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As they did every year, the Phillies and the Athletics ended Spring Training with an exhibition series against each other. This year, the rivalry was particularly intense as Veeck’s bold experiment meant that the City Series would feature the first integrated game in organized baseball since Moses Fleetwood Walker’s brief career ended in 1889.

Paige was in control on the mound as usual, and the Phillies hitters gave him more than enough with the five runs they scored, including Ron Northey’s three run home run into the bleachers at Shibe Park. More importantly for management, not only did the game go down without any ugly incidents, it also saw a considerable uptick in ticket sales. The game the next day was even more thrilling, as the Phillies won it in the tenth on Buck Leonard’s home run. The final game of the exhibition series also fell to the Phillies, giving them a sweep for the first time in years with a 10-6 win. The Phillies had held their own in a series, now they would wait to see how they did in the games that count.