tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89594168636750098402024-03-18T21:43:23.322-05:00Jackie With The MonarchsAaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-12726335734676050243000-02-12T11:45:00.000-06:002013-04-15T11:53:03.115-05:00Welcome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In 2010, I posted on this site about the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs season in "real time," meaning that I'd write up a game that happened on August 28, 1945 on August 28, 2010. The posts show up in reverse order, so if you'd like to follow the season from the beginning, <a href="http://jwtm1945.blogspot.com/2010/02/before-he-was-monarch.html">here is a link to the first post</a>. You can also find posts by browsing the archive and/or tags list in the right column.</div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-8712943654715172422016-04-14T14:19:00.002-05:002016-04-15T09:14:51.252-05:00"What's Wrong With Negro Baseball?" by Jackie Robinson Provides Insights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Ebony</i> issue carried this image, which is the best version of the picture I've seen. Any eagle-eyed ballpark experts able to identify the park? That's a road uniform, so it's probably not in KC.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSIOOZswfokByvDoKCZJV_onEETbC0tRe4bDY8BvBfcV3jIGkQEKe2V9EELET36hShfIG_bgWWiZCIXLG8X9-xukI6C98PcGxuNkC8hNb0yMn7Zu6faSG8y2QZmL0-1FzhyL34xe8yP4/s1600/3885967418_3a0db36500_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSIOOZswfokByvDoKCZJV_onEETbC0tRe4bDY8BvBfcV3jIGkQEKe2V9EELET36hShfIG_bgWWiZCIXLG8X9-xukI6C98PcGxuNkC8hNb0yMn7Zu6faSG8y2QZmL0-1FzhyL34xe8yP4/s1600/3885967418_3a0db36500_m.jpg" /></a>I am thrilled to have finally found articles penned by Jackie Robinson from the June, 1948 <i>Ebony</i> magazine. I've known that they existed for quite some time, but the full text has been surprisingly difficult for me to locate. It contains a treasure trove of information regarding Jackie's time with the Monarchs and his opinion of the Negro leagues in general.<br />
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The cover of the issue featured a close-up of Jackie's face with the provocative headline "What's Wrong With Negro Baseball?" In the article under the same title, Jackie excoriates the Negro leagues for a lack of official contracts, low salaries, sloppy umpiring, questionable business connections of owners, a lack of practice before starting spring training games, uncomfortable buses, cheap hotels in disrepair, lack of rules controlling player behavior, and player expenses not being covered by clubs. Quite the list.<br />
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Jackie had a passionate moral certitude that perhaps was a necessary component of his incredible strength in his fruitful fights for integration and equality. His fiery hatred of segregation is understandable and natural, but what is less clear to me is why, when it came to baseball, he directed that hatred toward the institutions that were the <i>victims</i> of segregation and oppression instead of the <i>perpetrators</i>. He claims in this article that he knows "Negro club owners cannot afford to be as generous as the big leagues," but the rest of the article clearly demonstrates he did not have a full appreciation of that fact, and, more importantly, <i>why</i> the Negro leagues couldn't afford to spend like the white major leagues or who was at fault for that disparity.</div>
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He laments the lack of a formal contract with the Monarchs, which made him worry about his ability to collect the full salary promised him. He also points out, "from the club's point of view, I felt that I could in no way be held liable to the Monarchs and could leave at any time I wanted to go." In all my reading on the Monarchs, I've seen exactly zero charges of players being underpaid by owners J.L. Wilkinson or Tom Baird. I'm sure Jackie would have included it in this article if he was ever short-changed. While I agree with Jackie that it would have been better business for the leagues to have used formal player contracts, Jackie seems to have lacked an awareness of which party the lack of a contract ended up harming in his case. His overall point that the Negro leagues could have increased their professionalism by signing formal player contracts is accurate, though they had been given no reason to think they were at risk of having their players poached by white baseball. It is my understanding that after Jackie joined the Dodgers organization, Negro leagues owners did make sure they had their ducks in a row regarding solid player contracts.</div>
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He also laments low salaries in the Negro leagues, though he himself had considered his $100/week salary in 1945 a "financial bonanza" compared to other opportunities available to him (according to his 1972 autobiography). Negro league salaries were indeed lower in comparison to the white majors, but by placing the <i>blame</i> for that on the Negro leagues, Jackie again shows a surprising lack of awareness.</div>
