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The competition, and its member organizations:

P.C.B.L. EASTERN CONFERENCE

The clubs of the Eastern half of Philadelphia were notably more Working Class in both makeup and reputation than those from the other side of the city, with Minerva the exception. Most notable in that regard were the clubs named after the ammunition plant and the major port in Eastern Philadelphia, while others were named after local neighborhoods.

Frankford Arsenal (Name inspired by the former U.S. Army ammunition plant in Philadelphia that made firearms & ammunition for the military from 1816 to 1977.) – Founded in 1855, the club was originally a loose collection of men who worked at the club’s namesake ammunition plant and enjoyed playing a game of baseball on their day off. As one of the older clubs in Philadelphia, Frankford was also one of the first to become more formally organized.

Keystone Baseball Club (name taken from protoball.org) – Founded in 1859, Keystone was originally a non-distinct group of men who played the sport for leisure but became more serious and involved as the city’s baseballing fortunes turned upward. This was a civic-minded club that used elements of the Pennsylvania state flag to identify themselves.

Minerva Baseball Club (name taken from protoball.org) – Minerva, founded in 1860, was at first a small club made up of doctors, lawyers, and other “white-collar” workers who enjoyed ball sports and found inspiration from Minerva’s status as the Roman goddess of justice, law, and wisdom, among other things. Thus, it had more resources behind it than the others.

Port Richmond (named after nearby port district in Philadelphia) – Port Richmond was founded only six years ago, but had plenty of able-bodied men to choose from as it was founded by workers at its namesake port who were looking for baseball games to play on Sundays and men to fill out the teams.

Queen Village (named after local neighborhood in Philadelphia) – Founded in 1860, the neighborhood of Queen Village saw a ball club come into existence when various people in the neighborhood came together with a shared interest in baseball and cricket – mostly cricket at first, but with baseball winning out more recently.

The Sons of Ben (name inspired by MLS club Philadelphia Union’s supporters group) – Sons of Ben had been created a decade earlier by a ragtag assortment of young men deemed not gentlemanly enough for the sport of cricket. Perhaps the cricket elitists were right, because the club’s name allowed the members to refer to themselves as the “S.o.B.’s”. Still, they were heavily influenced by Ben Franklin, even using his famous “Join or Die” political cartoon as the club insignia.

Spartan Baseball Club (name taken from protoball.org) – Spartan was a little over a decade old, its members seeing themselves as sporting fighters more interested in victory than good manners & mid-game tea breaks. To wit, the club’s emblem was straight from the Spartan military standard that warriors of old wore on their shields or held high in battle.

Yorktown Baseball Club (name inspired by local neighborhood; colors inspired by the Yorktown Community Organization) – Yorktown, like Queen Village, was a neighborhood club that was a little over a decade old and drew people of different backgrounds to the sport while aiming to recruit new members from within the neighborhood.

P.C.B.L. WESTERN CONFERENCE

The clubs of Western Philadelphia were much more intertwined with the sport of cricket. Three of the eight to join the Philadelphia League were officially noted as “Baseball & Cricket” clubs, while at least two others had enough men playing both sports to field separate baseball and cricket teams. And as the previous fact may suggest, the clubs of Western Philadelphia were seen as more high class, gentlemanly, and scholarly than their East Philadelphia brethren.

Germantown Baseball & Cricket Club (name & colors inspired by Germantown Cricket Club) – Founded in 1854, Germantown was originally one of the numerous cricket clubs in Philadelphia. Since then, not only had it formed a separate baseball team but it had become more of a general sporting club, as Germantown also offered swimming, fitness activities, lawn tennis, and other racket sports to its members. (As it does in real life)

Independence Baseball Club (name taken from protoball.org; many pre-1871 clubs share the moniker) – Independence was a relatively new club, having been established in 1865. Still, it was well-organized, well-run, and well-followed, with plenty of young men taking part in informal games put on by the club.

Mercantile Baseball Club (name taken from protoball.org) – Mercantile, like Independence, was established in 1865. As their name implies, the club’s members came from the local Merchant Class – bankers, shop owners, salesmen, and others who worked in the trading of goods & services. Above all else, they were well-funded.

