Bridgeport in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Andrew "Rube" Foster

Baseball player and owner (1879-1930)

— Chicago Tribute —

Andrew "Rube" Foster Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn

1. Andrew "Rube" Foster Marker

Inscription. Andrew “Rube” Foster dominated the Negro leagues as a pitcher, manager, owner and league organizer. His professional career began at age 18, pitching for New York’s Cuban X-Giants. He won four games in the 1903 “Colored Championship of the World.” Moving to Chicago in 1906, Foster played for and managed the Leland Giants, guiding them to 110 wins and 10 losses in 1907 and 126 wins and 6 losses in 1910.

In 1911, in partnership with white saloonkeeper John Schorling, he founded the Chicago American Giants, which became one of the greatest teams in black baseball history. Player, manager, and owner, Foster insisted that his team play “smart baseball”—fast and aggressive with bunts, steals, hit-and-runs and crafty pitching—which made white baseball seem very sedate. He led his team to Negro League championships in 1914, 1915, and 1917. The Chicago American Giants played at Schorling’s Park, located here at 39th Street and Wentworth Avenue. The Chicago White Sox also played here before moving to Comiskey Park.

In 1920 Foster created the Negro National League with several other owners. The NNL placed black baseball on a solid footing and gained Foster the reputation of being “the father of black baseball.” His Giants won pennants in 1920, 1921, and 1922. The NNL thrived until 1930, the year of Foster’s death. In 1981

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Rube Foster was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Erected 1999 by City of Chicago.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Sports. In addition, it is included in the Baseball Hall of Famers, and the Chicago Tribute series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1903.

Location. 41° 49.427′ N, 87° 37.894′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Bridgeport. It is at the intersection of Pershing Road (39th Street) and Wentworth Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Pershing Road (39th Street). The marker is a few yards west of the intersection of Pershing (39th Street) and Wentworth, which runs parallel to the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94), in front of the Wentworth Gardens housing project. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60609, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Casmere Lazzeroni (approx. 0.4 miles away); Harold Douglas Baines (approx. 0.4 miles away); Mark Buerhle (approx. 0.4 miles away); Charles A. Comiskey (approx. 0.4 miles away); Luis Aparicio (approx. 0.4 miles away); What Is a "Chicago Style" Hot Dog? (approx. 0.4 miles away); Eugene Temple

Photographed by Sean Flynn, October 28, 2023

2. Andrew "Rube" Foster Marker

The marker can be seen to the right of the lamppost and the streetlight box, and to the left of the fence. This photo is taken facing west down Pershing Road.

(approx. 0.4 miles away); Jacob Nelson "Nellie" Fox (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The marker is severely faded both on the front and the back. Rube Foster's name, life span and what he is known for is completely unreadable in the red section at the top and has been ascertained from the Chicago Tribute website. The words Chicago Tribute that are supposed to run down the side of the marker facing the street have also disappeared.

Schorling's Field, the ballpark referenced on the sign, was located at this spot, on 39th between Wentworth and Princeton; the site today is Wentworth Gardens, a Chicago Housing Authority development.

This marker is about ½ mile south of Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

Regarding Andrew "Rube" Foster. As a star pitcher, Andrew "Rube" Foster was credited with inventing the screwball pitch. As owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, he led one of the most successful Black teams of the early 1900s. And as the driving force behind the creation of the Negro National League in 1920, he is known as the "father of Black baseball."

Schorling's Field,

Photographed by Sean Flynn, October 28, 2023

3. Andrew "Rube" Foster Marker

The badly faded back of the sign is seen in this east-facing photo. The Pershing Road bridge over the Dan Ryan Expressway is in the background.

originally known as South Side Park and often referred to as Schorling Park, was a 15,000-seat baseball stadium that sat on 39th Street (Pershing) between Wentworth and Princeton, at the site of this marker. It opened in 1900 as the first home of the Chicago White Sox, a founding member of the American League. In June of 1910, the White Sox played their final game in this stadium, moving about four blocks north to the much larger steel and concrete Sox Park. (That stadium was, a few years later, renamed Comiskey Park after the team's owner, Charles Comiskey.)

