The Mohawk Giants: Schenectady & The Negro Leagues follows the history of Negro League baseball in Schenectady and the Capital Region. The Mohawk Giants were an independent professional negro league baseball team supported by mostly white fans, whose players were a mix of young bucks on the way up and older veterans who were on their way down from the Negro Major leagues.

With the help of national caliber historians and a first-hand look into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO, we’re able to tell the stories of this team as well as other standouts from the area like Edsall Walker. Walker was born in Catskill, played ball in Albany, and then moved on to play for one of the most famous Negro League teams, the Homestead Grays, alongside baseball legends like Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and many others.

This is not just a story about our national pastime though, this is a story of social change in the United States. The negro leagues are anchored in the ugliness of American segregation. The power of sport has always been barrier breaking in this country. These men dared to dream to play baseball. The pride, perseverance, and courage these men demonstrated in the face of adversity would not only change the game of baseball, but change our country.

Support Provided By