Baseball (Drawer)
Philadelphia was influential in the development of baseball. Amateur baseball clubs have existed in Philadelphia since the 1830s, and the city was home to one of the first professional teams, the Athletic Base Ball Club.
After the Civil War, many African-American community leaders saw baseball as a path to American cultural assimilation. The Pythian Base Ball Club was one of the earliest African-American teams, established in Philadelphia in 1865 through the leadership of Jacob C. White, Jr. and Octavius V. Catto.
The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), active from 1857 to 1871, was the first governing body of American baseball. It preceded any professional or major leagues, which were not established until the 1870s. Although it was not an explicit rule, the NABBP was comprised of teams with all-white members. The vice president of the Philadelphia Athletics, an all-white team, nominated the Pythians for admission into the NABBP in 1867. The association refused to admit the Pythians. Although historians debate the reason for refusal, most attribute it to racism.