Philadelphia Stars Negro League Baseball Mural

Philadelphia Stars Negro League Baseball Mural by artist David McShane is located in the Parkside neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Negro League baseball games where one of the highlights of the Black social calendar in an era when blatant racism kept blacks out of movie theaters and restaurants. As a result, spectators came to the games dressed in suits and ties and their Sunday best as depicted in the mural.

The players depicted in the mural are mostly anonymous, but some of the figures are actual players. The pitcher is based on Wilmer Harris (a local Stars alumnus), the batter is based on Harold Gould, and the player giving chatter at the bottom left of the mural is based on Mahlon Duckett. (Chatter from the dugout was another hallmark of the Negro Leagues).

The wooden fence was a feature of the rickety 44th and Parkside Ballpark, where the games were played. The ballpark was located across Belmont Avenue from the mural.
The background pattern on the left has a close-up view of grass and a large, dirty, well-used baseball (the team budget was such that teams often reused balls until they fell apart).

The Stars formed in the 1920’s and ended in 1949. They won a championship in 1938. Stanley Glen was catcher; he was still living in 2010. At the very end of the Negro American League era (1953-55), the Indianapolis team (the Clowns) hired 3 female players, including Mamie Johnson, a pitcher.

The mural was restored in 2016.