I had fun with this one. A lot of what is below is supposition I know but I cannot help but try to answer the question, who is the black athlete in the photo.
I looked at the photo and thought that the insignia was a "C" as well. Knowing that the photography studio is (was) in New Haven, CT out east I immediately thought Colgate College (don't ask why) but that is really upstate New York in Hamilton, no real reason for that team to be in New Haven.
Then I thought what about teams that would be playing in New Haven, i.e. teams that would be playing Yale for instance. That brings us to a couple of schools that would be in the Ivy League, especially Cornell and Columbia.
A quick trip to the Ivy League sports web page
http://ivy50.com/blackHistory/story.aspx?sid=2/14/2007 found a small article on Manuel Rivero of Columbia. Apparently he could play and accomplished many things after graduation too. His last game would have been in 1933 and those of you who know the evolution of baseball gloves can tell better than I if this picture is accurate to that time period.
Next question for me is, if this is true then why would a college team from New York City have their picture taken on a visit to New Haven? Celebrate a tournament? A whim? I assume that any number of NYC photographic studios would be willing to take a team picture. Another question is whether it was typical for a traveling team to bring just 9 players instead of the entire roster or even a few additional players.
If anyone else is interested in this mystery there is a website that will list colleges and universities close to New Haven, CT. You can find that here
http://www.uscollegesearch.org/new-have ... leges.html and have a go at several colleges.
Good luck. This was fun! Thanks for posting the photo.