The Page Fence Giants were a professional Black-American baseball team based in Adrian, Michigan , from 1895 to 1898, performing as one of the nation's top teams in the Negro leagues . Named after the Page Woven Wire Fence Company in Adrian, they were sponsored by its founder, J. Wallace Page.
23-479: Formed in 1894, the team played its first game on April 9, 1895. Bud Fowler and Home Run Johnson organized the team, which was managed by Gus Parsons. Fowler chose players who did not drink and aimed for a group with high moral character. Five of the twelve players were college graduates. Fowler played second base , while Johnson manned shortstop . The team played in 112 towns that year against all levels of competition, going 118–36–2. They were 8–7 against clubs from
46-778: A game in organized baseball. On April 24, 1878, he pitched a game for the Picked Nine, who defeated the Boston Red Caps , champions of the National League in 1877. He pitched some more for the Chelsea team, then finished that season with the Worcester club. Largely supporting himself as a barber, Fowler continued to play for baseball teams in New England and Canada for the next four years. He then moved to
69-546: A plaque and presenting an exhibit in his honor at Doubleday Field (it was prepared by The Cooperstown Graduate Program). The street leading to the Field has been named "Fowler Way." On July 29, 2020, the Society for American Baseball Research announced that Bud Fowler was selected as SABR’s Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball Legend of 2020 — a 19th-century player, manager, executive or other baseball personality not yet inducted into
92-577: A team in Topeka, Kansas . That team won the pennant behind Fowler's .309 average. He also led the league in triples . In 1887, Fowler moved to Binghamton, New York and played on a team there. Racial tensions arose, and his teammates refused to continue playing with him. In 1888, he played for the Crawfordsville Hoosiers / Terre Haute Hoosiers . Fowler played for the 1890 Sterling Blue Coats / Galesburg Pavers / Burlington Hawkeyes , as
115-594: The Brooklyn Dodgers ." Fowler died in Frankfort, New York , on February 26, 1913. In his last years, he suffered from illness and poverty, which was covered by national media. His grave was unmarked. In 1987, the Society for American Baseball Research placed a memorial on his grave to memorialize and honor his successes as the first professional African-American baseball player. Cooperstown, New York, declared April 20, 2013, as "Bud Fowler Day," dedicating
138-756: The Illinois-Iowa League franchise relocated twice. In 1892, Fowler played for Kearney, Nebraska in the Nebraska State League . In 1893 and 1894 he played on the integrated ballclub called the Findlay Sluggers . In the summer of 1894 Fowler and Home Run Johnson , along with three white businessmen, Len Hoch, Howard and Rolla Taylor, formed the Page Fence Giants in Adrian, Michigan . Fowler played second base for
161-688: The Michigan State League member Adrian Demons and about 30 games with another MSL team, the Lansing Senators squad. From 1894 to 1904, Fowler played and/or managed the Page Fence Giants, Cuban Giants , Smoky City Giants, All-American Black Tourists , and Kansas City Stars. According to baseball historian James A. Riley, Fowler played 10 seasons of organized baseball, "a record [for an African American player] until broken by Jackie Robinson in his last season with
184-656: The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York . On November 5, 2021, he was selected to the final ten for the Early Days Committee for consideration in the Class of 2022 in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum . He would need to receive twelve out of sixteen votes on ballots cast by the members of the committee. His election was announced on December 5, 2021, and he
207-602: The Pacific Northwest , later formed in 1905. The league operated for a total of six seasons, during a span of 13 years. Four teams participated in the 1879 season, which ran from May 1 to July 7. Source: The 1883 season featured eight teams and ran from May 1 to September 29. Source: The 1884 season began on May 1 with 12 teams. The Bay City team disbanded in late July and was replaced by Evansville. In early August, multiple other teams disbanded. Play continued through August 13, at which time Milwaukee had
230-500: The "reserve clause," the contractual mechanism that allowed teams to hold on to players for their entire career. Fowler stated that "when a ball player signs a league contract they can do anything with him under its provisions but hang him." The Western League folded that season due to financial reasons, leaving Keokuk without a league, and Fowler was released. Fowler moved to play with a team in Pueblo, Colorado . In 1886, he played for
253-517: The 1895 Giants but was moved to right field when the team signed Sol White to play that position in June 1895. Fowler apparently had a falling out with the management team and by June 1895, both Fowler and Johnson were simply referred to as salaried players and not members of the ownership group. Fowler played about another month with the Page Fence club and then finished the season with one game with