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The article clears up that there was some contact between Jackie and the Monarchs after he took off for Brooklyn to meet Rickey. I had felt pretty sure he had not returned to play the end of the season with the Monarchs, though I remember seeing one source suggesting he did which left some nagging doubt. It is clear now that he did not play any more games with the club after August, but, somewhat surprisingly, he did actually want to. The true nature of his trip to Brooklyn and agreement with Rickey was a closely guarded secret for two months, so what excuse he gave the Monarchs for his sudden absence, I don't know. But the <i>Ebony</i> article reveals:</div>
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In September 1945 I went to the management of the Kansas City club to get permission to play up until September 21 in exhibition games and then go home, as I was tired. I was told I would have to play all the games or none. I was left with no other alternative than to leave the ball club. The owner's son gave me a lecture and assured me that if I left the club I was through, that I could play no place outside of the Negro National League, and that he was sure that Kansas City was the only team with which I could play. The "cooperation" I received that afternoon made me glad I no longer had to play with the Kansas City ball club.</blockquote>
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September 21 is a very specific date to remember as Jackie wrote this three years after the fact, but it does make sense with <a href="http://jwtm1945.blogspot.com/2010/09/postseason-exhibitions-end-season.html" target="_blank">what I know about the Monarchs schedule in September of '45</a>. The club was in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas through the 20th, then down to Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana for the rest of the month, so perhaps Jackie was willing to tour the Midwest in order to earn some money but couldn't stomach the idea of adding a Southern trip on top of that.</div>
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The same <i>Ebony</i> issue featured excerpts from Jackie's 1948 book <i>My Own Story</i>. It contains a wonderful telling of the Brooklyn Dodgers first contact with Jackie in August, 1945. A Monarchs player asked,</div>
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"Who's the white fellow you were talking to, Jackie?" "I don't know," I said. "He says he's scouting me for the Brooklyn Dodgers." Everyone on the bench laughed, including me. One of the players jumped up and saluted me. "I'm a scout, too," he said, standing very erect. "I'm from Moose Face Troop No. 60 and if I pass my Eagle test next week, I'm gonna fly away." We all got a great kick out of it. The possibility of a Big League scout spending his time looking at Negro players was nothing but a joke.</blockquote>
The article also reveals that he later that same day expressed worry to the "white fellow," Clyde Sukeforth, about losing his job with the Monarchs if he takes off for Brooklyn to meet with Branch Rickey. Jackie remembered Sukeforth smiling and saying, "Don't worry about that. I think you've seen your last day with Kansas City." That doesn't gel with other impressions I've gotten that Sukeforth was not 100% certain of what Rickey's intentions were. I'd be surprised if Rickey himself was definite about signing Jackie before they discussed it face to face.<br />
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I'm pleased to host legible images of both articles in full below. These are important pieces that should be freely available to all. (If clicking on the images brings up a smallish slideshow, try then right clicking on the image in the slideshow and selecting "open image in new tab" or something similar in order to view at full-size.)<br />
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-57592403460516282592016-04-12T12:17:00.000-05:002016-04-12T12:17:12.569-05:00Article on Flatland<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kansas City Public Television's digital magazine <i>Flatland</i> has a piece about Jackie's 1945 season <a href="http://www.flatlandkc.org/people-places/1945-jackie-robinsons-year-kc-monarchs/" target="_blank">here</a>. Jesse Howe created a nice info-graphic using data from this website, and included a Q&A with me at the bottom of the article. I'm posting the Q&A below.</span></span><br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />What do you do for a living?</span></strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6;"><b><br /></b>I am the benevolent dictator of my two children, ages four and eight. The hours are long, the money zero, the difficulties abundant, but the rewards, when I remember to notice them, are immense.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you still live in Kansas City?</span></strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6;"><b><br /></b>I grew up in the eastern ‘burbs, then spent nine years between Des Moines, Minneapolis, and Iowa City. By the end of those nine years I missed KC something fierce, and moved to the Brookside/Waldo area in 2007. I feel extremely connected to the city and loved being back until my wife’s job situation led us to move to a Minneapolis suburb in 2013. I tried to deny how hard it was for me to leave Kansas City for a long time, which, shockingly, didn’t work that well. It’s only been within the last half year or so that I’ve fully faced how difficult leaving Kansas City was, which has allowed me to move through it a little bit and start to see that I can build a community here, too. But a huge part of my heart will always be in KC.