Jackie Robinson Legacy

For nearly 50 years Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in the modern baseball era was largely not celebrated across Major League Baseball. There were some tributes to Robinson during that time, the most significant of which was the renaming of the National and American League Rookie of the Year Awards after him. However, just a few decades later an understanding of the impact Jackie Robinson had on the game amongst current players had lapsed. In fact by the mid-1990s if you asked MLB players about Jackie Robinson they knew little of the history about what led to African-Americans not being allowed to play in MLB and they knew even less about the Negro Leagues.

Recognizing that Jackie Robinson and his impact on the game should never be forgotten, Major League Baseball universally retired Robinson's number "42" during the April 15, 1997 game at Shea Stadium. Jackie Robinson's wife Rachel and his daughter Sharon were a part of the ceremony and since that day, Sharon has worked with MLB to help to educate youth about the impact of Jackie's life through the Breaking Barriers in Sports, in Life program.

While Robinson's number was retired in 1997, it wasn't until 2004 that Major League Baseball officially named April 15 Jackie Robinson Day and asked that each team celebrate his legacy and impact on the game. Three years later, all players were allowed to wear "42" on April 15 in his honor and in 2009 the tradition of all players, coaches and managers wearing "42" began.

The 1997 celebration of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier led many teams that had been home to a Negro League team to reconnect with the surviving members of that team. In Philadelphia, the Phillies were able to forge a relationship with the living members of the Philadelphia Stars. The relationship began with an on-field recognition of the players in 1997 and developed into a long lasting relationship that will continue despite the July 2015 passing of Mahlon Duckett, the last surviving Philadelphia Star. It is important to recognize the impact that the Stars, and all Negro League teams and players, had on the game of baseball. Without their desire to continue to play a game that the mainstream white leagues did not welcome African-Americans into, today's game of baseball would have been vastly different.

After 1997, a desire to honor and preserve the legacy of the Stars in Philadelphia baseball history began. At the corner of 44th and Parkside is the Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park that is the home to a Pennsylvania Historical marker, Memorial Statue and Philadelphia Stars Mural.

Pennsylvania Historical Marker

On April 25, 1998 a Pennsylvania Historical marker was placed at the corner of Belmont and Parkside Avenues to mark the history of the Negro League teams that had played at what was known as the 44th & Parkside Ballpark. Dating back to 1867, the location was home to the Philadelphia Pythians, Excelsiors and to the Philadelphia Stars who called the location home from 1936-1952. The marker reads:

AFRICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL IN PHILADELPHIA ~ For 85 years, starting with the Pythians & Excelsiors in 1867. Black ball clubs were a significant part of the Philadelphia scene. The Giants, formed 1902, were soon "World's Colored Champions". The Hilldales, Eastern Colored League champions. 1923-25. Won the Colored World Series. 1925. The Philadelphia Stars played. 1933-52: they were in the Negro National League. 1933-48, & many of their games took place at this site.

Developing 44th & Parkside as a Tribute

Despite the historical marker's placement few, including those living in the neighborhood, understood its significance. This was something that the West Philadelphia Business Association of West Parkside wanted to change. The idea was to make the location a memorial to the great men who had played ball so that all who lived in the community and those that travelled by would understand the significance of the location.

In order to bring the idea to life, the Business Association of West Parkside knew that they needed help. Understanding that the Phillies had become committed to sharing the story of the Philadelphia Stars, the Association reached out to and gained the support of the Phillies and by extension Major League Baseball. A black-tie dinner was held in September 2004 at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. The evening was attended by and celebrated the Philadelphia Stars as well as the men who played for Negro League teams across the country. With the funds raised that evening, combined with the financial contributions and the donation of labor hours toward construction, the Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park became a reality.

Negro League Statue

Standing at the site is a 7-foot memorial statue that was placed at the corner of Belmont Avenue and 44th Street on April 15, 2005 as part of the Jackie Robinson Day celebrations. The statue was sculpted by Philadelphian Phil Sumpter and features a Negro League player holding a baseball bat. While placed at Memorial Park in April 2005, the statue had been unveiled and dedicated to the Philadelphia Stars on June 18, 2003 at the Phillies then home Veterans Stadium.

Philadelphia Stars Mural

The Philadelphia Stars: A Tribute to Negro League Baseball mural is located on Belmont Avenue directly across from Memorial Park. The mural was brought to life by the Philadelphia Mural Arts program and Philadelphia artist David McShane.

The Philadelphia Stars mural is a collage of Stars players in the midst of baseball action. What makes the mural more special is that McShane spoke with the living Stars players to understand what it was like to play baseball at 44th and Parkside. This allowed him to capture not just the look but also the feel of what it was like for the men depicted to step onto the field. When the mural was dedicated on September 19, 2006, Stars players Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn and Harold Gould were there.

In 2015, the Phillies released a 73-minute documentary named They Said We Couldn't Play: An Oral History of the Philadelphia Stars. The documentary, written and produced by Phillies' Director Video Production Dan Stephenson, examines what it was like to be a player in the Negro Leagues. Compiled over 10 years, the documentary features conversations with the Philadelphia Stars, baseball historians and Phillies players. The stories shared by the Stars paint a picture of the struggle and sacrifice Negro League players had to endure in order to make their dream of playing professional baseball a reality. What comes through in the Stars sharing of their memories is not the struggle but the reward of playing and that, while they were kept out of white mainstream baseball, they did not harbor any ill will. Each celebrated the fact that baseball had been integrated and were proud to share their histories with the next generation of baseball fan.

The only shared regret was that the road they travelled and the sacrifices they made to play has not led to a large number of African-Americans playing or watching games today. The Phillies and Major League Baseball as a whole understand that the number of African-Americans involved in baseball has room to grow and this was and is an impetus for both Jr. RBI and RBI Leagues and the Urban Youth Academy movement.

In 1990, former Negro League players established The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. The Museum was originally a one-room office and did not provide the space to share the rich history of the Negro Leagues. In 1997, after a three-year stay in a 2,000 square foot space, the museum relocated to its permanent home in the 18th and Vine District of Kansas City. The Museum highlights the history of the Negro Leagues from the late 1890s through the 1960s. Displayed is equipment used by some of the most famous Negro League players.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was kind enough to allow the usage of many of the photos seen throughout America at Bat: The Color of Baseball.