Lugnuts to honor the Page Fence Giants on June 19

Legendary 1890s Black baseball team will be inducted into Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame; Lugnuts to wear tribute jerseys, with proceeds to benefit Hamtramck Stadium restoration

By Jesse Goldberg-Strassler

June 14, 2021

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Lugnuts will honor the legendary Page Fence Giants of 1895-1898 on Saturday, June 19, at Jackson Field. The night will see the Page Fence Giants inducted into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame while the Lugnuts wear the Giants’ black and burgundy uniforms as they

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Lugnuts will honor the legendary Page Fence Giants of 1895-1898 on Saturday, June 19, at Jackson Field.

The night will see the Page Fence Giants inducted into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame while the Lugnuts wear the Giants’ black and burgundy uniforms as they take on the Great Lakes Loons. LAFCU Fireworks will follow the 7:05 p.m. game.

One of the first dominant Black professional baseball teams, the Giants played over two decades before the founding of the Negro National League in 1920. Based in Adrian, Michigan, sponsored by the Page Woven Wire Fence Company, founded by Black baseball pioneer Bud Fowler, Grant “Home Run” Johnson, former mayor Len Hoch and brothers Howard and Rolla Taylor, and they steamrolled all opposition from 1895-1898 while traveling across the Midwest and Canada in their own private railroad touring car.

In 1896, the Giants played the Cuban X-Giants in a series regarded as determining the best Black baseball team of the era – a series they won convincingly.

In their four years in existence, the Giants won over 87 percent of their games, with over 100 victories each season.

The Lugnuts’ Page Fence Giants uniforms will be auctioned off during and after the game, with all proceeds to benefit the restoration of historic Hamtramck Stadium, built in 1930 and one of five major Negro League ballparks remaining in the United States.

The site of Michigan’s first night baseball game, Hamtramck Stadium has a storied history, hosting such Hall of Famers as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell and Detroit native Turkey Stearnes.

Page Fence Giants Night will be the third and final Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame induction of the weekend, following the induction of longtime legendary Lansing baseball coach Javier Cavazos on Thursday, June 17, and the induction of Drew Henson and the late Bob Miller on Friday, June 18.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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