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What was your motivation to hunt down all this information on Jackie Robinson?</span></strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6;"><b><br /></b>All of my baseball writing has been a passion project. (I did sell a freelance article to The Hardball Times once, but I’d rather not do the math on how the few bucks from that compares to the number of hours I’ve spent researching and writing about baseball.) A couple of great opportunities have unexpectedly come my way since I started blogging (most notably getting selected to attend a Blog Your Way to the K event with the Royals, giving a talk at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and a short chat with Sarah Burns when she was developing the <i>Jackie Robinson</i> documentary for PBS), but I’ve written what I have because of my love for and curiosity about baseball and Kansas City. I’ve been quiet lately as I try to figure out how my passion for KC baseball fits in with my need to figure out a way to feel at home in Minnesota, but I expect I’ll always retain that love for KC baseball and some desire to write about it, though my output might be even more sporadic than before.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Where did your interest in uncovering Robinson’s year with the Monarchs come from? Was it an interest from childhood?</span></strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6;"><b><br /></b>It developed later in life. I don’t recall if I was even aware of Jackie’s year with the Monarchs as a kid. I probably heard it as a trivia tidbit but didn’t think too much about it. In my mid-20s I developed a deep appreciation for the lessons the history of the Negro leagues have to offer, most movingly embodied in the spirit of Buck O’Neil. Soon after Buck died in 2006, I read his autobiography for the first time, and the story of the Monarchs and the broader Negro leagues came alive for me in a new and powerful way. I developed a thirst to learn all I could about the Monarchs, and after exhausting all of the modern literature I could find about them, I still wasn’t satisfied. I started combing through some primary sources, especially microfilm of the Kansas City Call at the downtown library. Jackie’s story is of course an extremely important and compelling chapter in Monarchs history, so his 1945 season was my main focus at first, and I wanted to share as much detail about his short time with the Monarchs as I could find for anyone else who shared my curiosity.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What are you working on now?</span></strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6;"><b><br /></b>My youngest will be attending preschool four mornings a week next school year, so I’m trying to look at that as the line in the sand when I’m going to buckle down and get back to work on my dream of producing a book on the Monarchs.</span></div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-22230810891432432392013-08-26T09:03:00.002-05:002013-08-26T09:03:13.838-05:00"Jackie With the Monarchs" Presentation Video<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is the presentation I gave at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on April 13, 2013.<br />
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fd-DvwkkWIU" width="600"></iframe></div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-78145234828002995302013-04-15T21:58:00.000-05:002013-04-15T21:58:46.446-05:00"Jackie With The Monarchs" Speech<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was honored to give a talk on Jackie's time with the Monarchs at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum recently. Below is more or less what I said.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks
to Dr. Doswell and Mr. Kendrick for inviting me to speak. I love this place,
and it’s a thrill to be here doing this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like a
lot of baseball fans, the history of the game is a big part of my appreciation
and fandom. And being born and raised here, the history of baseball in Kansas
City is especially compelling to me. So knowing that one of the most important
players in baseball history was playing for one of the hometown teams of the
past when he was signed to break the color line in the majors, I naturally wanted
to learn all I could about Jackie Robinson’s season playing for the Monarchs in
1945. It’s a part of his story that is often just brushed over. Jackie touches
on it briefly in his autobiography, and several other books have some good information,
but my curiosity still wasn’t satisfied after reading the more modern sources I
could find on the topic. My remaining curiosity led me to seek out contemporary
news accounts from 1945, and I started at the downtown Kansas City library
looking at microfilm from the <i>Kansas City
Call</i>, the newspaper geared toward the black community in Kansas City that
is still in operation just across the street. I started piecing together the
day-to-day happenings of the ’45 season. I added to what I found in the <i>Call</i> by searching various online
