Philadelphia Giants

The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1916. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball, winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol White, H. Walter Schlichter, and Harry Smith.

History

In 1902, white sportswriter H. Walter Schlichter joined with long-time Negro league player Sol White and Harry Smith, sports editor of the Philadelphia Tribune (an African-American newspaper), to organize the Philadelphia Giants. Schlichter arranged for the team to play in the major league Columbia Park when the Philadelphia Athletics were on the road. Sol White would play shortstop and manage the team. For their first season, the team recruited several star players including catcher Clarence Williams, second baseman Frank Grant, and pitcher John Nelson. The 1902 Philadelphia Giants compiled a win-loss--tie record of 81–43–2. Throughout the season the Giants issued challenges to the Cuban X-Giants to compete in a Negro league championship series, but the X-Giants declined. In October, their first season culminated with a two-game series against the American League champion Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics won both games, 8–3 and 13–9. [Hogan, pp. 93-97.]

In 1903, White acquired Harry Buckner, William Binga, Robert Footes, Bill Monroe and John ("Pat") Patterson. Attendance grew and in September the Giants again challenged the Cuban X-Giants for a championship series. This time the challenge was accepted and games were scheduled for New York, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg. The Cuban X-Giants beat Philadelphia behind outstanding pitching by Rube Foster. [Hogan, p. 97; Holway, pp. 43-45.]

The next season White recruited Foster, outfielder Pete Hill, and pitcher Danny McClellan for the Giants, and a dynasty took shape. With the Giants' growing popularity and to avoid having to work around the Philadelphia Athletics' schedule, they leased their own home stadium at Broad Street and Jackson Avenue in Philadelphia. A second "World's Colored Championship"—a best-two-out-of-three match—was held in September, and Foster beat the Cuban X-Giants in the first and decisive third games for the Giants' first championship. [Hogan, pp. 97-99; Holway, pp. 46-47.]

In 1905 the Giants won their second championship, beating the Brooklyn Royal Giants in three straight games. In 1906 the Giants joined the first organized black baseball league, the International League of Colored Baseball Clubs in American and Cuba (ILBCAC). In September they faced the Cuban X-Giants again, this time for both the ILBCAC championship and the "World's Colored Championship, and won both championships. They then played a series against the Philadelphia Athletics and lost both games to outstanding pitching performances from Eddie Plank and Rube Waddell. [Hogan, pp. 99–106; Holway, pp. 48–49, 52–54.]

In 1907, Rube Foster, Pete Hill, and three other players left the Giants to join the Leland Giants in Chicago. With young John H. Lloyd taking over at shortstop, however, the Philadelphia Giants continued to field an excellent team and won their fourth consecutive eastern championship. In October they toured Cuba and went 10–12–1 against Habana and Almendares. In 1908 the first black championship series between the east and west was played, as the Leland Giants played the Philadelphia Giants in a "World Series." The series ended with a 3–3 tie; it is not known why the deciding seventh game was not played. In 1909 Spottswood Poles joined the team and the Giants won another eastern championship. [Hogan, pp. 115–117; Riley, pp. 625, 631; Holway, pp. 58, 62–63. For complete statistics of the 1907 Cuban tour, see cite web | title=Philadelphia Giants in Cuba, 1907 | author=Ashwill, Gary | url=http://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2006/06/philadelphia_gi.html | accessdate=2007-06-09 ]

In 1909, White broke with Schlichter and left the Giants to take the reins of the Quaker Giants. In 1910, Lloyd also left and the Giants were no longer contenders for championships. Riley writes, "...after the end of the decade many of Philadelphia's remaining star players defected to other teams. The Giants' caliber of play dropped significantly as they rapidly became a minor team. Although a club continued on into the '20s with the same name, that team cannot be equated with the original franchise." [Hogan, 117–120; Riley p. 625.]

Notable players

*Rube Foster – P, 1904–06
*Frank Grant – 2B, 1902–03
*Pete Hill – OF, 1903–06
*Home Run Johnson – SS, 1905–06
*John Henry Lloyd – SS, 1907–09
*Bill Monroe – IF, 1903–06
*Bruce Petway – C, 1907–09
*Spottswood Poles – OF, 1909–10
*Dick Redding – P, 1911
*Sol White – SS, 1B, MGR, 1902-09 [Riley.]

Notes

References

*citation
last=Hogan
first=Lawrence D.
year=2006
title=Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball
place=Washington DC
publisher=National Geographic
isbn=0-7922-5306-X
*citation
last=Holway
first=John B.
year=2001
title=The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History
place=Fern Park, FL
publisher=Hastings House Publishers
isbn=0803820070
*citation
last=Riley
first=James A.
title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues
place=New York
publisher=Carroll & Graf
year=1994
isbn=0786709596