In 1866, the U.S. Civil War was barely over and the ink was still drying on the newly ratified Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Slavery had officially been abolished, but, throughout the country, Americans of African descent were still harshly being denied access to basic human and civil rights. A new generation of black leaders was emerging to follow in the footsteps of abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Among them were Octavius Catto in Philadelphia, and Charles Remond Douglass, youngest son of Frederick Douglass. It's unclear whether Catto and Douglass intended to be baseball pioneers, but they both sought to recruit and organize young black men. In the second half of the 19th century, the best way to do that was through baseball.
