Phil Dixon S American Baseball Chronicles Great Teams The 1905 Philadelphia Giants Volume Iii

Philadelphia's 1905 African-American Giants were the first team of the last century to score 1,000 runs. Organized in 1902 by Harry A. Smith and H. Walter Schlichter, the Giants were managed by veteran player/manager Solomon 'Sol' White. In 1904 the Giants defeated the Cuban X Giants to claim their first Worlds Championship, a title that they held for many years. The White led 1905 Philadelphia Giants featured among others; outfielder Pete Hill, third baseman Bill Monroe, first baseman Mike Moore, second baseman Charlie Grant and pitchers Emmett Bowman and Dan McClellan. White, Hill and Foster are currently enshrined in Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame. Paced by Grant “Home Run” Johnson, the most powerful home run hitter in baseball, along with Andrew “Rube” Foster, one of baseball’s best pitcher, White’s 1905 Philadelphia Giants finished the season with a magnificent 134-23-2 record. This is their story, uniquely told here for the first time, in a day-to-day account of every exciting hit and every legendary strike out. In honor of the 1905 Philadelphia Giants' contribution to our American pastime, Dixon's American Baseball chronicles has compiled statistics and game notes from the entire championship season. Included within the book are written accounts for every game from the Philadelphia Giants’ entire 1905 schedule of nearly 158 contest, with scores, attendance figures and other seldom revealed information. The work includes additional information on more than 300 additional games played by the Cuban X Giants, Chicago Leland Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants and other African-American teams in operation during that same 1905 season. The comparative scores and related histories are a resourceful and entertaining aid for further analysis, and assessment, on the participation of African-American athletes in baseball as best represented by one legendary team in a single championship season.

Philadelphia's African-American Giants were organized in 1902 by Harry A. Smith and H. Walter Schlichter. Smith, a former baseball player and writer for the Philadelphia Tribune, had conceived the idea of organizing a team and approached Schlichter, the sports editor of the Philadelphia Evening Item, for financial backing. Veteran player/manager Solomon 'Sol' White was hired as captain of the newly organized Giants and immediately placed in charge of player recruitment. By continually fazing out the old ballplayers and introducing new ones, Smith, Schlichter and White built the Philadelphia Giants into one of the strongest baseball teams in the country. Their record of games won was unparalleled. In 1904 this same Philadelphia Giants team defeated the Cuban X Giants to claim their first Worlds Championship, a title that they held for many years. As an independent organization, one that was totally seperated from National and American League connections, the Philadelphia Giants operated with the utmost of integrity and sportsmanship from 1902-1910. In honor of the 1905 Philadelphia Giants' contribution to our American pastime, Dixon's American Baseball chronicles has compiled statistics and game notes from the entire championship season of 1905. This series, the first of its kind, is a unique offering of an in-depth series of publications about the greatest baseball teams in African-American sports history. What makes this work unique is it's easy to read format and depth of information. Included within the book are written accounts for every game from the Philadelphia Giants' entire 1905 schedule of nearly 158 contest, with scores, attendance figures and other seldom revealed information. The work includes aditional information on more than 300 additional games played by the Cuban X Giants, Chicago Leland Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants and other African-American teams in operation during that same 1905 season, as well as additional historic information as it related to the National and American baseball Leagues. The comparative scores and their related histories are a resourceful and entertaining aid for further analysis and assessment on the participation of African-American athletes in baseball as best represented from the perspective of a single Championship season.

A Galaxy of Stars best describes Andrew “Rube” Foster’s 1910 Chicago Leland Giants. In their only season together, this combination of players played their way into the heart and soul of a nation divided. They are proof positive that the National and American Leagues did not corner the market on athletic talent. Foster's unit began the season with a thirty-two and one record and ended with thirty-one consecutive victories. They scored nearly 1,000 runs and finished the season with a 124-7-1 record. Their win total is elevated to 138-11-2 when Cuban Winter League games are added. They played 64 games in the Chicago portion of their schedule. These games are equivalent to a home schedule for National and American League teams. Foster's Giants finished with a landmark 57-6-1 record for games played in Chicago. That Foster, John Henry Lloyd, and John "Pete" Hill, three members of the 1910 Leland Giants, are enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is worthy of closer observation. And yet, Bruce Petway, Frank Wickware, and Grant "Home Run" Johnson should be there, too. Thus, Phil Dixon's American Baseball Chronicles, Volume II, Great Teams, enters the illustrious conversation. The Leland Giants story is uniquely told here in a day-to-day account of every exciting win and every memorable thrill. The comparative scores and related histories are a resourceful and entertaining aid for further analysis of the participation of African-American athletes in baseball as best represented by one legendary team in a single championship season.

