Black History, Black Futures: The Shoulders of Giants

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – In the 1920s, when baseball was firmly ingrained as the nation’s greatest pastime, South Bend was a hub for America’s game.

Even without a professional team, baseball dominated the local headlines, as many local corporations boasted multiple-team leagues that would also barnstorm throughout the region.

One of the most special teams was the Foundry Giants, a predominantly Black team that began as an indoor squad in the 1910s. Historians tell us the team joined the Studebaker Industrial League in the 1920s, where they played for around two decades.

The Giants were one of several pioneering teams honored and showcased with the opening of Foundry Field, a free baseball diamond open to the public in Southeast Neighborhood Park.

The Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation, which led the way on the field’s creation, was looking to build a space for the game in an urban area, similar to how baseball diamonds were integrated into neighborhoods in the early 20th century.

ABC57 sat down with Seabe Gavin Jr., the son of a South Bend baseball legend, who played for a later edition of the Giants after serving in World War II. Gavin Jr. was told that his father, who also played for South Bend Central in high school, was likely the best baseball player in Indiana for four years but was never recognized because of the color of his skin.

Gavin Sr. is remembered thanks to a mural at Foundry Field, painted by Notre Dame grad, Waleed Johnson.

Foundry Field, and the many stories behind it, are still growing. The diamond is open, though they’re looking to add dugouts and fencing in the coming year, and plan to start a fundraising campaign this spring.

Anyone interested in donating to the Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation can do so online.