The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J. L. Wilkinson was the first white owner at the time of the establishment of the team.[1] In 1930, the Monarchs became the first professional baseball team to use a portable lighting system which was transported from game to game in trucks to play games at night, five years before any MLB team did.[2] The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration, and triumphed in the first Negro League World Series in 1924. The Monarchs had only one season in which they did not have a winning record.[3] The team produced more major league players than any other Negro league franchise.[4] It was disbanded in 1965.
The Monarchs were formed in 1920, primarily from two sources. Owner J. L. Wilkinson drew players from his All Nations barnstorming team, which had been inactive during World War I, and the 25th Infantry Wreckers, an all-black team recruited into the U.S. Army almost exclusively for their playing talent. He put together a collection of talent, including pitcher/outfielder Bullet Rogan, an eventual Hall of Famer who established himself as one of the most popular stars of the new league; sluggers Dobie Moore, Heavy Johnson, George Carr, and Hurley McNair; and pitchers Rube Currie and Cliff Bell. Immediate contenders, the Monarchs became bitter rivals to black baseball's reigning power, Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants. After three years of failing to break off the Giants' hold on the pennant (championship victory), Wilkinson fired manager Sam Crawford in mid-1923, replacing him with veteran Cuban star José Méndez, who then led the Monarchs to the league championship.
Frank Duncan, 1924 Monarchs
Winning the pennant again in 1924, the Monarchs participated in the first Negro League World Series, defeating the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale team from Darby, Pennsylvania, in a ten-game series (five wins, four losses, and one tie). In this series, Méndez had an ERA of 1.42 in four of the games and was responsible for a shutout in the one game he was the starting pitcher in.[5] ERA is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings played. Motivated by the Monarchs' runaway pennant victory, NNL president Rube Foster changed the league schedule to a split-season format for 1925. A split-season format is where a season is split in half in order to try to maintain the attendance during the summer season. The winner of the first half of the season plays the winner of the second half of the season. However, Kansas City still took the league title again in 1925, but lost the World Series to Hilldale when Rogan was injured just before the series began, winning one game and losing five.[6] Even though Méndez was the manager, he still pitched during the few years he held the position.[1] Among the team's regulars during these years were the second baseman/shortstop Newt Allen who in the 1924 series alone had a batting average of .282 and seven doubles [2] and Frank Duncan. Newt Joseph played third base for the Monarchs from 1922 through their NNL years, hitting a composite .284 during that time.[1]
In 1926 manager Méndez returned to Cuba, and Rogan took over as player/manager. He kept up the Monarchs' tradition of fine pitching, as the team's staff over the next few years featured Negro league greats including Chet Brewer, William Bell, and lefty Andy Cooper. The club traded for legendary Cuban outfielder Cristóbal Torriente, but also permanently lost the services of star shortstop Dobie Moore, whose career ended that year due to a severe off-the-field injury. After winning the first-half pennant, the Monarchs dropped a best of nine playoff to the Chicago American Giants when Rogan lost both games of a series-closing doubleheader to the young Bill Foster, another eventual Hall of Famer. In 1928 the Monarchs narrowly missed a second-half title, but won both halves of the 1929 NNL title with the best overall single-season record ever compiled by a Negro league team at 62 wins and 17 losses. By this time, pitcher Andy Cooper who had made a name for himself by playing for seven years with the Detroit Stars had joined the Monarchs.[1] No World Series was played that year between the Monarchs and the Baltimore Black Sox, champions of the eastern American Negro League.
