In the heart of Lancaster city, land at the junction of Juliette and Frances avenues hides a secret, and it's one that local resident Jeremy Raff is determined to bring back into the light. Nearly a century ago, the site housed Rossmere Base Ball Park, where some of baseball's greatest talents played, but their stories have long gone untold.

In the 1920s, Rossmere hosted the Harrisburg Giants, an Eastern Colored League team led by center fielder and player-manager Oscar Charleston, whom historians rank among the greatest baseball players of all time.

Alongside him were teammates like Rap Dixon, a talented outfielder and all-around powerhouse, and Clarence "Fats" Jenkins, a dynamic leadoff hitter who later starred in basketball and earned a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Though Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, Lancaster had hosted major league-level Black baseball decades earlier - a fact often forgotten until Major League Baseball officially recognized Negro League statistics as major league records in 2020.

Also largely forgotten was the role Lancaster city played in promoting Negro League games. From 1925-27, the Giants played 20 exhibitions at Rossmere and several league games with thousands of fans in attendance. The players thrilled crowds with feats like their triple steal in the eighth inning of their first league game at Rossmere on April 26, 1925 - a play involving Jenkins, Dixon and Charleston - but the field was lost when the baseball park was demolished to make way for Lancaster Catholic High School.

That history might have remained buried if not for Raff, a Lancaster native who discovered Charleston's connection to the city while reading Jeremy Beer's biography of the Hall of Famer in 2021.

"I grew up in Lancaster, and I've played baseball my whole life, and I did not know this connection," Raff said. "If this had been the Phillies playing here, we'd never stop talking about it."

What started as a curiosity became a mission. Raff spent two years researching the Harrisburg Giants' time in Lancaster, partnering with Negro League historian and Lancaster Catholic graduate Ted Knorr to gather details and raise awareness.

His work culminated in the dedication of a historic marker outside Lancaster Catholic High School in June, celebrating Rossmere's place in baseball history and marking the 100th anniversary of the first Negro League game. Descendants of Giants players attended the unveiling, a powerful moment that connected Lancaster's present with its overlooked past.

"I had a desire to elevate this story," Raff said. "The more people I talked to about the Negro League players who played here, the more they said, 'Really? I didn't know.' We had major league games here, and that adds a sense of pride. It's a feather in our cap and another way we are a great, welcoming community. This is something we should celebrate."

Raff noted that while the field was demolished in 1929, its site is now also commemorated with a plaque on the ground inside Lancaster Catholic High School marking the approximate spot of home plate. The outside plaque is located on Frances Avenue where the first-base grandstands would have stood.

Raff's project has also included community partnerships to spread the word creatively. Spring House Brewing Co. launched "Fence Bustin'," a commemorative pilsner honoring the Giants, with proceeds benefiting Community Action Partnership (CAP) of Lancaster County's Crispus Attucks Community Center, which celebrates African American history. The Lancaster Stormers hosted a Negro Leagues Night in June, donning Giants replica jerseys later auctioned to support CAP.

Meanwhile, LancasterHistory unveiled "Open The Door: Baseball's Color Line in Central Pennsylvania," an exhibit curated by Raff highlighting not only the Giants but also stories like that of Keith Kelley, who pitched a no-hitter for the Lancaster Red Roses in his debut in 1951, only to face racist hostility from fans. The exhibit will run through Saturday, Aug. 30, at 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster.

For Raff, who works as the director of data analytics and strategy for the School District of Lancaster, the project has had a ripple effect, sparking conversations about local Black history and inspiring pride in Lancaster's place in baseball's story.

"Being able to highlight these stories has given me so much joy," Raff said, noting that while he plans to take a break before diving into his next passion project, he's not done yet. "I continue to be fascinated by the history of baseball in Lancaster, and at some point, I'd like to do even more on the subject."

For more information on the exhibit, visit http://www.lancasterhistory.org/exhibitions/special-exhibitions.