Merion Baseball & Cricket Club (name & colors inspired by Merion Cricket Club) – Another western club founded in 1865, Merion had rich backers who quickly expanded the club from just a cricket venture. A baseball team came in 1870, but in eight short years the club had also built a golf course and become a premier formal event destination. (As in real life, in which Merion currently has a golf course, a ballroom, a space for weddings, and a vintage wine cellar)

Overbrook Baseball Club (name inspired by local neighborhood & Overbrook High School, which Wilt Chamberlain went to) – Overbrook, a little over a decade old, was the lone neighborhood club in the western half of the competition. This meant they didn’t necessarily have the resources of the other clubs, but they had a quality talent pool to draw from.

Penn Baseball Club (name inspired by Pennsylvania founder William Penn; colors inspired by the University of Pennsylvania) – Penn was yet another eight-year-old club, founded by graduates of the University of Pennsylvania. The Ivy League backing meant the club had resources behind it, as well as varied interests that included a “brother” club: the Penn Cricket Club.

Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club (name & colors inspired by the Philadelphia Cricket Club) – The biggest club in the competition, “P.B.C.C.” was experienced, rich, and could boast of many things. Aside from its fledgling baseball team, it had the oldest active cricket team in the United States, beating Germantown by about a month. It had an 18-hole golf course. It had facilities for racket sports. It had places to swim. It had places to go trapshooting. It had an active Bridge club for those who enjoy card games. It had a wedding & special event center. It had a Sommelier. It had a cigar lounge. It was everything the East Philadelphia clubs weren’t, and it was everything the other West Philadelphia clubs aspired to be. (In real life, the Philadelphia Cricket Club has all of those things except the cigar lounge, which I made up. That, and it actually has TWO 18-hole golf courses.)

Schuylkill Baseball Club (name inspired by nearby river; colors inspired by Penn State University Schuylkill) – Following P.B.C.C. might make it seem like both least & last, but Schuylkill had been around for a decade and was a club able to attract talented players for informal games at their beautiful garden grounds near the banks of the club’s namesake river.


With the clubs in place, now it was up to the Executive Committee to hash out the rules & regulations of the new “P.C.B.L.” with league executives.

In that respect, the process was easy. There were sixteen teams that could be split into a pair of eight-team groups, so the outline of the competition would mirror that of the NBBO:

• The inaugural season will begin on the second Monday in May.
• The teams in each conference play every other team ten times per season for a total of 70 games.
• The ten games will be split up into a pair of five-game series that take place Wednesday-Sunday.
• There will be no games on Monday or Tuesday.
• The above points mean the season will be fourteen weeks in length.
• The first-place team in each conference will play for the Philadelphia championship.

Similarly, basic roster rules also mirrored those of the NBBO:

• Each team may have eighteen players on its Senior Roster.
• Each team may have up to fifteen players on its Reserve Roster.
• There are no limits on player age or nationality.
• No players may be traded directly for one another.
• No players may switch teams during the season unless their registration has been released by their current team.
• The P.C.B.L. will be considered semi-professional.
• Players may be paid, but backups & reserve players should be amateurs.

The main sticking point was what to call the final series. There were already nods to Ben Franklin and William Penn among the clubs in the league, so those were out. It was decided that a local foundry would be contracted to cast a replica of the Liberty Bell in the size of a trophy and the series to decide the champions of Philadelphia would be called the Liberty Bell Cup, with the trophy itself passed around from winner to winner.

Given the presence of clubs that worked in both baseball and cricket, there was also a question of which style of uniform the teams should wear. In the end, it was decided the teams could wear what they wished so long as the uniform was coherent and adhered to the rules. That meant most of the teams would wear standard baseball fare but teams like Germantown, Merion, & P.B.C.C. might show up in something closer to a cricket uniform, with its white sweater and long pants.

And with that, Philadelphia had announced its presence as a major baseball hub. Competition would begin in just under two months, and no doubt the New Yorkers would be curious as to what the standard of play would be in the new competition.