I had seen the mural before as I drove down Parkside Avenue in Philadelphia, where one block held the once-stately old mansions of some of the city’s elite and middle class. I was driving down the street again recently when this bigger-than-life mural thrust itself into my path, bursting with colors and movement on a wall so long that it seemed to reach a block.
It stopped me like a car hitting its brakes. I didn’t press mine, of course, but I did park my car because I was not about to breeze past it this time. The mural at 44th and Parkside was created to celebrate Philadelphia’s premier black baseball team of the 20th century, the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League.
A historical marker on the site touted the history of Negro baseball in the city, and across the street, a memorial park held a bronze statue of a ball player, along with inscriptions in marble of Philadelphia players and other teams.
Philadelphia is a city of murals. Ride down practically any street, turn any corner, and you’ll see beautiful murals created by folks at the Mural Arts Program. This one was painted in 2005 by David McShane, with contributions from a host of other people and organizations, including former Stars ball players and students.
The mural brought the players and the game to life with its important plays: pitching, catching, sliding into home plate, waiting for a hit as a crowd looked on.
On the base of the sculpture in the Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park were the names of some of the Stars: Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett (the last member who died last year), Stanley Glenn, Harold Gould and Wilmer Harris.
The memorials sit on the site where the Stars played their games (except on Monday nights when the played at Shibe Park in North Philadelphia) from 1936 to 1947, an area called 44th and Parkside Ballpark. The ballpark was originally built by Pennsylvania Railroad for its own YMCA team. Nearby was the roundhouse where railroad trains were serviced.
The ballpark was also the site of several Negro Leagues World Series Games in the 1930s and 1940s.
Ed Bolden, a postal worker, formed the team in 1933 with the backing of a white booking agent, and his team joined the Negro National League a year later. The Stars won the 1934 championship led by pitcher Slim Jones in a win that was contested. The Stars retained their title. Bolden had fielded another team in the 1920s, the Hilldale Club, which was considered one of the best.
The Stars played their last game in 1952 as the league was waning, and Major League Baseball was reluctantly opening its arms to black players.
Baseball greats Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell played here: Paige as a team member, and Gibson and Bell as opponents. Paige joined the team twice for short periods, first in 1946 before he became one of the oldest players to sign with the Cleveland Indians. When that team was sold and he was released, Paige joined the Stars again in 1950 until called by the St. Louis Browns.
Paige’s name is associated with one of the best stories involving 44th and Parkside. In 1947 after he was back with the Kansas City Monarchs, he showed his pitching prowess. He had pitched a no-hitter in eight innings against the Stars, and was so sure of his abilities that he told the players in the field to sit down. He struck out the next three hitters for a perfect game.
Here’s are other photos of the city’s salute to the players:
