Jefferson Randolph Edgerton
Born: May 6, 1835 – Richmond, Virginia
Height: 5’11” Weight: 172 lbs
Profession: Former Artillery Officer, Sporting Goods Merchant, Base Ball Club Owner
Century League Role: Owner, Philadelphia Centennials
Raised in the genteel but fading world of antebellum Richmond, Jefferson Edgerton was the youngest son of a minor tobacco planter with just enough influence to send him north to the U.S. Military Academy. Graduating in the class of 1856, Edgerton earned a commission in the artillery, where he quickly developed a reputation for discipline, cool-headedness under pressure, and an unflinching belief in duty.
When the Union fractured in 1861, Edgerton faced a wrenching decision. Though his family and much of his hometown aligned with the Confederacy, he chose to remain with the United States Army. His loyalty was met with quiet hostility by his fellow officers — save for one: William Whitney, his former upperclassman at West Point, who welcomed Edgerton back with a handshake and a post in his battery.
The two men served together throughout the war, forging a bond in fire at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Atlanta. By the war’s end, Edgerton, now a brevet major, quietly resigned his commission and settled in Philadelphia — a city far enough from the old world of Richmond and close enough to the booming world of postwar industry.
Edgerton opened a modest shop dealing in leather sporting goods — gloves, balls, and uniforms — and became an early enthusiast of organized base ball. His quiet professionalism and military bearing earned him the respect of local clubs, and in time, a bit of a following.
When Whitney organized the Century League in 1875, Edgerton was approached to supply the league’s official balls. He agreed on one condition: “I should like to run one of the clubs.”
Thus were born the Philadelphia Centennials — named in honor of the nation’s hundredth birthday and, perhaps, a nod to Edgerton’s own rebirth in the North. A steadying presence in league meetings, Edgerton often served as the unofficial buffer between Whitney’s authority and the more volatile owners like Tice and Fuchs.
To many, Edgerton was the embodiment of a vanishing type: a gentleman soldier turned sportsman, whose quiet voice carried more weight than shouted bluster. Though rarely the center of attention, he remains one of the Century League’s most respected and quietly influential figures.