The Philadelphia Stars were a Negro league baseball team from

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 ...

. The Stars were founded in 1933 when

Ed Bolden Edward Bolden (January 17, 1881 in Concordville, Pennsylvania – September 27, 1950 in Darby, Pennsylvania) was an American baseball executive and owner in the Negro leagues. Early career Bolden's first occupation in baseball was as a voluntee ...

returned to professional black baseball after being idle since early 1930. The Stars were an independent ball club in 1933, a member of the Negro National League from 1934 until the League's collapse following the 1948 season, and affiliated with the Negro American League from 1949 to 1952. In 1934, led by 20-year-old left-hander

Slim Jones Stuart "Slim" Jones (May 6, 1913 – November 19, 1938) was an American professional baseball pitcher from Baltimore, Maryland. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox and the Philadelphia Stars of the East-West League and Negro National League ...

, the Stars defeated the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

in a controversial playoff series, four games to three, for the Negro National League pennant. At their high point in mid-1930s, the team starred such greats as

Biz Mackey James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), P ...

Jud Wilson Ernest Judson Wilson (February 28, 1894 – June 24, 1963), nicknamed "Boojum", was an American third baseman, first baseman, and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox, the Homestead Grays, and the Philadelphia ...

, and Dick Lundy. Following his release by

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

signed with the Stars in July 1950, before returning to the Majors with Bill Veeck and the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. The club disbanded after the 1952 season.

History

The Stars were founded and organized by Ed Bolden. Bolden had owned the

Hilldale Club The Hilldale Athletic Club (informally known as Darby Daisies) were an American professional Negro league baseball, Negro league baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. Established as a boys team in 1910, the Hilldales we ...

that won 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 ...

pennant in 1923, 1924, and 1925, and which beat the

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 19 ...

in the

Negro League World Series The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...

in 1925. Bolden was also a founder of the ECL. Bolden was instrumental in building the Stars' 1934 championship club and ran the team until his death in 1950. After Bolden's death, his ownership passed to his daughter, Hilda Bolden Shorter. Shorter ran the club through 1952. The team was financed, and owned in part by sports promoter

Eddie Gottlieb Edward Gottlieb (born Isadore Gottlieb; September 15, 1898 – December 7, 1979) was a Jewish-Ukrainian professional basketball coach and executive. Nicknamed "Mr. Basketball" and "The Mogul", he was the first coach and manager of the Philadelph ...

who also owned the

Philadelphia Sphas The Philadelphia Sphas, also stylized SPHAs or SPHAS, were an American basketball franchise that existed in professional, semi-professional, and exhibition forms. They played their home games in the ballroom of Philadelphia's Broadwood Hotel. The ...

and Philadelphia Warriors basketball teams. Gottlieb leased

Penmar Park The P.R.R. YMCA Athletic Field, also known as Penmar Park and commonly referred to in the 1930s and 1940s as the 44th and Parkside ballpark, was an athletic field and ballpark in West Philadelphia from as early as the 1890s to the early 1950s. I ...

from the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

for use by the Stars. In addition to the Stars, Gottlieb was the booking agent for all the Negro league teams in the Northeast, taking 10-percent of gate receipts for his work.

1933: Independent

Ed Bolden organized the Philadelphia Stars who played their first season in 1933. The Negro National League was composed primarily of mid-western teams in 1933 and many east-coast clubs were independent. The Stars were originally one such unaffiliated club and primarily played against local white semi-professional and professional teams. For example, by June 1933, the Stars' only games against black teams had been against the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants and the

Pittsburgh Crawfords The Pittsburgh Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team, previously known as the Crawford Colored Giants, was named after the Crawford Bath House, a recre ...

1934–1948: Negro National League

The Negro National League used a split-season playoff system in 1934 with the season's first-half winner playing the second-half winner for the championship. The

won the first-half. The Stars won the second-half with a record of 11-4. The Stars won the 1934 Negro National League Championship by beating the

4-3-1 in a best of seven game series. The championship series, however, was beset by problems. The first four games of the best-of-seven series were played in Chicago. The games went smoothly and Chicago won three of four. But game 5 was delayed by 10 days for unexplained reasons. When the Series resumed in Philadelphia, the Stars won game 6 to tie the series but did so amidst controversy. Early in game 6, Stars’ third-baseman Jud Wilson seemed to hit umpire Bert Gholston which should have meant immediate ejection. Over the protest of Chicago manager Dave Malarcher, Gholston refused to eject Wilson. Later in the game, Stars catcher Ameal Brooks pushed another of the umpires who also refused to eject the Stars player. Prior to game 7, Malarcher filed a protest with NNL Commissioner Rollo Wilson over Jud Wilson's actions. The Commissioner met with the team owners and umpires. Gholston claimed he had wanted to eject Wilson but was threatened by Stars players and intimidated into allowing Wilson to play. Stars owner Bolden threatened not to play game 7 if Jud Wilson was suspended and the Commissioner buckled under the pressure. The teams played game 7 on October 1 at Passon Field. The game ended in a 4-4 tie due to darkness. Game 8 was played the following day and Slim Jones pitched the Stars to a 2-0 victory and the championship. Both the Stars and Giants filed protests over games 7 and 8. Giants player

