July 03, 2026
Provided Image/Colibrí Workshop
The sculpture above, designed by muralist David McShane, pays tribute to the Olympic Ball Club, considered the first organized baseball team. It will be unveiled as part of the MLB All-Star Week this month.
The foundation of organized baseball was being laid in Philadelphia nearly two centuries ago, when a group of young men formed a club that regularly gathered to play an early version of the game.
The baseball played by the Olympic Ball Club looked vastly different than the game looks today, and was known as town ball or rounders. The club's play broke social and racial barriers for the time period, and marked some of the earliest precedents of sports fandom in Philadelphia.
While its exact origins are uncertain, it is believed to date back to 1831, when a group of men gathered to play ball. Two years later, the group merged with another local group, forming the Olympic Ball Club. They established a clubhouse in what is now considered Brewerytown, where they played through the 1880s.
The Olympics played a style similar to other games played during the amateur era of baseball in the 19th century. Players would attempt to get another player out by hitting them with the ball instead of tagging them, for example. They also didn't wear gloves and used balls made of a softer material than the kind used today.
They also played with six bases set up about 20 feet apart. Hitters would try to circle the bases with each at-bat rather than wait for subsequent hitters to drive them in, historian Richard Hershberger found.
"They did not play the modern game of baseball, it was a derivation," said Michael Harris, vice president of marketing and government affairs for the Phillies. "Obviously, the game has evolved, but it really is a nice testament to the history and the beauty of the game of baseball."
For years, the Olympic club essentially played against itself, and often traveled to Camden by ferry to play. Some baseball researchers believe the Olympic traveled to South Jersey in order to avoid blue laws, which restricted certain commercial or recreational activities on Sundays. Other researchers, like Hershberger, believe they did so because it was an accessible space.
Other baseball clubs existed around the same time, but the extent of their activity is unknown, Hershberger wrote in 2011. The Olympics are the only club before the Knickerbockers, founded in New York in 1845, to be as well documented, and the club was the longest-lasting of the amateur era.
Harris said the Phillies successfully lobbied Major League Baseball, the Baseball Hall of Fame and MLB's official historian to make the case that Philadelphia should be considered the home of the first baseball club.
"There was significant time and energy dedicated to ensuring that the story is accurate and something that we could say with 100% certainty and pride," Harris said.
On Sept. 3, 1869, baseball history was made again in Philly when the Olympics accepted the challenge from civil rights activist Octavius Catto's all-Black team, the Pythians, to play at 25th and Jefferson streets. The game marked the first time an all-white and all-Black team played against one another.
The game lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes, and ended with a 44-23 score in favor of the Olympics. The contest sparked much fanfare.
"The crowd was the largest that has been on the ground for two years … and until the last two innings was very orderly," the Inquirer reported at the time. "Several officers were on the ground, but when, on the ninth innings, the crowd broke over the ropes, the officers made scarcely any effort to control it."
The Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia is one of four "firsts" being celebrated in July as part of the Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee's yearlong "52 Weeks of Firsts" program.
Every Saturday, a different person, invention or significant contribution with roots in the city is being honored with its own "Firstival" from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Each event includes family activities, giveaways, live music, entertainment and stories told by Once Upon A Nation actors.
The firstival for the Olympic Ball Club is being held Saturday, July 11 at Citizens Bank Park. Three days later, Philly will host the MLB All-Star Game for the first time since 1996.
"Unveiling this and having the firstival as part of All-Star Week, it's a perfect marriage," Harris said. "It's a great way to celebrate the game, Philadelphia, this history of our country, and it all just makes a lot of sense."
The three other "firsts" being celebrated this month are:
• First bank of the United States (1791): Established by the Second Continental Congress, the First National Bank was where Alexander Hamilton carried out many of his financial plans for the country. A firstival is being held at the First Bank of the United States at 120 S. 3rd St. in Old City on July 4.
• First Ice Cream Soda (1874): During the semicentennial celebration of the Franklin Institute, concessionaire Robert M. Green began substituting the sweet cream used in his soda drinks for vanilla ice cream, and the ice cream soda was born. Grab a sweet treat to celebrate at Franklin Fountain, at 116 Market St. in Old City, on July 18.
• First Art School and Museum in America (1805): The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, founded by artists Charles Willson Peale and William Rush, became the first institution to operate as an art school and museum. A firstival is being held at the PAFA building at 118-128 N. Broad St. in Center City on July 25th.
A full list of the "firsts" being celebrated this year can be found on Visit Philadelphia's website.
