African American Baseball in Philadelphia

Black baseball in Philadelphia stretches back to eighteen sixty-seven, when the Pythians and Excelsiors organized as independent clubs, decades before the Negro Leagues had a name. By nineteen oh two the Giants had claimed the title of World's Colored Champions. Then came the Hilldales, dominant in the Eastern Colored League from nineteen twenty-three through nineteen twenty-five, capping it with a Colored World Series title in nineteen twenty-five.

The Philadelphia Stars carried the tradition forward from nineteen thirty-three through nineteen fifty-two, competing in the Negro National League. For eighty-five years, these clubs played on fields near this very site, drawing loyal crowds and producing talent that would eventually integrate the major leagues. Their story is as central to Philadelphia baseball as any pennant won across town.