Nathan Harris (born 1880) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the pre-

Negro leagues 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 ...

. He played for many of the best teams between 1900 and 1910. Born and raised in

Middleport, Ohio Middleport is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,530 at the time of the 2010 census. History Middleport was founded during the 1820s, a time of great prosperity and rapidly increasing commerce in Meigs Co ...

, Harris moved to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

with his parents at the age of 14 and started playing baseball and football in high school. A football injury took him out of the first half of his next baseball season. The family moved again to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he played there for the

Keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

. Harris played football for Indiana and was injured again, which left him unable to play baseball again until 1899. In 1900, he pitched and played first base for

Bud Fowler Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913), born "John W. Jackson", was an American baseball player, manager (baseball), manager, and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball. He ...

and his Smoky City Giants. In June 1901 he took over for

William Binga William H. Binga (February 26, 1869 – October 14, 1950) was an American third baseman, catcher and manager in the pre- Negro league baseball era. Born in Michigan, Binga played most of his career in Chicago, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...

playing third base for the

Columbia Giants The Columbia Giants were a professional, black baseball team based in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, prior to the Negro leagues. Founding In 1899, a group known as the Columbia Club, organized the Columbia Giants under the direction ...

until Binga returned. Then, he worked the rest of the season as a utility player until the end of the 1902 season when the

moved to Big Rapids, Michigan. Harris stayed in Big Rapids during the winter months, coaching the football team at the Preparatory College. In 1903, he played

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Cuban Giants The Cuban Giants were the first fully salaried African-American professional baseball club. The team was originally formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel, a summer resort in Babylon, New York. Initially an independent barnstorming team, they played ...

of New York until he was injured in a game at Portland, Maine. For the rest of the season, Harris played outfield and pitched. In 1904, Harris formed a team using a familiar name, the Smoky City Giants. He signed players Bowman and Payne, who later found fame with the

Philadelphia Giants The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1911. 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 Whi ...

. In 1905, Harris joined the

Leland Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...

for one season. After that season, he played winter ball for

Sol White King Solomon "Sol" White (June 12, 1868 – August 26, 1955) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, he wrote the first definit ...

and his

where they wintered in Palm Beach, California. He returned to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and played regular season baseball for the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

in 1906. He returned to the

in 1907, where he would mostly remain until a court battle split the Leland Giants in 1910."Frank C. Leland Enjoined From Using the Name Leland Giants" Chicago Broad Ax, Chicago, IL, Page 2, Column 2
/ref> Harris went to the Chicago Giants and played there in 1910 and 1911. He also captained the team in 1910."Frank Lelands' Chicago Giants Base Ball Club" Fraternal Printing Company, 1910
/ref> Sportswriter and fellow player Jimmy Smith put Harris on his 1909 "All American Team.""The Base Ball Spirit In The East." Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, December 25, 1909, Page 7, Columns 1 and 2
/ref> The last known team where Harris played was the Paterson Smart Set in 1913. Harris received votes listing him on the 1952 ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

'' player-voted poll of the Negro Leagues' best players ever."1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll of Greatest Black Players"
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Nathan Philadelphia Giants players Cuban X-Giants players Leland Giants players Baseball players from Ohio 1880 births Year of death missing