In 1910, Foster took control of the team he played for, the Chicago Leland Giants, from its owner, Frank Leland. Foster then partnered with John Schorling, a South Side saloon keeper who may have been Charles Comiskey's son-in-law, to allow Foster's newly renamed Chicago American Giants to play its home games in the recently abandoned South Side Park, which would be renamed after Schorling. Throughout the 1910s, Foster's Giants were regularly one of the best Black teams in the country; the style of play based on speed and defense was created in part due to Schorling's Field's spacious dimensions.

In 1920, Foster and seven other Negro League owners formed a professional league for African-American teams, with Foster as its president. Foster's Giants won the first three league championships before being surpassed

Rube Foster at the bat image. Click for full size.

Chicago Daily News Collection, Chicago History Museum, circa 1909

4. Rube Foster at the bat

Rube Foster batting in a game for the Leland Giants, on a baseball field in Chicago. His teammates can be seen seated in front of the grandstand.

by the Kansas City Monarchs. The league struggled after Foster's death and stopped play in the early 1930s. It returned to play in the late 1930s and continued play until 1960.

Foster struggled with deteriorating mental health throughout the final years of his life, and in 1926, he was put into an institution in Kankakee, Illinois, where he died more than four years later at the age of 51. According to contemporary reports, more than 3,000 people attended his funeral in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.

The Giants played in Schorling Park through 1940, when the park was badly damaged by a fire. The Giants moved to Comiskey Park in 1941, and the badly damaged Schorling Park was razed. After Black ballplayers were allowed into the Major Leagues starting with Jackie Robinson in 1947, the Giants began a slow demise, with ever-dwindling crowds and interest. They played their final games at Comiskey Park in 1955; after barnstorming for a few years, they were fully defunct by the early 1960s.

Foster was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by its Veterans Committee in 1981. He was the first African-American inducted into the Hall of Fame primarily as an executive.

Also see . . .
1. Rube Foster, Executive; Class of 1981. Rube Foster's page on the National Baseball Hall of Fame website

Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library via California Digital Library

5. Rube Foster

The original description reads: “Men standing behind home plate during a baseball game. Noted baseball pitcher, Rube Foster, is 2nd from right and the man crouching is wearing a ‘Hollywood’ baseball uniform.” While the citation says circa 1929, it is almost certainly several years earlier, considering that Foster was institutionalized in 1926 and stayed there until his death in 1930.

(Submitted on October 28, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Rube Foster. Rube Foster's page on the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) website (Submitted on October 28, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. Society of American Baseball Research: John Schorling.

Excerpt: "An examination of John Schorling’s life yields more questions than answers. This is true of many individuals who lived in pre-internet times, especially those who were not famous or who had no offspring to further their story. It seems especially true for Schorling. How did he get involved with baseball? Was he ever a player or did he want to be a manager and booking agent? How did he come to be a business partner with Rube Foster? What was his relationship with Charles Comiskey? What did he do after he divested himself from the Chicago American Giants? Some of these questions can be answered, at least partially, but many mysteries remain."

(Submitted on June 22, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Additional commentary.
1. The text of Rube Foster's Hall of Fame Plaque in Cooperstown, New York
"Rated foremost manager and executive in history of Negro Leagues. Acclaimed top pitcher in Black baseball for nearly

South Side Park (later, Schorling's Field) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Chicago History Museum, circa 1907

6. South Side Park (later, Schorling's Field)

A photo of South Side Park from 1907, when it was home of the Chicago White Sox. After the White Sox moved a short distance north to what later was known as Comiskey Park, Rube Foster's Leland Giants moved into the park (renamed Schorling Field) in 1910. The Leland Giants played here until 1940, when the stadium was damaged by a fire.

a decade in early 1900s. Formed Chicago American Giants in 1911 and built them into Midwest's dominant Black team. In 1920 he organized Negro National League. Headed league and managed Chicago team until retirement following 1926 season."

— Submitted October 28, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 28, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 832 times since then and 86 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 28, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on October 29, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 5, 6. submitted on October 28, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.