J.L. Wilkinson
J.L. Wilkinson was the owner of the Kansas City Monarchs team from 1920 until the team was sold to Tom Baird in 1947. J.L. Wilkinson was the first person to use days like "Ladies' Day" and "Kid's Day". These days were used to promote baseball and attract more players to the All Nationals Club to develop their talent and eventually be available to be placed on the Kansas City Monarch team. He was among the top businessmen and promoters for African American baseball. This helped the Kansas City Monarchs become a very stable and successful franchise. J.L. Wilkinson's Kansas City Monarchs was the only team in the Negro Leagues to play against a comedic team even after there were regulations put in place so that other teams could avoid playing against the comedic team. This comedic team wore grass skirts, war paint, and bright uniforms with a clown on the front. [7]
Night Baseball
The Monarchs won four pennant championships before they introduced night baseball in the 1930s. The Kansas City Monarchs started playing night baseball to try to get more people to come to the games. the first night game was in early march, 1930 in Lawrence Kansas. The Monarchs had portable light systems that could be transported on the team's bus to any game. The lights were powered by portable generators and attached to retractable poles. This was the first team to regularly play baseball under artificial light, including the major league teams. Night baseball gave the Monarchs more time to play more games, which also allowed them to make more profits. This increase in profits helped the Kansas City Monarchs continue to be one of the most stable franchises in the Negro Leagues. [8]
Struggles for African American Baseball Leagues
There were many different difficulties that African American baseball leagues faced. Many of the teams were unstable, especially in the first few years after the league was created and were disbanded or replaced by other teams. Another struggle for African American teams was the inconsistent number of games that teams would play. For example, the American Giants played 62 games, winning 41, which gives the team a .661 winning percentage, but the Kansas City Monarchs played 81 games, winning 50, which gives the team a .617 winning percentage. Even though the Kansas City Monarchs won more games, the team got second place, because the winning percentage was lower than the American Giants winning percentage. Poor newspaper coverage was another difficulty. If newspapers wrote articles about African American baseball, then it was mainly focused on the local teams, but not the league as a whole. When the Eastern League started in 1923, players started joining the Eastern league. Competition between the two leagues for players grew. [9] When the color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson and other players were being signed to major league teams, the African American teams that these players came from, were not compensated. [10] However, the African American teams having less players allowed then to save some money, but the African American leagues were just as competitive as the major leagues. The African American players weren't paid as well as white players. An average Negro League player was only paid close to $500 per month whereas the average white player in the major leagues would be paid about $1,000 per month. Players on Latin American teams would be paid anywhere from $600 to $4,000 per month with other expenses paid for and provided for the player and his wife.
Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws were in place that allowed the segregation of train cars and buses. The Kansas City Monarchs would rent entire train cars or "touring cars" before traveling to an away game to avoid these Jim Crow segregation laws. The Monarchs was a very well oriented team that would plan their travels well in advance. The team would book hotels and restaurants and, over time, learn which restaurants and hotels wouldn't turn the team away for being black. There were some exceptions to Jim Crow segregation laws at night. Some restaurant owners would cook meals for the Kansas City Monarchs afterhours when the restaurant was closed. The team was even allowed to eat in the front of the restaurant and use the front door. [11]
Barnstorming, Negro American League
Following the death of the original league, the Monarchs spent several years as an independent team, mostly barnstorming through the Midwest, West, and western Canada. They frequently toured with the House of David baseball team. Hall of Famers Hilton Smith, a pitcher, and Willard Brown, a slugging shortstop/outfielder with a consistent batting average of over .300,[1] became Monarch mainstays during this time. During the 1940s, Willard Brown became the go-to home run hitter for the Monarchs.[2] With Andy Cooper now at the helm, the Monarchs became charter members of the Negro American League (NAL) in 1937, winning the first league title. Andy Cooper was responsible for leading the Monarchs to bring home the pennant in 1939 and 1940.[2] The Kansas City Monarchs then won the next two league championships and won [3] winning the renewed Negro League World Series in 1942 in four straight games against the Homestead Grays.
At the start of this run the Monarchs acquired their most famous player, Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige, who had since his rookie season in 1927 built a reputation as the best hurler in black baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and several other teams.[12] Suffering from an arm injury and generally thought to be done, Paige joined the Monarchs' B team in 1939; by 1940 he had recovered and been called up to the Monarchs' main squad, where he became their top drawing card. Paige was the subject of a lot of stories, both true and folklore, and became a legend to people who don't even follow baseball. For example, he was known to have known the outfielders to sit on the ground behind him while he struck out the hitter and there was someone on base that could possibly tie the game up. Paige also warmed up before pitching in a game by throwing across a gum wrapper as home plate.[2] Paige led another superb Monarchs' staff that included fellow Hall of Famer Hilton Smith, the veteran Chet Brewer, Booker McDaniels, Jim LaMarque, and several others. They won one last NAL pennant in 1946, but lost a seven-game World Series to the Newark Eagles; in this series, they lost four games and won three.[13]
In 1945, UCLA football star and Army lieutenant Jackie Robinson hit .387 as the Monarchs' shortstop. He became the first Monarch to make the jump to white baseball, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946. He broke the minor league color line in 1946 with the Montreal Royals, and integrated the major leagues with the Dodgers in 1947. As baseball gradually desegregated in the late 1940s and 1950s, the Monarchs developed a niche as the foremost developer of black talent for the major leagues. The team sent more players to the majors than any other Negro league franchise, including Robinson, Paige, Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Hank Thompson, and Willard Brown.
