Phil Dixon's American Baseball Chronicles Great Teams: The 1905 Philadelphia Giants, Volume III

Book excerpt: 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.