Outsider Baseball is the story of a forgotten world, where independent professional ball clubs zig-zagged across America, plying their trade in big cities and small villages alike. Included among the former and future major leaguers were mercenaries, scalawags, and outcasts. This is where Babe Ruth, Rube Waddell, and John McGraw crossed bats with the Cuban Stars, Tokyo Giants, Brooklyn Bushwicks, dozens of famous Negro league teams, and novelty acts such as the House of David and Bloomer Girls. Legends emerged in this alternate baseball universe and author Scott Simkus sets out to share their stories and use a critical lens to separate fact from fiction. Written in a gritty prose style, Outsider Baseball combines meticulous research with modern analytics, opening the door to an unforgettable funhouse of baseball history. Scott Simkus is the founder and editor of the Outsider Baseball Bulletin. He is the winner of a research award from the Society of American Baseball Research for his work on the Negro League Database.

This book follows Dizzy and Daffy Dean’s All-Stars as they barnstormed across the country in 1934, taking the field against the greatest teams in the Negro Leagues. It shows the glory of the games as well as the disingenuous journalistic tactics that proliferated during the tour with an introspective look at its impact on race relations.

Since 1971, 35 Negro League baseball players and executives have been admitted to the Hall of Fame. The Negro League Hall of Fame admissions process, which has now been conducted in four phases over a 50-year period, can be characterized as idiosyncratic at best. Drawing on baseball analytics and surveys of both Negro League historians and veterans, this book presents an historical overview of NLHOF voting, with an evaluation of whether the 35 NL players selected were the best choices. Using modern metrics such as Wins Above Replacement (WAR), 24 additional Negro Leaguers are identified who have Hall of Fame qualifications. Brief biographies are included for HOF-quality players and executives who have been passed over, along with reasons why they may have been excluded. A proposal is set forth for a consistent and orderly HOF voting process for the Negro Leagues.

From the best-selling author of the Negro Baseball Leagues: A Photographic History, 1867-1955 comes the definitive biography on the career of an outstanding baseball pitcher, manager, and President of the Negro National League. Andrew "Rube" Foster is in a class all to himself as an architect of race relations and social progress in American baseball. His most lasting legacy was the founding of the Negro National League in 1920, which provided opportunities for an entire generation of African-American athletes. Although there were few opportunities when he was in his youth, Foster, the son of a former slave, sought success on baseball fields throughout the South with the Waco Yellow Jackets. Leaving Texas in 1902, he arrived in Chicago where two African-American men, Frank C. Leland and William S. Peters, had already achieved some of what Foster had dreamed of doing himself. They were operating their own teams, hiring talented players and turning a profit on their labor. Labeled as aloof and ineffective as a pitcher, Foster left Chicago after only one season with the Chicago Union Giants. Yet believing in himself, Foster traveled East to where Grant "Home Run" Johnson was training his Cuban X Giants team, and sought employment. In his only season with the Cuban X Giants Foster's pitching led them to the World's Championship. Foster was lured to the Philadelphia Giants in 1904, a team under the leadership of Sol White, and Foster promptly pitched them to their first World's Championship. Philadelphia's Championship run was repeated in 1905 and 1906. Having matured as a player under Johnson's and White's guidance, Foster sought to manage a team of his own in 1907. Although revered as a stern taskmaster, Foster had great charisma with players and fans. In 1907 he returned to Chicago, this time as manager of Leland's team, the Chicago Leland Giants. Arriving with Foster were players from the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Philadelphia's Giants, and the Cuban X Giants. As a result, he fired all of Leland's former players and replaced them with men that had played in the East. Foster's new team dominated baseball's freedom fields as no African-American team had before them. In 1909, the Foster-led Leland Giants captured the City League pennant and then battled the National League's Chicago Cubs for City Championship honors. The next year, in 1910, Foster fielded his best team ever. His team finished with just six games lost. Having won many victories, Chicago's Leland Giants symbolized economic equality, inspired social change, and provoked African-American pride. Crowds filled the parks when and wherever Foster and his team appeared. Charles Comiskey and members of the Chicago White Sox, the World's Champion Chicago Cubs, John McGraw and Connie Mack sought to see the legendary Andrew "Rube" Foster in action. Based on twenty years of research, Andrew "Rube" Foster: A Harvest on Freedom's Fields is an inspiring story of an enduring figure and the many individuals who inspired his success on baseball fields all over America.