Lancaster is celebrating the legacy of the Harrisburg Giants, a prominent Negro League team, during Juneteenth with a centennial celebration that highlights their impact on baseball history. “The Negro Leagues in the 1920s were outstanding,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.”The Harrisburg Giants were known for their speed and steals, including a memorable triple steal in Lancaster,” historian Jeremy Raff said.India Garnett, the great-grandniece of all-star outfielder Herbert “Rap” Dixon, shared that Dixon was compared to Joe DiMaggio and Hank Aaron and was the first Black player to hit a home run in Yankee Stadium. Dixon hit three homers in a doubleheader that day and was credited with having the strongest arm in the country at that time. He was a .315 lifetime hitter and hit the longest home run ever in Japan, where he played during the winter.”They said that he hit the ball so hard, so high and so far that Hirohito put a plaque,” Garnett said.From 1924 to 1927, the Harrisburg Giants were dubbed as having the “million-dollar outfield.” “That’s what they should have been paid if they were in Major League Baseball,” Raff said.The outfield included Fats Jenkins, a basketball Hall of Famer, and Oscar Charleston, a baseball Hall of Famer, who was considered the greatest of all time.”He was the consummate five-tool player, hit for power, hit for average, could hit, could run, could throw. There was nothing he couldn’t do,” Kendrick said.”Oscar Charleston is the Mike Trout of his day,” Raff said.Rap Dixon, a 6-foot, 2-inch dynamo, dominated right field. Garnett expressed pride in her great-uncle, noting the lack of recorded history of their ancestors. Raised in Steelton, Dixon attended the Hygienic School, an all-Black school, and worked for Bethlehem Steel Company after retiring from baseball. He now rests at Midland Cemetery in Steelton, where a headstone marks his legacy “He’s known. He walked the earth, and it’s not like he was vapor, he was real,” Garnett said.Dixon is arguably one of the best players not yet in the Hall of Fame, and Garnett hopes he will be remembered.”I don’t want him to be forgotten. It’s bad enough that I never got to hug him. I want him remembered,” she said.Rossmere Baseball Park, now the site of Lancaster Catholic High School, hosted games for the Eastern Colored League, where Oscar Charleston, Rap Dixon, and other players played their Sunday games, drawing thousands of spectators from Lancaster.”A lot of people don’t even realize that there was a baseball diamond there, Babe Ruth played a game here, we had this amazing Negro Leagues that played here as well,” Raff said. “This is a really awesome part of our local history as a Lancastrian. I’m really proud to know that, you know, 100 years ago, Lancaster had Major League Baseball games.”This Friday, the Lancaster Stormers will honor the Harrisburg Giants and 100 years of Negro League baseball in Lancaster. Descendants will throw first pitches before the game, and players will sport Harrisburg Giants replica jerseys.Watch “Baseball’s Color Line in Local and National Contexts” — A short film created by Jeremy Raff and Joseph Mobley in collaboration with LancasterHistory’s exhibit, “Open The Door: Baseball’s Color Line in Central Pennsylvania.”This exhibit is on display in Stoudt Gallery through Aug. 30, 2025.

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. —

Lancaster is celebrating the legacy of the Harrisburg Giants, a prominent Negro League team, during Juneteenth with a centennial celebration that highlights their impact on baseball history.

“The Negro Leagues in the 1920s were outstanding,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

“The Harrisburg Giants were known for their speed and steals, including a memorable triple steal in Lancaster,” historian Jeremy Raff said.

India Garnett, the great-grandniece of all-star outfielder Herbert “Rap” Dixon, shared that Dixon was compared to Joe DiMaggio and Hank Aaron and was the first Black player to hit a home run in Yankee Stadium. Dixon hit three homers in a doubleheader that day and was credited with having the strongest arm in the country at that time.

He was a .315 lifetime hitter and hit the longest home run ever in Japan, where he played during the winter.

“They said that he hit the ball so hard, so high and so far that Hirohito put a plaque,” Garnett said.

From 1924 to 1927, the Harrisburg Giants were dubbed as having the “million-dollar outfield.”

“That’s what they should have been paid if they were in Major League Baseball,” Raff said.

The outfield included Fats Jenkins, a basketball Hall of Famer, and Oscar Charleston, a baseball Hall of Famer, who was considered the greatest of all time.

“He was the consummate five-tool player, hit for power, hit for average, could hit, could run, could throw. There was nothing he couldn’t do,” Kendrick said.

“Oscar Charleston is the Mike Trout of his day,” Raff said.

Rap Dixon, a 6-foot, 2-inch dynamo, dominated right field. Garnett expressed pride in her great-uncle, noting the lack of recorded history of their ancestors. Raised in Steelton, Dixon attended the Hygienic School, an all-Black school, and worked for Bethlehem Steel Company after retiring from baseball. He now rests at Midland Cemetery in Steelton, where a headstone marks his legacy

“He’s known. He walked the earth, and it’s not like he was vapor, he was real,” Garnett said.

Dixon is arguably one of the best players not yet in the Hall of Fame, and Garnett hopes he will be remembered.

“I don’t want him to be forgotten. It’s bad enough that I never got to hug him. I want him remembered,” she said.

Rossmere Baseball Park, now the site of Lancaster Catholic High School, hosted games for the Eastern Colored League, where Oscar Charleston, Rap Dixon, and other players played their Sunday games, drawing thousands of spectators from Lancaster.

“A lot of people don’t even realize that there was a baseball diamond there, Babe Ruth played a game here, we had this amazing Negro Leagues that played here as well,” Raff said. “This is a really awesome part of our local history as a Lancastrian. I’m really proud to know that, you know, 100 years ago, Lancaster had Major League Baseball games.”

This Friday, the Lancaster Stormers will honor the Harrisburg Giants and 100 years of Negro League baseball in Lancaster. Descendants will throw first pitches before the game, and players will sport Harrisburg Giants replica jerseys.

Watch “Baseball’s Color Line in Local and National Contexts” — A short film created by Jeremy Raff and Joseph Mobley in collaboration with LancasterHistory’s exhibit, “Open The Door: Baseball’s Color Line in Central Pennsylvania.”

This exhibit is on display in Stoudt Gallery through Aug. 30, 2025.