Early Games and the Independent Era
On a crisp October day in 1867,
nine Harrisburg men squared off against nine
visiting Philadelphians in "a match game of ball"
that grew out of a friendly invitation by the
secretary of the Monrovia Base Ball Club of
Harrisburg to the newly-formed Philadelphia
Pythians. The visiting Pythians outscored the
hometown Monrovians, 59-27, in this historic game,
and would shortly be involved in events that
would shape the game of baseball for the next
century.
This game,
however, was historic for Harrisburg because it is
the first recorded game between an all Black
Harrisburg baseball team and an all Black visiting
team. Baseball had grown rapidly in popularity
in the years following the Civil War, enthusiasm for
the sport being strongest with veterans who had
played the game in camp during the war.
Interest immediately spread throughout the post-war
population and soon games were being organized
in every community across the country. (Knorr and Jackson)
Like most
social and cultural pursuits of the period, however,
these early games were usually segregated
along racial lines. Although some integrated
teams did exist, the infamous "color line" was drawn
a few months after the Monrovians-Pythians game when
the application by the Philadelphia club for
admission into the National Association of Base Ball
Players was rejected by the league, which declared,
"If colored clubs were admitted there would be in
all probability some division of feeling, whereas,
by excluding them no injury could result to anyone."
(Knorr and Jackson;
Knutson)
While the
players who made up Harrisburg's Monrovia Base
Ball Club were amateurs with other livelihoods, a
few Harrisburg men began to play with emerging
professional teams in the coming decades. Jack
Frye played professionally for a Reading,
Pennsylvania club in 1883, and in 1885 joined
another Harrisburg native, Clarence Williams, with
Black baseball's first professional team, the Cuban
Giants. (Knorr
and Jackson)
By the end
of the 19th century, many independent Black ball
clubs were appearing in cities across the
country. In Harrisburg, a young and ambitious
entrepreneur named Colonel William Strothers began
making inquiries in 1890 regarding the formation of
a professional Black baseball club. Strothers'
efforts soon led to the formation of the Harrisburg
Colored Giants, which joined the existing Harrisburg
Ponies, an integrated team, in playing visiting
clubs such as the Cuban Giants and Cuban X Giants at
various locations around the city, including Island
Park.
 Under
Colonel Strothers' management, the Harrisburg
Colored Giants added local talent such as outfielder
Spottswood Poles, of Harrisburg, Philadelphia
Giant outfielder John Manning, and Arthur "Buddy"
Carpenter. By the beginning of the 1920's,
Strothers had crafted his Giants into a powerful and
respected team. He added Herbert A. "Rap"
Dixon, who had distinguished himself with the
(Steelton, Pennsylvania) Keystone Giants a few years
earlier. In 1922, legendary outfielder Oscar
Charleston married a Harrisburg woman, Janie
Blalock, and shortly thereafter decided to settle in
the capital city and take on the dual role of
player/manager for the Giants. (Knorr and Jackson; Brillhart)
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TellMeMore:
Related Articles:
The First Game
Read more
about the 1867 game between the Harrisburg
Monrovians and the Philadelphia Pythians
Part 2 of this article
Blackball in Harrisburg, the original article by Ted
Knorr and Calobe Jackson.
The Olympic - Tyrolean
Rivalry of 1876
For more information:
Part 2: "League Play and
Major League Integration"
"Works Cited"
"Black Baseball in
Harrisburg: The First Game"
Blackball in Harrisburg, by Ted Knorr and Calobe
Jackson, Jr.
Spottswood Poles biography and notes at
"Find a Grave.com: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3020
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