The Dolly Vardens were one of three known all-Black women's baseball teams in the 1800s in Philly.
The Dolly Vardens were one of three known all-Black women's baseball teams in the 1800s in Philly.Leading them was Ella Harris, who wore a fashionable pink calico dress and a white jockey cap. She hoisted a baseball bat over one shoulder. The red ribbon pinned to her dress distinguished her as the captain of the Philadelphia Dolly Vardens, a baseball team fully composed of Black women.
This was Reconstruction-era United States and almost 80 years before Black women got the protected right to vote in the U.S. The spectators were of all races, but everyone on the field, from the players to the umpire, was Black. The game was called after seven innings, when it became too dark for the players to see. The Excelsiors won, 42-37.
The Pythians made history on Sept. 3, 1869, by playing against an all-white team, the Olympics. The game was played at 25th and Jefferson, and the Olympics won, 44-23. The InquirerCatto’s work as manager and captain of the Pythians was a microcosm of the civil rights work he was doing off the field. Catto was killed on his way to vote on Election Day on Oct. 10, 1871 — one year after the 15th Amendment, a cause he had championed, was ratified.
The teams ultimately seemed to be a short-lived experiment, with no mention of any games beyond 1883. Male teams bearing the same name cropped up later, however, and these occasionally are confused with the Black Dolly Vardens.After Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947, top talent from the Negro Leagues began following in his footsteps to sign with MLB teams.
Skirts were required of the women who then played for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
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