Cannon Street All-Stars Visit Hall of Fame Aug. 20 and Aug. 21

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – Seventy years after being denied their chance to play on the baseball diamond, the Cannon Street All-Stars will visit the game’s spiritual home in Cooperstown.

Members of that Little League team from Charleston, S.C., will be featured in events at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Aug. 20-21. The team, which featured an all-Black roster, battled segregation in an attempt to advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Chartered by the Cannon Street YMCA, the league fielded the Cannon Street All-Stars for the city-wide Little League tournament in the summer of 1955. When the 61 other teams, which were all white, withdrew from the tournament rather than play the All-Stars, the Cannon Street team was declared the tournament winner via forfeit.

But the All-Stars were not permitted to play in the South Carolina state tournament, with officials citing a rule that stipulated teams must advance on the field rather than by forfeit. The All-Stars were later invited to attend the Little League World Series as guests.

The story of the Cannon Street All-Stars is featured in the Museum’s The Souls of the Game exhibit, which tells the story of the Black baseball experience.

On Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Cannon Street All-Stars will be featured in a 10:30 a.m. Voices of the Game public program in the Museum’s Grandstand Theater. Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch will provide introductory remarks before a moderated question-and-answer session with team members.

On Thursday, Aug. 21, an Author Series program will be held in the Museum’s Bullpen Theater featuring two books – “Stolen Dreams: The 1955 Cannon Street All-Stars” and “Little League Baseball’s Civil War and the Team Nobody Would Play” – that tell the All-Stars’ story.

Both the Aug. 20 Voices of the Game event and Aug. 21 Author Series program are included with Museum admission.