The Philadelphia Stars were a

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 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 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" Fo ...

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), ...

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 Philadelph ...

, 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 ...

, Satchel Paige signed with the Stars in July 1950, before returning to the Majors with

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis ...

and the St. Louis Browns. 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 team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. Established as a boys team in 1910, the Hilldales were developed by their e ...

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 1 ...

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 wa ...

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 who also owned the Philadelphia Sphas and

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

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 Parkside, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, West Philadelphia from as ea ...

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.

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 Burnett Edward Gholston (July 28, 1888 – November 19, 1954) was an American baseball umpire in the Negro leagues. He umpired for 20 years, from 1923 to 1943, in both the first and second Negro National League, and the East-West League East ...

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 Ameal Brooks (June 3, 1904 - November, 1971) was an American baseball catcher in the Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans ...

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 nick ...

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

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 West Philadelphia from as early as the 1890s to the early 1950s. ...

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 Satchel Paige 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 ...

in Delaware, home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks 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 (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 In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the mo ...

newspapers. These Philadelphia Stars appeared in the All-Star game for the East team.
''Only players from the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Washington Elite Giants 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 (MGR), Dick Seay (2B), Jake Stephens (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 ...

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

Gene Benson Eugene Benson (October 2, 1913 – April 6, 1999) was an American center fielder in baseball's Negro leagues. He played for the Philadelphia Stars in 1937, moved to the Homestead Grays in 1938, and returned to the Stars from 1939 to 1948. He ...

(CF), Henry McHenry (P) *1941 – Henry McHenry (P) *1942 –

Barney Brown Barney Brown (October 23, 1907 – October 1, 1985) was an American Negro league baseball pitcher and outfielder who played from 1931 to 1949. Among the teams he played for were the Cuban House of David, Cuban House of David/Pollock's Cuban Stars, ...

(P), Andy Patterson (3B), Jim West (1B) *1943 – ''no Stars on team'' *1944 – Barney Brown (''did not appear in game''), Marvin Williams (P) *1945 – Frank Austin (SS), Gene Benson (LF),

Bill Ricks John William "Schoolboy" Ricks (September 1, 1919 – July 15, 1987) was an American baseball shortstop and pitcher in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues. He played from 1944 to 1950 with the Philadelphia Stars (baseball), Philadelphia Stars ...

(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 ...

Buster Clarkson James Buster Clarkson (March 13, 1915 – January 18, 1989) was an American baseball player who played briefly in Major League Baseball and had a long career in the Negro leagues, the minor leagues, and the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball Leagu ...

(RF),

Bob Griffith Robert Lee Griffith (October 1, 1912 – November 8, 1977) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues who played for several teams between 1934 and 1951. A native of Liberty, Tennessee, Griffith served in the US Army during World War I ...

(P) *1950 – Jonas Gaines (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 playi ...

(P), Ben Littles (PH), Milt Smith (3B) *1952 – Wilmer Harris (P), Jimmy Jones (RF), Ted Washington (SS), Don Whittingdon (3B)

Negro National League Rookie of the Year

* 1940 Mahlon Duckett

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 ...

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 The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

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) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

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) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

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 ...

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 498,71 ...

. In honor of the 50th anniversary of

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...

breaking professional baseball's color-line, the Braves wore 1938 Atlanta Black Crackers 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) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

, 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 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