Oscar Charleston played centerfield for the Harrisburg Giants, a team in the Eastern Colored League, for four seasons, 1924-1927, at a time when the Ku Klux Klan was most active in the Lykens Valley area. Despite that, the Giants were able to schedule many exhibition games with white teams in the coal regions, which they usually won. The newspapers of the time reported results of games (including box scores) at Shamokin, Mt. Carmel, and Tower City, with Charleston as the star. The Elizabethville Echo of June 4, 1925, noted that one prominent family, the Weavers, enjoyed a trip to Harrisburg where they witnessed a game between two “colored” teams, Harrisburg and Cuba, And, at the Bloomsburg Fair in 1927, two Negro League teams (including the Harrisburg Giants), played a three game series over three days.
Oscar Charleston was born October 14, 1896, Indianapolis, Indiana, and died October 5, 1954, in Philadelphia. He was a member of Negro League teams from 1920 through 1941. From 1941-1954 he was a team manager and scout.
Charleston was considered by some as the greatest all-time centerfielder in the Negro Leagues and one of the best players ever. He ended his playing career with the 5th highest number of home runs and batting average, and with the leadership in stolen bases.
His outstanding play and managerial career led to his induction in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1976.
Oscar Charleston’s stats can be found at Baseball Reference.
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[African American]