Newt Allen succeeded Cooper as manager in 1941, and was followed by Frank Duncan in 1942. Duncan stayed at the helm through the 1947 season winning two league titles and one world title. After Duncan stepped down, longtime first baseman Buck O'Neil took over. Then Monarchs lost the league title to the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 which prevented them from appearing in the last Negro World Series. 1948 was also the year that Wilkinson sold the Monarchs to Tom Baird who owned the team through their minor league days in the 1950s.[3] The Monarchs won the league's western division first-half pennant in 1949, but declined to participate in a playoff with the Chicago American Giants, as their roster was depleted by player sales to major league clubs. They won the NAL West Division title in 1950 but did not meet the eastern champion Indianapolis Clowns that year. They won a half-season pennant in 1951 but lost a playoff. O'Neil won his only two league titles in 1953 and 1955, with a last-place finish sandwiched between in 1954 as the Negro American League of the 1950s declined in quality and shrank in size, while in the process grooming a number of eventual major league players.
Home fields and move to Grand Rapids
The Monarchs played their home games in the minor league Kansas City Blues' Association Park from 1920 to 1923, and moved to the Blues' new park, Muehlebach Field, in mid-1923. They mostly barnstormed in the early-to-mid-1930s, but used Muehlebach (later known as Ruppert Stadium or Blues Stadium at different times) from 1937 until 1955. After a single season of scheduling games with the major league Kansas City Athletics as prime tenants of the renamed Municipal Stadium, Tom Baird sold eight players to major league clubs and four more players to minor league teams,[14] released his manager, Buck O'Neil, who then signed on as a scout for the Chicago Cubs,[13] and then sold the franchise to baseball entrepreneur Ted Rasberry, who moved its base to Grand Rapids, Michigan, though retaining the name "Kansas City Monarchs".[15] From 1956 on, the Monarchs were a full-time barnstorming team. The Negro American League ceased operations in 1962, and the Monarchs finally disbanded after the 1965 season. In Grand Rapids, the Monarchs Played at Valley Field, located at 700 Valley Ave NW, 49584.[16]
Record and legacy
The Kansas City Monarchs played minor league teams Denver of the Western League and the Kansas City Blues of the American Association in 1922 in two post-regular season series. The Monarchs beat Denver 3 games to 2 and also beat the Blues 5 games to 1. The first Negro World Series occurred in 1924 and it was the Kansas City Monarchs against Hilldale. The Monarchs won 5 games in the NAL World Series and Hilldale won 4 games. José Méndez pitched the last game of the 1924 World Series against his doctor's orders. The Monarchs and Hilldale both returned to the NAL World Series the next year with Hilldale winning 5 games and the Monarchs winning 1 game. The 1942 NNL World Series the Monarchs won 4 games and the Homestead Grays won 0 games. The Newark Eagles won 4 games and the Monarchs won 3 games in the 1946 Negro World Series. The Kansas City Monarchs were often asked to speak at club gatherings, because they were considered to role models and leaders for other young men. The players on the Kansas City Monarchs understood that they had, and important role and they set a high standard for the Negro Leagues. The successful teams gathered many excited spectators around the country. There were 15,000 people in the crowd to watch the Monarchs play against the American Giants and 11,000 people watched the Monarchs play against the Dayton Marcos in 1920. Another Monarchs game in 1943 drew a crowd of 315,000 people. When the Monarchs had the opportunity to play against the major league team St. Louis Cardinals, there were 15,000 spectators in attendance.[17]
Minor league affiliate
The Kansas City Monarchs were one of a few Negro league teams that informally employed a farm team. The Monroe Monarchs played from the late 1920s to 1935, mostly as a minor league team loosely associated with Kansas City.[18]
Baseball Hall of Famers
Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Monarchs cap insignia. An asterisk (*) denotes the player is depicted on Hall of Fame plaque without a cap insignia or with the cap insignia obscured but the Hall of Fame recognizes Monarchs as "Primary Team"
Toni Stone (1954); first woman to play in the negro leagues (1953); she was traded from the Indianapolis Clowns to the Monarchs in the 1950s.
