SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Baseball has a long-standing history in Schenectady. 1859 saw the first organized baseball team at Union College, followed by a professional team in 1895 according to the city historian. Back then, African Americans were not allowed to play in the Major League.
"While the gap was filled by teams from local businesses and school squads, Schenectadians yearned for a professional team to root on. They got their wish in 1913, Albeit in a way that they did not expect," said Chris Leonard, Schenectady City Historian.
It was at that time the first Black professional baseball team in the area was created: the Mohawk Colored Giants of Schenectady. Leonard says Bill Wernicke, a retired semi-pro player, created the Negro League team after he quit General Electric’s baseball team and rented the rights to play at Island Park Stadium. "The 1913 Mohawk Giants began and ended the season with exhibition games against White teams. In between, they finished with a record of 52 wins against 22 losses and 2 ties."
Fast forward one hundred years later and the stadium where the Giants played is replaced by SUNY Schenectady and its parking lots. But the team's legacy lives on.
"We talk about baseball being such an essential part of history when it comes to America sometimes, a lot of times, marginalized communities such as the Negro baseball leagues are overlooked," described Damonni Farley, Schenectady City Council.
The marker placed where the stadium once stood recalls a game from 1913 where the star Giants pitcher Frank Wickware "outdueled" the great Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators. A crowd of 7,000 traveled to Island Park by pontoon.
"I’m glad that we're now talking about that in terms of, yes it's a Negro league but these were skilled players and had it been a different day and time, they would've been able to play in the major leagues based on their skills and abilities," explained Marion Porterfield, Schenectady City Council President.
