The World's Colored Champions Philadelphia Giants, 1904-1910


In the first decade of the 20th Century, a Philadelphia team dominated African-American baseball, claiming the title of World's Colored Champions from1904-1910.

The team included such Hall of Famers as Sol White, Rube Foster, Pete Hill, Frank Grant and John Henry "Pop"Lloyd.

By: William J. Kovatch, Jr.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dick Allen: Integrating Philadelphia’s Baseball Culture

Image
Much of what has hurt Dick Allen in reaching the Hall of Fame has been his reputation in the press of creating racial divisions on the teams for which he played. This is a reputation that has been perpetuated unfairly. To the contrary, Allen has been caught in a world where American society in general, and baseball in particular, has had to come to grips with racial discrimination. While white America preferred to sweep the problem of racial discrimination under the rug, players such as Allen were outspoken, refusing to let the issue be covered up. It is his outspokenness, when many Americans preferred to turn a blind eye to societal ills, that handicapped Allen’s chances of being inducted into the Hall, and which to this day haunts his candidacy.  Some have called Allen Philadelphia’s Jackie Robinson. And rightly so. Allen’s career was marred by racial discrimination by fans in Philadelphia. His endurance of this mistreatment, while acting as one of the greatest power hitte...
Read more

Unlikely Hero, Philadelphia Athletics’ Howard Ehmke Delivered in Game One of the 1929 World Series

Image
The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics boasted four future Hall of Famers: Jimmie Foxx, Robert “Lefty” Grove, Al Simmons and Mickey Cochrane. But the most unexpected hero of that season was a thirty-five year old right-handed pitcher with a submarine-style motion, Howard Ehmke.  Born in Silver Creek, New York, Ehmke moved to Los Angeles in 1913. The Los Angeles Angles of the Pacific Coast League signed him to a contract, and then sold his rights to the Washington Senators. Ehmke spurned the Senators in favor of signing with the Buffalo Blues of the upstart Federal League.  But Ehmke’s year with the Blues was disappointing. After the Federal League folded, Ehmke played with the Syracuse Stars, and was sold to the Detroit Tigers. However, the Senators claimed that they still owned the rights to Ehmke. AL President Ban Johnson agreed. The Senators then sold their rights to the Tigers.  Ehmke played six seasons with the Tigers, until he was traded to the Red Sox befor...
Read more

Caught Between Leagues: The Tragic Death of Ed Delahanty

Image
William J. Kovatch, Jr.             On July 9, 1903, the naked, mangled body of a man with his leg shorn off was fished out of the Niagara Gorge, downstream from Niagara Falls.   The body was identified as Ed Delahanty, outfielder for the Washington Senators and former offensive powerhouse for the Philadelphia Phillies.   Delahanty had last been seen on July 2, when a train conductor, John Cole, fed up with Delahanty’s drunken misconduct, threw him off of the train before crossing the International Railway Bridge.   A New York Times obituary reported that Delahanty had an open razor and was terrorizing passengers in a sleeper compartment.   Delahanty had been drinking too excess, and became confused and irate when he tried to enter a sleeper compartment that was already occupied.   Cole failed to follow proper procedures and simply left Delahanty at the Bridgeburg station, instead of leaving Delahanty...
Read more