The Philadelphia Pythians and Baseball’s Struggle for Racial Equality
William J. Kovatch, Jr. In 1947, Jackie Robinson burst on the scene, breaking the color barrier that plagued the major leagues for seventy years. Adept with the bat and quick on the base path, Robinson helped make the Dodgers perennial contenders and eventually World Champions in 1955. Robinson’s accomplishments were made possible by Dodger General Manager Branch Rickey, one of the game’s greatest innovators. Through Robinson, Rickey was exorcizing his own demons. As the manager of the Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team in the early twentieth century, Rickey’s star catcher was Charles Thomas, the only black player on the team. Rickey watched as Thomas encountered racism across the Midwest, and was refused lodging during the team’s road trips. The memory of the mistreatment Thomas suffered haunted Rickey f...