One of our longtime (now infrequent) posters, swishnicholson, asked me to post this for him:
Here is an update on Matt Albertson's quest to place an historical marker at the site of the Jefferson Street Grounds of 19th Century Philly baseball lore. He's created a GoFundMe account to raise money for the marker. Contribute if you wish:
GOFUNDME: https://www.gofundme.com/JeffStGrounds
Historical information is provided below as well as the link for the GoFundMe page.
The Jefferson Street ballparks served as the site of major baseball activity in Philadelphia between 1866 and the late 1890s. The Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia erected a clubhouse on the grounds in the 1860s. These games were amateur in nature, but the site served as one of the first known locations where baseball games were played in Philadelphia. Historian Jerry Casway has suggested that the grounds were enclosed in 1865, making the Jefferson Street ballpark the first enclosed baseball park in history.
On September 3, 1869, the grounds served as the site of the first recorded interracial baseball game in history, played between the all-white Olympics and the all-black Pythian Base Ball Club, captained by civil rights activist Octavius Catto.
The grounds served as the home grounds for the Athletic Base Ball Club between 1871 and 1875 while they played in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP). Athletic won the NAPBBP championship in 1871.
Later, the first National League game - and defacto first major league baseball game in history - was played on the grounds on April 22, 1876 in a contest between the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Caps.
Finally, the Philadelphia Athletics of the major league American Association played their home games on the second incarnation of the Jefferson Street Grounds, then renamed Athletic Park, between 1883 and 1890. The Athletics won the American Association championship in 1883.
The Jefferson Street Grounds were the site where these monumental events occurred. But many, many more events, some recorded, some lost to the sands of time also occurred. The grounds were an integral part to Philadelphia and American society during the 19th century. The site transcended class, race, and gender in the years following the Civil War. The grounds served witness to baseball's evolving nature from an amateur game to a professional one.
The Athletic Recreation Center in Philadelphia currently sits on land where the second park stood, and a baseball diamond sits where that park's diamond sat. It is the only location in Philadelphia where a baseball diamond, not buildings, exist on land where a 19th century baseball park once stood
A historical marker dedicated to the grounds and these events will 1) establish a local point of pride, 2) mark a central location where America's pastime evolved from amateurism to professionalism and 3) establish a physical location for Pennsylvania's and Philadelphia's budding public history tourism.
GOFUNDME: https://www.gofundme.com/JeffStGrounds