Turkey Stearnes Norman Thomas "Turkey" Stearnes (May 8, 1901 – September 4, 1979) was an American baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Stearnes acquired his nickna ...

hit an umpire and controversy hung over the series. The Stars claimed the Giants had used ineligible players. The Giants protested that two games should not have been played at night. Nevertheless, the Stars championship was upheld by the league. The Stars finished in fourth place in 1945 and 1946, fifth in 1947, and finished in fourth place again in 1948 with a 27–29 record.

1949–1952:
Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''Ann ...

After integration and the collapse of the Negro National League, the Stars popularity and impact declined dramatically before folding at the end of 1952 season.

Home ballparks

The team played at Passon Field during the 1934 and 1935 seasons. Passon Field was located at the current site of

West Philadelphia High School West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the intersection of 49th Street and Chestnut Street. History The original West Philadelphia High School (WPHS) building ...

's athletic field (baseball and football) now called Pollock Field and was the former home of the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants. In 1936, the Stars moved to

44th and Parkside Ballpark The P.R.R. YMCA Athletic Field, also known as Penmar Park and commonly referred to in the 1930s and 1940s as the 44th and Parkside ballpark, was an athletic field and ballpark in Parkside, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, West Philadelphia from as ea ...

where they played the majority of their home games through 1947 when they lost their lease. The Stars often played on Monday nights at

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

which had a higher seating capacity and which was located in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

. 24,165 fans saw the Stars defeat

and the

on June 21, 1943. After 1947, the Stars played home games at area ballparks including

Wilmington Park Wilmington Park was a ballpark in Wilmington, Delaware that was located at the corner of 30th Street and Governor Printz Boulevard. It was home to the University of Delaware football team from 1940 to 1952 and the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Cl ...

in Delaware, home of the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

minor-league team.

Logos and Uniforms

The Stars did not have an official team logo as professional and collegiate teams have today. It was not common practice for teams to have such standardized team symbols in the 1930s and 1940s. The Stars wore uniforms with red and navy blue decoration. The cap most commonly associated today with the Stars is their 1938 cap, seen above, which has a navy crown, red brim, and white star with a red sans-serif P. For most of their history, they wore a white cap with a red brim, and red sans-serif P as seen to the left. Another style cap worn by the Stars was an all navy cap with a red P. The

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the historic 18th & Vine District, the hub of Afri ...

(NLBM) created a series of team logos in the 1990s for the well-known Negro league teams so that the NLBM could license such logos and collect royalties for their use on merchandise. Such revenue helps sustain the museum. The Stars were one such team for which a contemporary logo was created. It is seen on NLBM-licensed Stars merchandise and while it supports the educational efforts of the Museum, it is not a historical logo.

Notable players

All-Star Team Selections

The Negro League Baseball All-Star Game was called the East-West Game. Players were not divided by league, but by geographical location; Stars players played for the East. Players were voted to the teams by the fans with votes tallied by the

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

and the

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 ...

newspapers. These Philadelphia Stars appeared in the All-Star game for the East team.
''Only players from the

and

Washington Elite Giants Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

played for the East in the 1936 game.
Two games were played in 1939, 1942, and 1946–1948.'' *1933 –

Rap Dixon Herbert Allen "Rap" Dixon (September 15, 1902 – July 20, 1944) was an American outfielder in Negro league baseball for a number of teams. He was born in Kingston, Georgia. Although Dixon began playing in the league in 1922, he joined the semi- ...

(RF), Dick Lundy (SS),

(C),

(3B) *1934 –

(P), Jud Wilson (3B) *1935 – Slim Jones (P), Biz Mackey (C),

Webster McDonald Webster "Mac" McDonald (January 1, 1900 – June 12, 1982) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played from 1920 to 1940 with several teams. In the 1928 to 1930 seasons, McDonald was scouted by and went to play for a white tea ...

(MGR),

Dick Seay Richard William Seay (November 30, 1904 – April 6, 1981) was an American Negro league baseball player who played from 1925 to 1947 for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Newark Stars, Baltimore Black Sox, Philadelphia Stars, Newark Eagles, Pittsburgh ...

(2B),

Jake Stephens Paul Eugene "Country Jake" Stephens (February 10, 1900 – February 5, 1981) was an American baseball player known for his slight stature, speed, and defense at the shortstop position. He played in the Negro leagues for 4 teams (–). Early ...

