Philadelphia Stars honored with cutouts, doc

August 16th, 2020

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies paid tribute to the Negro Leagues’ 100th anniversary on Sunday by releasing the documentary “They Said We Couldn’t Play” about the Philadelphia Stars on their YouTube channel.

Phillies videographer Dan Stephenson produced and wrote the 75-minute documentary, which originally debuted on DVD in 2016. Former Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard narrated the film, which includes interviews from former Philadelphia Stars players. It was a passion project for Stephenson, who has been producing Phillies films for years.

The Phillies joined the rest of Major League Baseball on Sunday to commemorate the Negro Leagues before Sunday’s series finale against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies placed cardboard cutouts of the Philadelphia Stars in the second deck in left field. Earlier this month, they placed cutouts of the 1980 Phillies in the second deck in right field. Phillies players and other uniformed personnel wore a Negro Leagues 100th anniversary patch on their jerseys. The original Negro Leagues Baseball logo will be featured on base jewels and lineup cards.