Source: Amir Gray / R1
For The Culture Clothing Celebrates and Honors the Negro League Baseball Team, The Philadelphia Stars. By teaming up with Ebbets Field Flannels, For The Culture Clothing shares the importance of honoring the Black players that trail-blazed the way and made history. Make sure to get their exclusive details and commercial here
I got a chance to speak with them exclusively when it comes to the History of the Negro Leagues, the city of Philadelphia, and why it was necessary for this collaboration to happen.
Watch the full interview below!
” Philadelphia was a hub for Negro League Baseball and the Philadelphia Stars players themselves added to the rich history. In 2015, the Phillies released They Said We Couldn’t Play: An Oral History of the Philadelphia Stars that honors the Stars legacy in the city while giving those living during the time of filming the opportunity to share their story. Gene Benson, Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, Harold Gould and Wilmer Harris all contributed to the narrative. ” – MLB.com
Major League Baseball has been known as America’s sport and dominated during the end of the 19th Century into 20th. It provided entertainment, healthy competition, high anticipation, and built athletes that turned into superstars throughout the early 1920s to World World II. An entertaining league that did not provide equality for all.
With racism, prejudices, and the “Jim Crow” era, all of these factors prevented African American baseball players to enter the Major League. While many enjoyed the sport and played throughout their tenure in the military, college, and company teams, from the1880’s yet professionally there wasn’t a platform to elevate to due to the color of their skin. This did not stop these athletes from being successful, like most of Black American History, we take such matters into our own hands.
Source: Amir Gray / R1
Before Jackie Robinson’s debut as a Brooklyn Dodger, which broke the “color line” with an MLB team integrating with their first African American player, there is a rich history that isn’t told enough.
“There were attempts from the 1890s to the 1940s to break the color line at the major-league level, but none succeeded. By the 1890s, most Black professional players had to play on all-Black teams, barnstorming across the country.” — SABR.org
Rube Foster had double the amount of success. Known for being an exceptional player on the diamond yet a phenomenal manager, made him unstoppable, being crowned as the “Father of Black Baseball”.
“In 1920, Foster set the wheels in motion to create the Negro National League, an association of black teams modeled after Major League Baseball. Foster was named president and treasurer. The first successful league for African-American players, the NNL flourished throughout the decade. Players’ salaries rose to an unprecedented level, teams traveled on Pullman coaches and players received regular bonuses.” – baseballhall.org
Philadelphia played a major part is in the success of the NNL. With the Origins of the Philadelphia Pythians, which opened the door for the success of the Philadelphia Stars.
Source: Amir Gray / R1
For The Culture Clothing takes us on a journey and pays homage to the legacy of the Philadelphia Stars.
