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A black-and-white team photograph from 1931 displaying a large group of Black baseball players, all wearing uniforms bearing the name "Armstrong" across the chest, posed together with baseball bats visible in the background. Printed text in the upper center of the photograph reads: "Armstrong's Secret 9 Base Ball Team of New Orleans, La. 1931." 

The players are arranged in multiple rows for the portrait, with several men in suits standing at the back, likely managers or coaches. While many inscriptions had been carried across different printings of this picture, the live inscription in the bottom right reads "To My Boy Nat. Always glad to see you. Louis Armstrong".

This photograph documents Louis Armstrong's sponsorship of the Secret Nine, a semi-professional Black baseball team he funded and promoted during his triumphant return to New Orleans in 1931, a celebrated episode in his career that reflected both his civic pride and his status as a major celebrity in his hometown.