archives, and, along with some help from other researchers, I managed to get a
pretty good feel for the five months Jackie spent with the Monarchs. Negro
leagues coverage was spotty compared to the immaculate major league records we
are used to, but there is more information than you might think. There were
plenty of fascinating details to be found, and I hope you’re interested to hear
them.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But I’ll
start a little earlier. Before he was a Monarch, Jackie grew up playing and
excelling at any and every sport he could find in his hometown of Pasadena,
California. Crucially, he was playing on integrated teams and going to
integrated schools. That included baseball, but he played just one season at
UCLA, and it was not a particularly successful season. He truly starred at basketball,
track, and football. While Jackie of course became much </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">more</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> famous after the Dodgers signed him, he became quite well
known before that thanks to his collegiate athletic career. After college, he
played some semi-pro football in Honolulu in 1941. He left Honolulu after the
season on December 5</span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">—two days before Pearl Harbor was bombed. The
US entered the war, and Jackie was soon drafted. His first station was Fort
Riley, Kansas, just 130 miles west of here. He was famous enough that it was
news in Kansas City that he was stationed nearby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdhcwsan6UysAvcTuRsUyQdeZG6Ukbrmn6TkjgryyrlSnesc9qhneDbiVLHCGxPUJangprmIqNA_TRRRPXnVEiupNp7Aulg_SH9g0OnvTAciIVirzdV2UzCUpw5yny6k39VmnD2aYme4/s1600/jackie+at+ft+riley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdhcwsan6UysAvcTuRsUyQdeZG6Ukbrmn6TkjgryyrlSnesc9qhneDbiVLHCGxPUJangprmIqNA_TRRRPXnVEiupNp7Aulg_SH9g0OnvTAciIVirzdV2UzCUpw5yny6k39VmnD2aYme4/s320/jackie+at+ft+riley.jpg" width="185" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a picture from a 1942
<i>Kansas City Call</i>—three years before
his professional baseball career started. Jackie tried to play baseball on the
Fort Riley team, but was refused due to the color of his skin. Playing other
sports for military teams was also out due to Jim Crow policies. That meant
that his nearly three years of military service went by with Jackie playing very
little or no high-level competitive sports. He was almost 26 years old as his
service came to an end, and he had few prospects for well-paying work once he
got out.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There
are two versions of how he ended up on the Monarchs after his service. The way
Jackie told it in his autobiography, he happened on soldiers playing catch at a
military base towards the end of his service in 1944. He noticed one was
throwing some curve balls with some real snap. Jackie asked if he could catch
him for awhile, and they struck up a conversation. He turned out to be a Negro
leagues pitcher named Ted Alexander, most recently of the Monarchs. He told
Jackie that the pay and life in the Negro leagues was good and that the
Monarchs were looking for players. Jackie sent a letter to Tom Baird, co-owner
of the Monarchs, who invited Jackie to meet the team for spring training in
Texas, with a promised $300 a month if he made the team. Jackie countered with
a request for $400 a month and Baird agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Several
other sources say that Jackie approached Monarchs pitcher Hilton Smith while he
was playing winter ball in California, asked if he could help him get a job,
and that Hilton recommended him to the team. I give a little more credence to
Jackie’s story, but it’s possible there is truth to both stories. Maybe Jackie had
already been in touch with Baird, but was hedging his bets and figured an
additional recommendation from Hilton would help. However, every source on the
topic tells one version or the other, not both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fresh
out of the service, Jackie spent the winter of 1944-45 in Austin, Texas as the
athletic director at tiny Samuel Huston College. When spring came around,
Jackie headed for the Monarchs training camp in Houston. In Kansas City, the <i>Call</i> was abuzz with the news that he was
joining the team. “Jack Robinson to the Monarchs” was the bold headline on the
sports page, and the paper called his signing “the news of the week.” I wonder
how confident Jackie was in his baseball skills as he made the trip to Houston.
After all, it had been five years since his only college season, with
apparently little baseball in the interim. But according to reports, he “looked
good” in his very first workout with the club on March 27. One of his first of
many frustrations with the Negro leagues was that he only had a few days to try
to get in game shape before the tough travel schedule for exhibition games started
on Easter Sunday, April 1 in San Antonio. His first opponent was an all-white
team dubbed Engle’s Minor League All-Stars, headed by veteran minor leaguer
Charlie Engle. Engle patched together a team of minor leaguers and cadets from
a nearby Air Force base. The game was called a tie after 14 innings. Jackie managed
