September 19, 1902: The Shiloh Baptist Church Stampede

September 19, 1902: A stampede at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama kills 115 people.

Located at the southeast corner of 19th Street and Avenue G, about 5 miles west of downtown, it was built the previous year, and was then the largest black church in the State's largest city. There were about 3,000 people on hand, to hear Booker T. Washington, then the nation's leading civil rights figure, address the National Convention of Negro Baptists.

His speech went off without a hitch. But after he concluded his remarks, a convention delegate began arguing with the choir leader, concerning an unoccupied seat. Someone in the choir yelled, "There's a fight!" Except, in the commotion, someone else misheard the word "fight" as "fire," and other people also began to yell, "Fire!" The congregation rose en masse, and started for the door.

A minister took to the podium, and shouted, "Quiet!" over and over again. But, again, the word "quiet" was misheard as "fire." (This was supported by Washington's own account in a newspaper interview.) People crawled over benches and fought their way into the aisles. People were trampled upon.

To make matters worse, the auditorium/sanctuary was not on the ground floor. It was 15 feet above street level, and long staircases led from the sidewalk to the lobby. Many people fell down the stairs, and died from their injuries even before they could be trampled by others. Someone finally pulled a fire alarm, and firemen managed to get some people out safely, but they correctly determined that there was no fire.

There is no longer a church on the site. The current version of Shiloh Baptist Church is at 2135 Jefferson Avenue SW, in West End Manor, about 6 miles southwest of downtown Birmingham.

The current church

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September 19, 1902 was a Friday. There were 3 baseball games were played on that day:

* The Boston Beaneaters (forerunners of the Braves) beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 at the 3rd and final version of the South End Grounds in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Americans (renamed the Red Sox in 1908), 6-4 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. Rube Waddell (who rose to 23-7) outpitched Cy Young (who fell to 31-11).

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-2 at South Side Park in Chicago.