Newt Allen (1922–1930, 1934, 1941) "The Black Diamond"; replaced Bob Fagan as second baseman; succeeded Bingo DeMoss as best in the position; really good infielder at any position; captain 1923-1925 and 1929; manager in 1941; spent most of his 23-year career with the Monarchs.
Eugene Baker (1948-1949) MLB All-Star; second baseman.
Elston Howard (1948–1950) 12 x MLB All-Star; 1963 AL Most Valuable Player.
Clifford Connie Johnson (1940–1942, 1946–1950); pitcher.
John Buck O'Neil (1938–1943, 1946–1955); joined the Navy, returned in 1946 in Mexico before returning to the Monarchs; became a scout for the Chicago Cubs in 1956.
George Alexander Sweatt (1920-1927) infielder and outfielder; helped the Monarchs win the 1924 World Series.
Leroy Robert Satchel Paige (1935, 1939-1947); seen as one of the best pitchers in the league; well known by both black and white players, helped negro leagues grow; played in Latin America, he had an acrobatic windup; told his pitching days were over but regained strength by 1941; had great showmanship; brought into the major leagues in 1948; first African American baseball player indicted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Frank Floyd "Jewbaby"; he was the trainer for the Kansas City Monarchs for 30 years; took credit for restoring Satchel Paige's pitching arm.
Hilton Smith; was seen as good of a pitcher as Satchel Paige; part of dominant Monarchs pitching staff during World War II; Satchel Paige would pitch 3 innings and Smith would finish; many considered that he had the best curveball in baseball history.
George Carr; pitcher; most renowned African American baseball player to join the Negro National League from the Coast League.
Carroll Dink Mothell (1924-1926, 1934); utility man; highly valued because he could bat and play many positions; outfielder and second baseman in the first Negro World Series; centerfielder; first baseman.
In February 2021, the team's name was revived by a Kansas City, Kansas, minor league team, the Kansas City T-Bones. The name was approved through a negotiation with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.[20]
MLB throwback jerseys
The Kansas City Royals have honored the Monarchs by wearing replica uniforms during regular-season baseball games on several occasions, including July 14, 2001 (at Pittsburgh), July 1, 2007, and May 30, 2009 (at home vs. White Sox), June 9, 2012 (at Pittsburgh), July 21, 2012, and June 23, 2019 (both at home vs. Minnesota), August 24, 2013 (at home vs. Washington Nationals), May 18, 2014 (at home vs. Baltimore), May 17, 2015 (at home vs. New York Yankees), May 15, 2016 (at home vs. Atlanta), May 7, 2017 (at home vs. Cleveland), and August 13, 2022 (at home vs. Los Angeles Dodgers). Throwback jerseys worn during Royals home games have typically been auctioned as a fundraiser for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.[21]
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
William Julius "Judy" Johnson was an American professional third baseman and manager whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 seasons, from 1921 to 1937. Slight of build, Johnson never developed as a power threat but achieved his greatest success as a contact hitter and an intuitive defenseman. Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of the Negro leagues. In 1975, he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame after being nominated by the Negro Leagues Committee.
Wilber Joe Rogan, also known as "Bullet Joe", was an American pitcher, outfielder, and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two-way player who could both hit and pitch successfully, one statistical compilation shows Rogan winning more games than any other pitcher in Negro leagues history and ranking fourth highest in career batting average. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster, they were charter members of Foster's Negro National League. The American Giants won five pennants in that league, along with another pennant in the 1932 Negro Southern League and a second-half championship in Gus Greenlee's Negro National League in 1934.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1978 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1967 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1966 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1964 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1959 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1948 throughout the world.
James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), Philadelphia Royal Giants (1925), Philadelphia Stars (1933–1935), Washington / Baltimore Elite Giants (1936–1939), and Newark Dodgers/Eagles.
