of bigger audiences.

The ball club competed against other local amateur and semi-pro African American teams during Armstrong's three-month stay in New Orleans.

In August 1931 a reporter for the Louisiana Weekly commented that the team was "outfitted with just about everything a good ball club needs" that included everything "from their baseball caps down to the mascot's water bucket."