one hit in seven at-bats and turned three double plays as the shortstop. He was
installed at that difficult defensive position from the get-go, despite the
presence of all-star shortstop Jesse Williams on the team. Williams may not
have been 100% healthy in 1945 after fracturing his arm the year before, but it
still says a lot about Jackie’s athleticism that he immediately took over and
remained at such a demanding position. Jackie reportedly had the range of a
good shortstop but his throwing arm may not have been the strongest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The team
toured through the South all April playing exhibition games against the Chicago
American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Memphis Red Sox, and Indianapolis
Clowns. But in the middle of April, Jackie took a separate trip to Boston. In
baseball’s early days, playing games on Sundays was controversial. There was an
old law still on the books in Boston prohibiting Sunday baseball, and the major
league Red Sox and Braves had to secure a special permit to play on Sundays
from the city council every season, which was typically just a formality. But an
enterprising city councilman named <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwBLCVpix9eoVR3w9WziSYX-yWIUfeZstJr0VFMsCDqXlTQt3fKnwo_Mt4oR7VmO4IwR9pbpL_mIo8lcvIQePlBlB1R0Jjc9KJLLY24fQXId34D9MHxWf5lqExzTvQd7exL94lu_EJms/s1600/isadore+muchnick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwBLCVpix9eoVR3w9WziSYX-yWIUfeZstJr0VFMsCDqXlTQt3fKnwo_Mt4oR7VmO4IwR9pbpL_mIo8lcvIQePlBlB1R0Jjc9KJLLY24fQXId34D9MHxWf5lqExzTvQd7exL94lu_EJms/s320/isadore+muchnick.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isadore Muchnick</td></tr>
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Isadore Muchnick saw the Sunday permit as an
opportunity to strike a blow against major league segregation. Muchnick, who
was Jewish, informed the two Boston clubs that he would block their Sunday
permit unless they allowed an African-American to try-out for them. Muchnick
partnered with integration-crusading sportswriter Wendell Smith, and Smith’s
paper, the <i>Pittsburgh Courier,</i>
bankrolled a trip to Boston for three Negro leaguers with major league
potential. Smith invited Marvin Williams of the Philadelphia Stars, Sam Jethroe
of the Cleveland Buckeyes, and Jackie Robinson, who had been with the Monarchs
for just three weeks. Jackie’s name recognition could have been part of the
reason Smith invited him. The trio was put off for several days, but finally on
April 16 the Red Sox gave in. The Sox season opened the next day, and they
needed that Sunday permit! So along with a group of white amateurs, the three
Negro leaguers ran through drills for around an hour and a half at Fenway Park
in front of the Red Sox GM, manager, and two coaches. Jackie wore the Monarchs
uniform he brought while he stood in the Fenway batter’s box and sprayed line
drives over the center field wall and against the green monster. He neatly performed
some fielding drills at short with Marvin Williams at second. Sox manager Joe
Cronin told Wendell Smith, “They look like ballplayers alright. They really
look good out there.” But in the end, the Red Sox men made excuses about their
farm clubs being located in the South, and that they would need to see the
players in real game action before signing them. They told the players they’d
be hearing from them, but they never did. Jackie said the players never believed
that the tryout was sincere. Still, the try-out ended up being significant when
Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers contacted Wendell Smith soon after the
tryout to ask if any of the players were any good. Smith told Rickey that Robinson
was “big-league material.” Jackie and Isadore Muchnick remained friends after
the tryout, and Jackie later thanked Muchnick for “all (he) meant to
(Robinson’s) baseball career.”<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYIRagGehFinCAMhqJnRO5jaah9lpqZkduQsZdqrbAER_4BG1I8QKbUHfcxB6fB49O7VxqjZvFka3aUeW78r2aeJ0aGo6j7Ds_njHWsU2V8DNrg8vypJgnXn8NoAMkaa-3K7ru3awlsY/s1600/wendell+smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYIRagGehFinCAMhqJnRO5jaah9lpqZkduQsZdqrbAER_4BG1I8QKbUHfcxB6fB49O7VxqjZvFka3aUeW78r2aeJ0aGo6j7Ds_njHWsU2V8DNrg8vypJgnXn8NoAMkaa-3K7ru3awlsY/s320/wendell+smith.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wendell Smith</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jackie
returned to the Monarchs and finished out the spring training schedule. When it
was clear that he’d be making the team, he asked about signing a contract, but
was surprised and disappointed to hear that the letters he’d exchanged with Tom
Baird were all that was necessary. He felt as though this was to allow the team
to drop him easily if they ever wanted to. This was standard practice in the
Negro leagues at the time though, and the two Monarchs owners were known for treating
their players fairly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
squad headed to Kansas City for the season and home opener on Sunday, May 6
against the Chicago American Giants. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here’s an ad for the game from the <i>Call.</i> First pitch was
scheduled for 3:00, and the pre-game festivities got under way at 2:00. A
parade was led by the American Legion drum corps and the Monarchs booster club.
