Captain's Corner 2024 Lecture Series
Captain’s Corner, the lecture series onboard our historic ship Olympia!
Hear talks about naval and maritime history onboard a historic ship this summer! Offered once a month, from April through September, at 2 PM onboard Olympia in the captain’s cabin, the Independence Seaport Museum will host a variety of speakers all highlighting themes of relevance to our two historic ships. Admission includes self-guided access to the ship before or after the lecture. Check-in at the ticket booth in front of the historic ships.
This program is free for Members – please email Membership@phillyseaport.org if you have any questions.
Please note that Olympia is not ADA accessible. If you have any accessibility questions, please email Education@phillyseaport.org.
Saturday, May 18th, 2024
Speaker: Kater Miller
Baseball and Diplomacy: Olympia's Baseball Team and Building International Relationship with Asia
This lecture will explore America’s favorite pastime; baseball! Join us and Kater Miller as he discusses Olympia’s, the United States Navy’s and the United States Marines' earliest games of baseball in Asia. Initially introduced in Japan by missionaries in the 1870s, by the 1890s several Japanese college teams agitated to play against American teams in the treaty port of Yokohama. After years of denials, the Americans relented, and were crushed by the Japanese students. The Olympia, recently arrived in Yokohama, had a former Major Leaguer on board and with the additional ringers of the Olympia's baseball team, the Americans were able to beat the Japanese team.
About Kater: Kater Miller has been a curator at the National Museum of the Marine Corps since 2010. His initial role was to curate the vehicle and artillery collection. He took on a role as the curatorial representative of the museum's expansion, which will include 1975-present day. He worked to collect sports stories from the Marines, and has published several articles in Leatherneck Magazine on the topic on how sports shaped the Marines, and on U.S. Marine baseball teams playing Japanese baseball teams in the years leading up to World War II.