Andrew Lewis Cooper, nicknamed "Lefty", was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. An alumnus of Paul Quinn College, Cooper played nine seasons for the Detroit Stars and ten seasons for the Kansas City Monarchs, and briefly played for the Chicago American Giants. The Texan was 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) tall and weighed 220 pounds.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1928 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1925 throughout the world.
The Hilldale Athletic Club were an American professional Negro league baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia.
The St. Louis Stars, originally the St. Louis Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and then joined the Negro National League (NNL) for the duration of their existence. After the 1921 season, the Giants were sold by African-American promoter Charlie Mills to Dick Kent and Dr. Sam Sheppard, who built a new park and renamed the club the Stars. As the Stars, they eventually built one of the great dynasties in Negro league history, winning three pennants in four years from 1928 to 1931.
The 1942 Negro World Series was a best-of-seven match-up between the Negro American League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Negro National League champion Washington-Homestead Grays. In a six-game series, the Monarchs swept the Grays four games to none, with two additional games not counted in the standings. The Monarchs actually won the 1942 series 5-1, but a second game played in Yankee Stadium on September 13 was not counted by prior agreement, and the only game played in Kansas City was thrown out on appeal when the Grays used unauthorized players from other NNL teams.
The 1924 Colored World Series was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale. In a ten-game series, the Monarchs narrowly defeated Hilldale 5 games to 4, with one tie game. It was the first World Series between the respective champions of the NNL and ECL. It was the second year of existence for the ECL, but no agreement could be reached in 1923 for a postseason series, owing primarily to unresolved disputes between the leagues. Five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame participated in the series: Biz Mackey, Judy Johnson, and Louis Santop played for Hilldale, while Bullet Rogan and José Méndez played for the Monarchs. In addition, Monarchs owner J. L. Wilkinson was also inducted into the Hall.
Paul Eugene "Country Jake" Stephens was an American baseball player known for his slight stature, speed, and defense at the shortstop position. He played in the Negro leagues for 4 teams (1921–1937).
The 1926 Colored World Series was the championship tournament for the 1926 season of Negro league baseball. It was the third overall Series played. It matched the Chicago American Giants, champions of the Negro National League (1920–1931), and the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, New Jersey, champions of the Eastern Colored League. Initially planned as a best-of-nine series, two ties meant that the series went eleven games. Chicago won just once in the first six games, but games 1 and 4 had ended in ties, meaning that they only trailed three games to one when the Series shifted to Chicago. They were down to their final game after losing the eighth game, but the Chicago American Giants proceeded to win the next three games to complete the comeback and win their first ever World Series.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. p.111. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. pp.19, 116, 128, 151, 153. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. pp.27, 149, 153. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. pp.127, 129. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
↑ Deford, Frank (November 2013). "NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL". Smithsonian Magazine. Washington D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. pp.26, 27, 29. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. pp.17, 20, 93, 129, 130, 136, 155. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
↑ Holway, John (2001). The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History. Fern Park, Florida: Hastings House Publishers. p.284. ISBN0-8038-2007-0.
↑ Dixon, Phil; Hannigan, Patrick (1992). The Negro Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History. Mattituck, New York: Amereon House. ISBN0-8488-0425-2.
Only the Ball was White by Robert Peterson (1970) Publisher: Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs NJ) ISBN0-19-507637-0
The Kansas City Monarchs by Janet Bruce-Campbell {1985} Publisher: University Press of Kansas (Lawrence KS) ISBN0-7006-0343-3
The Monarchs 1920–1938, Featuring Wilber "Bullet" Rogan by Phil S. Dixon {2002} Publisher: Mariah Press (Sioux Falls SD) ISBN1-893250-08-3
The Negro Leagues Book edited by Dick Clark & Larry Lester {1994} Publisher: The Society for American Baseball Research (Cleveland OH) ISBN0-910137-55-2
The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John B. Holway {2001} Publisher: Hastings House ISBN0-8038-2007-0
Black America Series Black Baseball in Kansas Cityby Larry Lester and Sammy J. Miller (2000) Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (Charleston, SC) ISBN978-0-7385-0842-9
Tye, Larry (2009), Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, New York: Random House, ISBN978-1-4000-6651-3
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