The opening day lineup looked like this:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Jesse Williams, 2B</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Walter Thomas, RF</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Jackie Robinson, SS</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">John Scott, CF</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Herb Souell, 3B</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Othello Renfro, LFe </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Lee Moody, 1B</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Frank Duncan, C</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Booker McDaniels, P<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">44 year old Frank Duncan was the manager of the
team and was a Kansas City native. He’s an underappreciated figure in Kansas
City baseball history. He joined the Monarchs in 1921and spent most seasons
with them all the way through 1947, and umpired home games for many years after
that. He was not a big hitter, but was reputedly a great defensive catcher. In
1945, he ended up splitting the catching duties with a rotating cast of
characters including Sammie Haynes, Chico Renfroe, Chester Gray, and Ted
“Double Duty” Radcliffe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Booker McDaniels ended up being the workhorse
of the pitching staff, even though it included Hall of Famers Satchel Paige and
Hilton Smith. Another fine pitcher, Lefty LaMarque, rounded out the four most used
pitchers in ’45. The pitching was strong, but other than Jackie and Herb
Souell, the offense didn’t strike too much fear in the opposition. The Monarchs
roster was hit hard by the war. An entire all-star outfield of Willard Brown,
Hank Thompson, and Ted Strong was in the service along with all-star first
baseman Buck O’Neil. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jackie had been so impressive that he was
batting third in his first league game. He stayed in the three hole for just
about every game with the Monarchs. He had an RBI double in the opener, plus a
stolen base and run scored. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The team spent most of their schedule
on the road, playing a lot of neutral site games, so Jackie only actually played
in Kansas City on around 12 dates. When he was in town, Jackie stayed at the
Streets Hotel at 18<sup>th</sup> & Paseo. The hotel had a hopping jazz club
called the Blue Room, but I doubt Jackie spent a lot of time there. He was a
teetotaler and straight-laced kind of guy, committed to his girlfriend Rachel
back in California. He may have stayed away from some of the late night fun some
of his teammates no doubt enjoyed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The team got off to a hot start, winning 10 of
the first 14 games for which I’ve found results. They stayed in the Midwest in
May and early June, playing against the American Giants, Birmingham Black
Barons, Indianapolis Clowns, and Cleveland Buckeyes. On Memorial Day at
Chicago’s Comiskey Park, Satchel Paige showed up and got a belated to start to
the season. Satchel had a good day, but Jackie had a great day. He came
to the plate seven times during the double header, and reached safely all seven
times with three walks, two singles, a double, and a triple.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In mid-June, the team headed east to meet some
powerful Negro National League teams (the Monarchs being in the Midwest-based
American League). Jackie and the Monarchs heading east got plenty of media
attention. Even the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">New York Times </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">previewed
a game at Yankee Stadium and called Jackie, “one of baseball’s leading
shortstops.” The </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">New York Amsterdam News </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">took
their praise even farther, saying Jackie was, “one of the sport’s most valuable
additions in years,” and that he was “headed for stardom.” I haven’t been able
to nail down exactly when Brooklyn Dodgers scouts first started watching
Jackie, but manager Frank Duncan later claimed, “by the time we got to (the
East), those scouts were on him.” I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers were
watching him earlier, but it was probably no later than this eastern trip. They
would have been impressed with what they saw.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The team headed to Griffith Stadium in D.C. for
a double header with the mighty Homestead Grays, and the <i>Washington Post </i>had more advance praise for Jackie, saying he “may
steal the show” from Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. And Jackie did put on quite
a show. If I could go back in time to watch baseball games, the doubleheader on
June 24 is one I would choose. I’d get to see seven Hall of Famers take the
field: Jackie, Satchel, and Hilton for the Monarchs, and Josh Gibson, Jud
Wilson, Cool Papa Bell, and Buck Leonard for the Grays. I’d also get to see
Jackie reach base safely in all <i>eight</i>
plate appearances he made in the two games (five singles, two doubles, and one
walk). The Grays murderer’s row was too much for the Monarchs in both games
however.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The season was split up into a first half and
second half, with each half winner to meet after the season for the league
championship. The Monarchs cooled as the first half went on. They lost their
last four games to the Cleveland Buckeyes, who won the first half. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The team started their drive to win the second
half with a game against the Birmingham Black Barons in Muskogee, OK on July 7.
Jackie had a pair of homeruns in the game. In another July game at Briggs
(later Tiger) Stadium, he put on a classic display of his incomparable base
running: After bunting safely for a hit, he stole second, then stole third, and
then raced home safely after the opposing catcher bobbled a pitch. That was
just one of many examples that proved his legendary base-running was already in
full effect in ’45. As his manager Frank Duncan said about Jackie years later:
“You talk about (Jackie) running those bases—oh man.” A little later in July,
Jackie crushed a curve ball for a home run against the Cleveland Buckeyes.
