A few weeks ago, I was seeking some inspiration on twitter…
One of the suggestions was “Page Fence Giants”… something I knew next to nothing about. After some quick research, I was hooked.
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.
Formed in 1894, the team played its first game on April 9, 1895. Bud Fowler and Home Run Johnson organized the team. 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 the white Michigan State League (MSL). They lost games by scores of 11-7 and 16-2 against the Cincinnati Reds.
I decided to create a mini 3 card set with: Grant Johnson, Bud Fowler and Sol White
- Grant U. “Home Run” Johnson (September 23, 1872 – September 4, 1963) was a shortstop and second baseman in baseball’s early Negro Leagues. He played for many of the greatest teams of the deadball era.
- Bud Fowler (born John W. Jackson; March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913) was the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball (major leagues and minor leagues)
- King Solomon “Sol” White (June 12, 1868 – August 26, 1955) was an infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, he wrote the first definitive history of black baseball in 1907. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