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#1732783912550276-637: The Midwest. In 1883, Fowler played for a team in Niles, Ohio ; in 1884, he played for Stillwater, Minnesota , in the Northwestern League . In Keokuk, Iowa , there had not been a professional baseball team since 1875. However, in 1885, local businessman R. W. "Nick" Curtis was the chief force behind starting a new team and hired Fowler for it. Johnny Peters, the manager of the then-disbanded Stillwater, Minnesota team, helped Fowler get connected with
299-631: The Northwestern League returned for its final season in 1891 as an independent baseball league . The Northwestern League of 1883–1884 is considered the first baseball " minor league ", as it was party to the National Agreement of 1883, along with the National League and American Association , whereby the leagues agreed to honor each other's suspensions, expulsions, and player reserve clauses , and established territorial rights. An unrelated Northwestern League , located in
322-476: The best record of teams still active. Milwaukee was later offered the league championship for the abbreviated season, but declined it. Source: The league reorganized on August 14, and started a second season with a limited schedule of 24 games planned for each of four teams. This short season would also end early due to financial difficulties, with the final game played on September 7. Source: The St. Paul and Milwaukee teams were late-season additions to
345-659: The major league Union Association . In 1886, the league was recreated when the Duluth Jayhawks ; Eau Claire Lumbermen ; St. Paul Freezers , Minneapolis Millers, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Oshkosh, Wisconsin based Oshkosh team composed the league. Duluth won the championship. In 1887, the Northwestern League featured the Des Moines Hawkeyes , Duluth Freezers , Eau Claire, LaCrosse Freezers , Milwaukee Cream Citys , Minneapolis Millers, Oshkosh and
368-615: The new team in Keokuk, the Keokuk Hawkeyes . Fowler became the most popular player on the Keokuk team. The local newspaper, the Keokuk Gate City and Constitution , described him as "a good ball player, a hard worker, a genius on the ball field, intelligent, gentlemanly in his conduct and deserving of the good opinion entertained for him by base ball admirers here." Fowler also commented to the local newspaper on issues with
391-737: The white Michigan State League (MSL). They lost games by scores of 11–7 and 16–2 against the Cincinnati Reds . The club lost Fowler and pitcher George Wilson to the white Adrian-based team Adrian Demons during the MSL season. In 1896, Charlie Grant replaced Fowler at second. The Page Fence Giants beat the Cuban X-Giants in a 15-game series, 10 games to 5, to claim they were the top team in black baseball. The clinching game took place in Caro, Michigan, and regular shortstop Home Run Johnson
414-528: Was Honus Wagner , who played for a three-week period during July 1895 on the integrated Demons squad. Fowler and Wilson left the team before the end of its first, 1895 season to play in the primarily white Michigan State League. (Riley 295, 873) Wilson posted a 29–4 record with the Adrian Demons that year and was the MSL's leading pitcher by all accounts. Bud Fowler Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913), born " John W. Jackson ",
437-652: Was 1895, 121–31; 1896, 143–25; 1897, 129–10; 1898, 107–10. Wilson, Fowler, Miller, Graham, Binga, and Burns also played games with the Adrian Demons in 1895, the town's entry into the Michigan State League, minor league. The Demons were the only integrated team in the league that season. Gus Parsons, Len Hoch, and the Taylor Brothers were the management group that operated the team in its only year of existence. Its most famous player
460-650: Was an American baseball player, manager , and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022. The son of a hop-picker and barber, Bud Fowler was christened John W. Jackson. His father had escaped from slavery and migrated to New York. In 1859, his family moved from Fort Plain, New York , to Cooperstown . He learned to play baseball during his youth in Cooperstown. Biographer L. Robert Davids writes that he
483-576: Was formally enshrined on July 24, 2022, with fellow Hall of Famer Dave Winfield delivering a speech on his behalf. Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the Western Association , although
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#1732783912550506-485: Was nicknamed "Bud" because he called the other players by that name. Fowler first played for a largely white professional team based out of New Castle, Pennsylvania , in 1872, when he was 14 years old. He is documented as playing for another professional team on July 21, 1877, when he was 19. On May 17, 1878, while playing for the Lynn Live Oaks , Fowler reportedly became the first Black player in to appear in
529-519: Was the winning pitcher that game. Overall they went 80–19 through August 1. In 1897, they went 125–12 with 82 consecutive wins. The 1898 tour was the club's last, as the next year many of the players went to the new Columbia Giants in Chicago. The outcome of many games were disputed by the Giants' management, due to many games worked by unfair umpires assigned to the games. One published win–loss record
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