Buckeyes manager Quincy Trouppe wrote about the homer in his autobiography,
saying: “I knew then (Jackie) had the makings of a top pro. When a young player
breaks into pro ball hitting the curve with authority, you can expect to see
him develop into an excellent hitter.” The Monarchs lost the game however,
bringing their final record against the Buckeyes on the season to 0-6. Trouppe
also recalled that Jackie and Sam Jethroe got into a heated shouting match in
the clubhouse after a Buckeyes/Monarchs game, which is interesting since Jethroe
was one of the players Jackie spent time with in Boston for the try-out with
the Red Sox. Arguments and a quick temper were par for the course with Jackie
in 1945. Teammate Chico Renfroe recalled that Jackie “often got hotter than a
General Electric burner when he played with the Monarchs. And he had a truly
copious, ever-available supply of sizzling nouns, verbs and adjectives that
went awfully well with that temper.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0QlDf78MObijrjqzmJ2gCXE_WAfPMGbkggUllyTM-0KOSMFkkFvbbtWVI3HoEsqxsQa7xAA3e1e2hE4EXtItf1EWkHovQNHQ5pfvoQmrcBmLztFDCPPkH-kdmQieuVnxSeKQerlG3yU/s1600/jackie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0QlDf78MObijrjqzmJ2gCXE_WAfPMGbkggUllyTM-0KOSMFkkFvbbtWVI3HoEsqxsQa7xAA3e1e2hE4EXtItf1EWkHovQNHQ5pfvoQmrcBmLztFDCPPkH-kdmQieuVnxSeKQerlG3yU/s320/jackie.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jackie was chosen to start the
East-West all-star game at Chicago’s Comiskey Park July 29. Over 30,000 fans
showed up to watch the annual spectacle. Jackie was joined by Monarchs
teammates Jesse Williams and Booker McDaniels on the West team. Frank Duncan
was also present as first base coach for the West. Jackie had a rare hitless
day at the plate, but put the finishing touches on the West’s victory by
spearing a tough grounder behind second base before nailing the runner at first
for the final out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From there he headed back to KC to play what
ended up being his final home games with the Monarchs in exhibitions against
military teams on August 3<sup>rd</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup>. The team then headed
east for their second and final swing to the coast. Jackie mentioned this
specific trip in his autobiography, writing, “Travel schedules were
unbelievably hectic…on one occasion, we left Kansas City on a bus on a Sunday
night, traveled to Philadelphia, reaching there Tuesday morning. We played a
double header that night and the next day we were on the road again. This
fatiguing travel wouldn’t have been so bad if we could have had decent meals.
Finding satisfactory or even passable eating places was almost a daily
problem…Some of the eating joints would not serve us at all. You were lucky if
they…permitted you to carry out some greasy hamburgers in a paper bag…You ate
on board the team bus or on the road.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This second eastern trip included stops at
several big league parks: Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field,
D.C.’s Griffith Stadium, New York’s Yankee Stadium, and Boston’s Braves Field.
The game at Braves Field was the first night game played there. A writer for
the <i>Boston Chronicle</i> was mighty
impressed with Jackie’s performance in the game, writing: “Jackie gave the fans
thrill after thrill by his brilliant fielding, base running and hitting. His
drag bunt, his delayed steal of third, and his stealing home with the opposing
pitcher looking right down his throat, unable to do anything about it, were his
three sensational plays. Jackie proved why he is the talk of the country. He
acts like a big leaguer, hits like a big leaguer, thinks like a big leaguer,
throws like a big leaguer, and he fields like a big leaguer at shortstop.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and World
War II was starting to come to an end while the Monarchs were out East. Jackie
told a reporter, “I bet $5 it wouldn't be over before October, but that is one
bet I am happy to lose.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The team had been playing just a hair over
.500, hanging around just close enough to have hopes of catching the Buckeyes
for the second half title. But just as they’d done in the first half, they
finished poorly and by the end of August were out of the race. Satchel did toss
a gem during the skid—in Nashville he struck out 15 Clowns in a complete game
victory. During the next night’s game in Nashville, Jackie somehow injured his
shoulder severely enough that he was unable to play for awhile. It turned out
to be his last game with the Monarchs. From Nashville the team headed to Chicago
for a four game set against the American Giants. On the 24<sup>th</sup>, Jackie
was standing on the side of Comiskey Park’s field before the game when a white
