The Philadelphia Pythians (also Pythian Base Ball Club, Pythian Baseball Club, or the "Pyths") was one of the earliest

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 ...

clubs, founded in 1865.

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

leaders

Jacob C. White Jr. Jacob "Jake" C. White Jr. (1837 – November 11, 1902) was an American educator, intellectual, and civil rights activist. Born to a successful and influential businessman, White received the finest education afforded to African-Americans of the ...

and Octavius V. Catto established the team. The Pythians were composed of primarily business and middle class professionals from the surrounding areas of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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

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. Just two years after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

ended, in 1867, the Pennsylvania State Convention of Baseball, located in Harrisburg, denied the "Pythian Base Ball Club" out of Philadelphia. The team dissolved after Catto's death in 1871 and a new team formed under the Pythian name in the

National Colored Base Ball League The National Colored Base Ball League, the National Colored League, or the League of Colored Baseball Clubs was the subsequent attempt, after the Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, to have a league consisting of all-black teams. It predated ...

in 1887. The new team's first season went 4–1. However, due to financial troubles, the team folded after only one season.

Founders

Octavius V. Catto and Jacob C. White, two graduates from the

Institute for Colored Youth The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first high school for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans preceding it ...

, believed baseball was another way in which African Americans could assert their skills and independence, and prove their right to full citizenship and equality. Incidentally the two had originally played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

at the institute, but switched to baseball for an unknown reason. They had been childhood friends and they emerged as prominent figures in Philadelphia's African American community. Catto injected himself into local politics with the hope of aiding black civil liberties and led efforts to gain equality and equal access to public programs. This continued until Catto's murder at the hands of Frank Kelly in 1871. Prior to the American Civil War, professional baseball has been denied to African Americans. Black leaders considered baseball a route to American

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. The different types of cultural assi ...

, and following the

, Negro baseball grew exponentially. Octavius Catto pioneered the racial shift in baseball. Many of the players were also Institute for Colored Youth graduates. These men belonged to the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

fraternal organization A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity i ...

, which helped pay for baseball supplies. A third, lesser-known founding member was

William Still William Still (October 7, 1821 – July 14, 1902) was an African-American abolitionist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, businessman, writer, historian and civil rights activist. Before the Ameri ...

. Still was a local coal dealer and civil rights activist; this played into the Pythians' idea of using the baseball to achieve equality.

History

The team was originally known as the Independent Ball Club, a team of the Institute for Colored Youth. Due to the number members who belonged to the Knights of Pythias, the team was renamed the Pythians. The first full season took place in 1867 under Catto's leadership. Their first game was played at Diamond Cottage Park in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, because the team could not gain access to the Parade Grounds at 11th and Wharton in Philadelphia. The team played their home games at

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...

, but used Liberty Hall of the Institute for Colored Youth as their club house. This is where the team met to socialize and plan game strategies. The Pythians believed that credibility and acceptance could be promoted by competing against "our white brethren" on a baseball diamond.Jerrold Casway (2007)
Octavius Catto and the Pythians of Philadelphia
''Pennsylvania Legacies'' 7.1. pp. 5-9. In September 1869, the Pythians played against the all white Olympics; likely the first recorded instance of an interracial baseball game. Although the Pythians lost 44–23, the September 4th edition of the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' covered the game inning for inning, noting the skill of the Pythians as well as the large size of the crowd. A few days later the Pythians played and beat the all-white Philadelphia City Items; a historic victory that Catto hoped would prove the capability of African Americans. These game were successful in drawing large crowds and praise from news outlets for the Pythians' respectable play. In the years following the number of games per season was greatly reduced. This was in part due to raising racial tensions. The passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 led to the assassination of Catto during the election of 1871. The team was unable to continue its efforts without its charismatic leader and folded shortly after.

Players and schedule (1868)

The 1868 season was the most notable for the Pythians. Records of the team's undefeated season show the player roster and the schedule. The team had three separate lineups, also known as a "nine". A handwritten copy of the 1868 roster reveals the players for each lineup. The schedule also shows their non-league games and scores. First Nine: Jefferson Cavens (First Basemen), John Cannon (Pitcher), Frank J.R. Jones (Third Basemen), John Graham (Outfielder/Catcher), James Sparrow (Shortstop), Spencer Hanly (Outfielder/Catcher), Joshua Adkins (Third Basemen), Octavius V. Catto (Second Baseman/Shortstop/Captain) Second Nine: Raymond J. Burr, Andrew J. Jones, Frederick Walker, Richard E.F., David Knight, Edwin C. Vidal, Charles M. Thomas, James Ash, Henry Price, James Jenkins Third Nine John H. Davis, Joseph J. Minton, William T. Jones, Jacob C. White, Jr., Harry Francis, Edward M. Bassett, William H. Minton, Henry Boyer, Thomas Jones, Jacob R. Ballard, Thaddeus Manning 1868 Schedule ''Note: The team names are as they appear on the handwritten schedule. Furthermore, baseball games at this time could also end in a tie.''

Formalization of the color line

The Pythians were refused membership in the

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball. (The sport was spelled with two words in the 19th century.) The first convention of sixteen New York City area clubs in 1857 effecti ...

based on their race. Although the Pythians were nominated for membership by the vice-president of the Athletics ball club, E. Hicks Hayhurst, the NABBP banned "the admission of any club which may be composed of one or more colored persons." The association feared divisions among players if colored clubs were admitted. The ultimate reason the NABBP rejected Pythians has been debated by historians. Most scholars attribute it as racism on the part of the NABBP. Others have cited at this is an oversimplification and that the reason could have been a fear of controversy for admitting a negro team or for financial reasons. Ultimately, this set the precedent for segregated Major Leagues and independent leagues which continued into the twentieth century. Therefore, the club was the first to attempt to integrate African American males into a segregated baseball league. By 1871, the NABBP dissolved and the team was no longer restricted by its rules. Ultimately the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

made the decision to sanction racial segregation in United States including baseball, through its 1896 ''

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...

'' decision.

References

External links

Tasting Freedom: The Life of Octavius V. Catto
{{Negro League teams, Independent Negro league baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1865 Defunct sports teams in Philadelphia Defunct sports teams in Pennsylvania Sports in Philadelphia 1865 establishments in Pennsylvania 1871 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Baseball teams disestablished in 1871 Professional baseball teams in Pennsylvania Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Knights of Pythias