Kansas City Monarchs
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 |
|
| Location | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Ballpark |
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| Year established | 1920 |
| Year disbanded | 1965 |
| Nickname(s) |
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| League titles | |
| Negro World Series championships | |
Baseball Hall of Famers
changePlayers 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
changeIn 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
changeThe 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
change- ↑ Goldstein, Richard (2006-07-27). "Belated Recognition". The New York Times. pp. D5.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.