Black Baseball in the North Country

The Ticonderoga Historical Society (THS) will host “Black Baseball in the North Country,” a program set for Friday, June 10th at the Hancock House in Ticonderoga, Essex County, NY.

Presenter Maury Thompson, a regular contributor to New York Almanack, will discuss how teams such as the Cuban Giants, the first black professional baseball team, barnstormed in Washington and Clinton Counties in 1890 and 1892, playing, in some cases, against local white teams. Thompson will speak about black baseball in the region in the 19th century, including summer teams made up of black employees at summer hotels, and local black athletes who played on integrated teams.

Maury Thompson was a reporter for The Post-Star of Glens Falls for 21 years. He retired in 2017 to move on to an encore career as a freelance writer and documentary film maker specializing on the history of politics, labor organizing and media in New York’s North County. He is co-producer, co-director and writer of the new documentary My Native Air: Charles Evans Hughes and the Adirondacks, which aired on Mountain Lakes PBS earlier this year.

This program is free and open to the public, and will begin at 7 pm. Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling the Hancock House at (518) 585-7868 or by e-mailing tihistory@bridgepoint1.com. The Hancock House is located at 6 Moses Circle, in Ticonderoga.

Photo of 1885-86 Cuban Giants provided.