Baseball Player, Educator and Civil Rights Activist Octavius V. Catto Honored in Front of Philadelphia City Hall
Octavius V. Catto was honored today when his statue was unveiled in front of Philadelphia City Hall. Fans of the Ken Burns documentary "Baseball" will recall Catto as being a civil rights leader who attempted to integrate baseball before the professional leagues were founded. Catto worked as an educator. His friend, the principal of the Roberts Vaux Consolidated School, Jacob White, founded an African American baseball team, the Philadelphia Pythians in the 1860s. Catto was the star shortstop of the Pythians. In 1867, White first attempted to join the Pennsylvania Base Ball Players Association, but was persuaded to withdraw that application on account of racism. Later that year, the Pythians applied to join the National Base Ball Players Association, but was again infamously rebuffed due to the team's racial make-up. This did not deter Catto, who used baseball as a tool to educate African Americans on civil rights. After a game, Catto would take the opportunity to ...