Harrisburg Giants

The greatest Negro League team in Harrisburg, PA was the Harrisburg Giants. The Giants played in the Eastern Colored League from 1924 through 1927, missing the ECL's first and last seasons. They went 40-34 in 1924; the star was player-manager Oscar Charleston (.410), who led the league with 15 homers, and tied for the lead with 23 doubles. OF Fats Jenkins (.345) had the most triples (6) and was 4th in average and third in steals (8). 1B Edgar Wesley hit .348.

The Giants improved to 41-19 in 1925 to finish in third place. Charleston was second in the ECL in average (.446), homers (20) and doubles (22) while 2B Rev Cannady was 5th in average (.399) and 4th in homers (12). Charles Corbett (10-3) was fourth in winning percentage.

In 1926 Harrisburg went 25-17, to again finish third. Charleston slipped to .296 but was still among the leaders with 9 homers. John Beckwith hit .311 with the team and Jenkins was at .324. Corbett went 5-1 on the mound.

Harrisburg was 45-31 and finished third in 1927 with Beckwith replacing Charleston at the helm. Charleston hit 8 homers and hit .364. Jenkins was third in average (.314), fourth in doubles (17), tied for third in triples (6) and led in steals (15). Beckwith (.362) was fifth in average, homers (9) and tied for second with 18 doubles. Cannady chipped in .321 and 11 steals (third-best) while OF Heavy Johnson batted .336. Daltie Cooper (18-11, 3.56 RA) was third in RA and tied for second in wins; among those he was tied with was teammate Cliff Carter (18-9).

Sources:

• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• Hall of Fame Committee on African-American baseball players (2006)

Related Sites

• BR Franchise page