On July 3, 1935, Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as “Connie Mack,” came to Cheltenham for the dedication of the Township’s new $100,000 park, playground, and baseball field which is known today as Wall Park.

The baseball icon and Hall of Fame manager is pictured on the left (below) shaking hands with 1910 Cheltenham High School graduate and Township commissioner Harold C. Pike.

Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for some 50 years, leading them to nine American League pennants and five World Series championships. The Philadelphia Phillies played for many years in the stadium named after him.

When Mack passed in 1956 at the age of 93, he was laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery which is located in the Glenside section of Cheltenham Township.

Fun Fact: The Philadelphia Athletics played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954 before moving to Kansas City and then to Oakland. 

For more on Wall Park, you can click here.

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Information provided by Chuck Langerman, local historian