(SS), Jud Wilson (3B) *1936 – ''no Stars on team'' *1937 –

Jake Dunn Joseph P. Dunn, Jr. (November 5, 1909 – July 24, 1984) was an American baseball shortstop and outfielder in the Negro leagues. He played from 1930 to 1940, mostly with the Philadelphia Stars. He served in the United States military during World ...

(2B) *1938 – Jake Dunn (PH) *1939 – Red Parnell (LF), Andy Patterson (3B) *1940 – Gene Benson (CF),

Henry McHenry Henry Malcolm McHenry (born May 19, 1944) is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, specializing in studies of human evolution, the origins of bipedality, and paleoanthropology. McHenry has published on the comparativ ...

(P) *1941 – Henry McHenry (P) *1942 – Barney Brown (P), Andy Patterson (3B), Jim West (1B) *1943 – ''no Stars on team'' *1944 – Barney Brown (''did not appear in game''),

Marvin Williams Marvin Gaye Williams Jr. (born June 19, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one season of college basketball for North Carolina before being drafted second overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2005 NBA draft. H ...

(P) *1945 – Frank Austin (SS), Gene Benson (LF), Bill Ricks (P) *1946 – Frank Austin (PH), Gene Benson (RF), Barney Brown (P), Murray Watkins (PH) *1947 – Frank Austin (SS),

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

(P) *1948 – Frank Austin (SS),

Bill Cash Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 10 May 1940) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1984. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected for Stafford and then for Stone in Staffordshire in 1997. ...

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 ...

(MGR), Buster Clarkson (RF), Bob Griffith (P) *1950 –

Jonas Gaines Jonas Donald Gaines (January 9, 1914 – August 6, 1998), nicknamed "Lefty", was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played professionally from 1937 to 1953 with several teams. A native of New Roads, Louisiana, Gaines served i ...

(P), Ben Littles (RF), Charles White (3B) *1951 –

Wilmer Harris Wilmer Joseph Harris (March 1, 1924 – December 23, 2004) was an American pitcher who played in Negro league baseball. Listed at 6' 0", 175 lb., he batted and threw right handed. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Wilmer Harris started playin ...

(P), Ben Littles (PH),

Milt Smith Milton Smith (March 27, 1929 – April 11, 1997) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 36 Major League Baseball games for the 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs. Primarily a third baseman, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall ...

(3B) *1952 – Wilmer Harris (P), Jimmy Jones (RF), Ted Washington (SS), Don Whittingdon (3B)

Negro National League Rookie of the Year

* 1940

Mahlon Duckett Mahlon Newton "Mal" Duckett (December 20, 1922July 12, 2015) was an American Negro league baseball infielder. He played from 1940 to 1950, with the Philadelphia Stars and the Homestead Grays. Duckett was primarily a second baseman, with occas ...

Hall of Famers

No player has been enshrined in the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

with a Stars cap and the following inductees were with the Philadelphia Stars in their career. Stars co-owner Eddie Gottlieb was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972 for his pioneering work as a team owner, promoter, and league official.

Contemporary legacy

African American Baseball in Philadelphia (1998)

*On June 28, 1997, the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

played the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking professional baseball's color-line, the Braves wore 1938

Atlanta Black Crackers The Atlanta Black Crackers (originally known as the Atlanta Cubs and later briefly the Indianapolis ABCs) were a professional Negro league baseball team which played during the early to mid-20th century. They were primarily a minor Negro league ...

home uniforms and the Phillies wore 1938 Stars road uniforms. On May 14, 2011, the Phillies again wore Stars uniforms against the Braves in Atlanta. *In 1998, Philadelphia's West Parkside community, established a historical marker at the southwest corner of Belmont and Parkside Avenues, site of the former Y.M.C.A. Athletic Field, which became home to the Philadelphia Stars and known as the

. The historical marker recognizes the history of African-American baseball there and in greater Philadelphia. *Prior to its 2008 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball held a ceremonial draft of surviving players from the Negro leagues to honor those players excluded from organized professional baseball. Every team in Major League Baseball selected a player whose career encompassed the Negro leagues. Former Stars players who participated in the draft were Walter Lee Gibbons, a pitcher who pitched briefly for the Stars in 1941 and was selected by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, pitcher

Harold Gould Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...

selected by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, and infielder Mahlon Duckett who was selected by the Phillies. *The

African American Museum in Philadelphia The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is notable as the first museum funded and built by a municipality to help preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of African Americans. Opened during the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations, th ...

maintains the "William Cash/Lloyd Thompson Collection" of Stars and

scorebooks, photographs, and correspondence.

References

External links

Seamheads.com Negro League Database: Philadelphia Stars
{{Authority control Negro league baseball teams S Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania African-American history in Philadelphia Baseball teams disestablished in 1952 Baseball teams established in 1933