Richie (Dick) Allen will be posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27. Being included in the fraternity of the greatest players in the game¡¯s history will be a crowning moment, the first Black Phillies player to be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Technically, pitcher Ferguson Jenkins is the first Black Phillies player in the Hall (1991). He was signed by the Phils in 1962, made his debut with them in 1965 (one of eight games over parts of two seasons) and was traded (1966) to the Chicago Cubs where he had his most success. His HOF plaque features a Cubs cap.
Allen, known as the ¡°Wampum Walloper," is the Phillies' first Black superstar, someone who played every day. He¡¯s also the first Black player to be inducted into the club¡¯s Toyota Wall of Fame (1994).
Jackie Robinson¡¯s 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers broke baseball¡¯s color barrier, changing both the game and impacting change in the country.
It is well-documented the Phillies were the last National League team to have a Black player on their Major League roster, 10 years after Robinson. The 1959 Boston Red Sox were the last team to have a Black player, outfielder Pumpsie Green.
By 1959, the Phillies had 29 Black players in their organization.
What follows is a chronological listing of Black players in Phillies history, including some who never made it to The Show. It's a story worth telling during Black History Month.
These players are included in the "Pioneers in Pinstripes" exhibit located at Citizens Bank Park's Hall of Fame Club, which the Phils unveiled on Jackie Robinson Day in 2024.
Sept. 16, 1952
SS Ted Washington, a star athlete at Camden (NJ) High School, is the first Black player signed by the Phillies. He was a shortstop on the 1952 Philadelphia Stars of the Negro Leagues, starting in the East-West All-Star Game that summer and signed by the Phillies on this date, a story that received national news attention . . . He was assigned to the Class-C Granby, Quebec, Canada roster . . . Weeks after reporting to the lower-level 1953 Phillies Minor League Spring Training camp in Laurinburg, N.C., he was drafted into the Army . . . After two years in the military, he was scheduled to resume a pro ball career in Spring Training. An injury to his right arm in a routine paratroopers¡¯ jump from a tower during his time in the military never fully healed . . . He never played in a pro game . . . Released on April 26, 1955 . . . Died in 2005.
1954
1B Pancho Herrera. A Black Cuban, the Phillies purchased his contract from Kansas City of the Negro American League after the 1954 season. After three seasons in the Phils' Minor League system, he made their 1958 Opening Day roster. His debut came on April 15 in Cincinnati as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning. He was sent to the Minors in mid-May and returned to the Majors on Sept. 11 . . . He was in the Opening Day lineup in 1961 (2B) and 1962 (1B) . . . After that season, he was traded to Pittsburgh along with homegrown Black outfielder Ted Savage for third baseman Don Hoak. Pancho never played another big league game . . . He was considered an Afro-Latino, a Black person of African ancestry who was a native or inhabitant of Latin America.
1955
3B/OF Charlie (Chuck) Randall . . . Born: Glassboro, N.J. . . . Product of Glassboro High School . . . Went to Spring Training in 1955, the first Black player to wear a Phillies uniform. He didn¡¯t play in any games . . . He made his pro debut in 1955 with Bradford (PA) Phillies of the Class D Pony League, .351 average, eight home runs, 75 games . . . Spent four seasons in Phillies Minor League system, ending in 1958 with the Class B High Point-Thomasville (NC) Hi-Toms (72 games) and the Class A Williamsport Grays (nine games) . . . Career also included 1960 Durham (Detroit Tigers, four games) and 1962 Raleigh (Washington Senators, 23 games) . . . Minors totals: .302, 42 homers, 380 games.
1955
1B-OF Nathan Dickerson . . . Born: Abington, Pa. . . . Product of Cheltenham High School, Wyncote, Pa. . . . Died at age 55 in 1992 . . . Made his pro debut (1955) with the Pulaski (VA) Phillies of the Class D Appalachian League. .311 average, 12 homers, 75 games . . . 14 games at Williamsport (1959) ended his five-year career in the Phillies' Minor Leagues . . . Minors totals: .316 average, 575 games, 75 home runs.
1956
OF Eddie Logan . . . Product of Ridley Township High School where he was a standout football and baseball player . . . Broke in pro ball (1956) with the Mattoon (IL) Phillies, Class D Midwest League. 39 doubles, 13 triples, 15 homers, .385 average in 121 games . . . Five-year Minor League career ended in 1960 with Williamsport, .280 average in 83 games . . . Minors totals: .317 average, 41 homers, 586 games.
April 16, 1957
SS Chico Fernandez, born in Cuba, and considered the first people of color for the Phillies . . . The Opening Day shortstop after being acquired in an April 5 trade with the Dodgers (five players and $75,000) . . . Traded to Detroit after three seasons . . . Broke in with Brooklyn in July 1956.
April 22, 1957
John Kennedy, a star shortstop in the Negro Leagues, became the first Black player on an Opening Day roster (1957) . . . His debut came as a pinch-runner for Solly Hemus on this date against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Jersey City, N.J. The 30-year-old Kennedy appeared in five games, hitless in two at-bats with one run scored. His last game was May 3 . . . Originally signed by the New York Giants before the 1953 season and released a year later. The Phillies signed him before the 1957 season and released him after spending four seasons in their Minor League system.
May 17, 1957
OF Chuck Harmon made his Phillies debut on this date, their second Black player . . . His Major League debut came in 1954, the Cincinnati Reds¡¯ first Black player . . . He was acquired by the Phils from the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Glen Gorbous, May 10, 1957. He hit .256 in 57 games with the Phils, his last stop of a four-year career in The Show.
Sept. 28, 1958
RHP Hank Mason, the club's first homegrown Black pitcher. Debut on this date came in a loss to the San Francisco Giants at Connie Mack Stadium. His only game that season . . . Career ended with three relief appearances in 1960 . . . Purchased from Negro League¡¯s Kansas City club, October 1954 . . . Following baseball, he was a minister in Richmond, Va.
July 16, 1961
2B George Williams, the club's first homegrown Black position player . . . Major League debut came on this date at age 21 as a pinch-runner for Elmer Valo against the Giants in Candlestick Park. Batted .250 in 17 games. Sent back to Triple-A in August . . . Selected by Houston in the 1961 Expansion Draft . . . Signed by the Phils on Oct. 29, 1957, at age 18.
April 9, 1962
OF Ted Savage ... Made his Major League debut on this date at age 26. Hit .266 in 127 games as the first homegrown Black player to play regularly . . . Signed by the Phillies on Feb. 18, 1960, following three years in the Army . . . Traded after the 1962 season along with Pancho Herrera to Pittsburgh for veteran third baseman Don Hoak. Went on to play nine seasons in the Majors.
Sept. 3, 1963
Richie (Dick) Allen made his Major League debut on this date . . . Upon graduating from Wampum (PA) High School in 1960, Allen signed a pro baseball contract that included a $60,000 bonus . . . Spent four years in the Phillies' Minor League system playing shortstop, second base and the outfield . . . Moved to third base in Spring Training (1964) . . . Named National League Rookie of the Year that season. Set four Phillies rookie records that still stand: runs (125), hits (201), total bases (352), slugging percentage (.557). Also, personal career highs in games (162), average (.318), runs, hits, doubles (38) and total bases . . . Returned to Phillies in 1975 . . . Uniform No. 15 was retired on Sept. 3, 2020 . . . Died on Dec. 7, 2020 . . . Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Dec. 8, 2024.