Kansas City Monarchs

Negro League baseball team

The Kansas City Monarchs were an American baseball team. They were the the longest-running team in the history of the Negro leagues. The team played in Kansas City, Missouri. It was owned by J. L. Wilkinson. They were members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. In 1930, the Monarchs became the first professional baseball team to use a portable lighting system. It was moved from game to game in trucks to play games at night. They used the system for five years before any major league team did.[1] The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration. They won the first Negro League World Series in 1924. The Monarchs had only one season without a winning record.[2] The team had more major league players than any other Negro league franchise.[3] It was disbanded in 1965.

Kansas City Monarchs
Information
League
LocationKansas City, Missouri
Ballpark
  • Association Park (1920–1923)
  • Muehlebach Field (1923–1955)
  • a.k.a. Ruppert Stadium (1937–1942)
  • a.k.a. Blues Stadium (1943–1954)
  • a.k.a. Municipal Stadium (1955)
  • Valley Field, Grand Rapids (1956–1965)
Year established1920
Year disbanded1965
Nickname(s)
League titles
Negro World Series championships

Baseball Hall of Famers

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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"

Kansas City Monarchs Hall of Famers
Inductee Position Years with the team Inducted
Ernie Banks SS/1B 1950–1953 1977
Cool Papa Bell CF 1932 1974
Willard Brown OF 1935–1944
1946–1949
2006
Andy Cooper P 1928–1929, 1931
1933–1939
2006
Bill Foster P 1931 1996
Jose Mendez P 1917, 1920–1926 2006
Satchel Paige* P 1935, 1940–1947 1971
Jackie Robinson 2B 1945 1962
Bullet Rogan P/OF 1920–1930
1933–1938
1998
Hilton Smith* P 1937–1948 2001
Turkey Stearnes OF 1931, 1934
1938–1940
2000
Cristobal Torriente OF 1916–1917, 1926 2006
J.L. Wilkinson* Founder 1920–1948 2006
Buck O’Neil Executive 1938-1943, 1946-1955 2022

Legacy

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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.[4]

MLB throwback jerseys

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The Kansas City Royals have worn uniforms based on those worn by the Monarchs during regular-season baseball games several times. They have been worn on July 14, 2001 (at Pittsburgh), July 1, 2007, and May 30, 2009 (at home vs. Chicago 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), 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 ). The jerseys worn during home games have usually been auctioned as a fundraiser for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.[5]

References

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  1. Goldstein, Richard (2006-07-27). "Belated Recognition". The New York Times. pp. D5.
  2. "Negro Leagues Baseball EMuseum: Team Profiles: Kansas City Monarchs". K-State College of Education. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  3. Dulin, Pete (2020-01-27). "How the Kansas City Monarchs became the city's favorite sports team in the 1920s". Kansas City Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  4. Weinbaum, Dan (22 January 2021). "The Kansas City Monarchs are back! The T-Bones rebranded as famed Negro League baseball club". KMBZ Radio. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. "Celebrate with the Kansas City Royals as we pay tribute to the Negro Leagues". MLB.com. Kansas City Royals. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016 – via Wayback Machine.

Other websites

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