Octavius Catto

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Octavius V. Catto (1840–1871) and was one of the prominent early organizers of black baseball, also referred to as the Negro Leagues. He played from the 1860s to 1871, but is more importantly known as a promoter and manager. He helped establish the city as a major hub of black baseball and ran the Philadelphia Pythians.

After the Pythians won the 1867 "Colored World Championship," he sent representatives to the National Association of Baseball Players (NABBP) to request the acceptance into its ranks. Instead, the NABBP did the opposite and barred all black clubs and teams with black ball players. Catto was an early civil rights activist. He died at the age of 31 after being shot by a white person during a voting rights riot.