Integration, Annexation, and Baseball
Sitting down with baseball historian Gary Gillette I had anticipated an education in Baseball and a history of the sport in Detroit. What I got was much more, a deep dive into the political, social, and physical history of space and place over nearly a century all in one 30 minute conversation.
Gillette is the founder and president of the nonprofit Friends of Historic Hamtramck (FHHS) Stadium and is currently running a crowdfunding campaign for $50,000 through April 2 to secure a matching grant from the MEDC that will allow the nonprofit to complete their decade long vision of an active playing field and park that honors the history of the historic stadium and gives new use for the present community.
The stadium is one of five Negro League home ballparks left in the US, a brick, steel, and concrete structure built in 1930 by Negro League Detroit Stars owner John Roesink. It was the home field of the Negro National League Detroit Stars in the early 1930's. Games at the ballpark featured heroes now in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, such as Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and Cool Papa Bell. Baseball and boxing were the sporting events that the black community gathered around and held pride in during this time in Detroit.
The Negro Leagues were strongest from 1920–1948 until the MLB started to seriously integrate, consciously choosing the youngest and best black ballplayers to play for them. The stadium became property of the City of Hamtramck in 1941 and was a key element in the greater development of Veterans Memorial Park. This was a time of peak population and the stadium was well used for all sorts of sports and community activities until the 1970’s.
During a time of segregation the stadium was a space where black Americans had a place to compete and call their own, while also encouraging pride and connection in a diverse community. The Ducktown neighborhood of Hamtramck was a majority black community and many community members remember the respect and village mentality between all of the cultures in the city and their congregation at baseball games (check out audio stories of black Hamtramckans here).
What Gary illuminated was even after incorporating itself in 1922 to avoid annexation by Detroit, Hamtramck was a welcoming place for diversity. Hamtramck Public Schools were integrated during the 1930’s when many other Northern schools were segregated. Gary shared a story of the neighboring segregated Catholic Schools attempting to use the Hamtramck High School auditorium for a segregated event and both black and white students within Hamtramck Public Schools responding by organizing walk out protests and the principal not allowing them to sell tickets to or hold that event there.
Of course there were exceptions to this harmony and racial tensions between Polish Hamtramckans and black Hamtramckans increased after World War II when the housing shortages began. Following its use for half a century by the schools and community under City ownership the space began to decay as the population moved away. Like many American industrial cities Hamtramck along with Detroit experienced white flight following the relocation/closing of factories and the ’67 rebellion.
The grandstand has not been used since the 1990's, but remains in good shape structurally while awaiting renovation. The effort to restore the stadium is a major collaborative effort and seeks to meet the needs of the community’s current diverse population, creating use for soccer, cricket, baseball and more. FHHS plans to not only restore the stadium but to create an entrance plaza and wayfaring signage to invite the city into and direct them to the stadium. This is in collaboration with the City of Hamtramck’s Master Plan and its greater plans for Veterans Memorial Park. The project will include interactive cultural and educational exhibits to tell the significant history of this community space. To learn more or donate go to: patronicity.com/hhs.
