The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

team based in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team, they became semi-professional by 1894. They joined the

Eastern Colored League The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated. League history Founding The ECL ...

(ECL) for the 1924 season with Hall of Fame center fielder

Oscar Charleston Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Home ...

as playing manager. The Giants became known primarily for their hitting; along with Charleston, outfielder/first baseman

Heavy Johnson Oscar "Heavy" Johnson (1895–1960) was a baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played catcher and outfielder. Johnson was one of the Negro league's foremost power hitters in the 1920s, reportedly weighing 250 pounds, and known for hitting ...

, winner of the batting triple crown for the 1923

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

, was signed away from the rival Negro National League. Speedy outfielder

Fats Jenkins Clarence Reginald Jenkins (January 10, 1898 - December 6, 1968), nicknamed "Fats", was an American professional baseball and basketball player from about 1920 to 1940. He played when both professional sports were racially segregated as an African ...

, a well-known professional basketball player and member of the

New York Rens The New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big R Five and as the Rens, were the first black-owned, all-black, fully-professional basketball team in history, established in October 1923, by Robert "Bob" Douglas. They were named after t ...

, also played for Harrisburg throughout its tenure in the ECL. Hbg Giants 1906 team

Harrisburg finished in the middle of the pack in its first season, winning 26 and losing 28 for a fifth-place spot (out of eight teams). In 1925, however, the Giants picked up the pace, challenging defending champion Hilldale before falling just short with a 37-18 record. 1926 saw the Giants add shortstop/third baseman John Beckwith from the

Baltimore Black Sox The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founding The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six ...

, and finished second again, this time behind the

Bacharach Giants The Bacharach Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founding The club was founded when two African-American politicians moved the Duval Giants of Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlantic City in 1916 an ...

. In 1927, the Harrisburg Giants fell in second place again behind the Bacharach Giants, with a 41-32 record. The club dropped out of the ECL in 1928 to play an independent schedule, whereupon most of its best players signed with other teams. From here, famed player

Spottswood Poles Spottswood Poles (December 27, 1887 – September 12, 1962) was an American outfielder in baseball's Negro leagues. One of the fastest players of his era, Poles was sometimes referred to as "the black Ty Cobb." Career According to Negro leagues h ...

led the team but was rumored to not have "deep enough pockets" as Colonel Strothers did. After Colonel Strothers' death in 1933, there were several other black professional “Giants” teams representing Harrisburg, but baseball slowed as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

arose in the 1940s. Following World War II, there weren't any Negro teams in Harrisburg, so The Harrisburg Giants were reincarnated in the 1953 by Richard Felton with Spottswood Poles again managing the team. By the next year the Giants were an inaugurating team of the new Eastern Negro League, where they won the title with a 16-6 season. They continued to play on City Island through 1957.

References

External links

The History of Black Baseball in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Afrolumensproject.org
Harrisburg Giants State Historic Marker
Historic Marker Database {{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams Negro league baseball teams Defunct sports teams in Pennsylvania Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania 1922 establishments in Pennsylvania 1927 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Baseball teams established in 1922 Baseball teams disestablished in 1927 Sports in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

See also

References

External links