man called to him from the stands. He introduced himself as <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIvWLcwU1Ilaa5ew6W-xHjOKQ8rviHaoH12Sgyu-1O_W6mXj_mNrbBh_8at3pC70eUsDtoYywu10s7GR_19wymF1b_yQ09IXZAoTiztA1E-gMmeaa1DXaG825MxPW8bP03O4nPg7kIPU/s1600/sukeforth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIvWLcwU1Ilaa5ew6W-xHjOKQ8rviHaoH12Sgyu-1O_W6mXj_mNrbBh_8at3pC70eUsDtoYywu10s7GR_19wymF1b_yQ09IXZAoTiztA1E-gMmeaa1DXaG825MxPW8bP03O4nPg7kIPU/s320/sukeforth.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clyde Sukeforth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Clyde
Sukeforth from the Brooklyn Dodgers and said Branch Rickey was interested in
Jackie for the Brooklyn <i>Brown</i>
Dodgers, a new Negro league team that Rickey was involved in. Sukeforth asked
if Jackie could throw a few balls from shortstop so he could judge his arm
strength, but Jackie explained that his shoulder was injured. The two men
talked more after the game, and Sukeforth urged Jackie to come to Brooklyn to
meet with Rickey. Sukeforth told Jackie that if he didn’t go to Rickey, Rickey
would come to him. According to Robinson biographer Arnold Rampersand, “Both
Jack and Sukeforth now suspected that something more than a place on the
Brooklyn Brown Dodgers might be at stake.” Jackie couldn’t play with his hurt
shoulder anyway, and possibly suspicious but also intrigued by Rickey’s
interest in him. So he joined Sukeforth on a train to New York where he had his
famous meeting with Rickey on August 28 where Rickey revealed his true
intention to sign Jackie to play for the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers top farm
team. I don’t believe Jackie rejoined the Monarchs after the meeting. He
missed just the last week of the regular season, but the team also played an
exhibition schedule all the way through September without Jackie. Their record
over the regular season was close to .500, perhaps a hair over (25-24 in games
I’ve been able to find).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He was relieved to have a way out of the Negro
leagues, which he called, “a miserable way to make a buck,” and where he said
he felt “unhappy and trapped.” He called the teams “poorly financed” and that
“their management and promotion left much to be desired.” Jackie might be the
only player to ever complain about the management of the Monarchs, who by all
other accounts were run extremely professionally. Jackie felt “trapped” in the
Negro leagues because he didn’t know any other way he could be making so much
money. Still, I doubt he would have continued a baseball career past 1945 if
the Dodgers hadn’t come calling. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The August 28 meeting was kept a secret for a
while. In late September, an article in the <i>Call</i>
said Jackie’s absence from the team was due only to his injury. On October 23,
Jackie was in Montreal for the public announcement of his signing with the
Royals. In Kansas City, the Monarchs owners were blind-sided, and initially
made noise in the press that they were owed some sort of compensation, and
they’d be taking the matter up with baseball commissioner Happy Chandler. But
saying anything short of full support of Jackie’s signing was not a good look,
and they quickly changed their tune, saying they would do nothing to “impede
his progress.” Tom Baird was a complex character whose racial attitude was
sometimes questionable, but he told the press in 1945 that, “We are glad of
(Jackie’s) advancement and hope more Negro players get the same opportunity. We
are not in Negro baseball just to make money; we want to see the Negro race
advance to full participation in American activities.” Branch Rickey felt no
need to consult with or compensate the Monarchs, likening the Negro leagues to
“a racket” and saying he “had not signed a player from what I regard as an
organized league.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jackie probably would not have disagreed with
those comments. I wish he would have lived long enough to comment on and see
the modern appreciation for all the Negro leagues contributed, and see whether
he would have eventually seen that the leagues built the bridge for him to
cross to the majors. I think his hatred of segregation blinded him to the
positive aspects of the Negro leagues. After all, where else could he have
played in 1945? Where else would Dodgers scouts have found him if not in the
Negro leagues? The Monarchs and the Negro leagues were crucial stepping stones,
without which the color line is broken much later than 1947, which then delays
the larger civil rights movement that Jackie helped spark.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Publicly, Negro league players had nothing but
support and well wishes for Jackie. Satchel told the press Jackie was “major
league caliber” and Rickey couldn’t have picked a better man. Privately, the
players had more complex reactions about Jackie being the one chosen. Many
years down the line, Negro league players often stated that Jackie was not the
best Negro league player at the time, but he was the right one to break the
color line. I think that undersells just how fantastic Jackie played in 1945.
The limited stats we are able to recover combined with the rave reviews he
garnered in the press leave little doubt that he was one of the elite players in
the league that year. Here is a look at my best guess for Jackie’s
stats with the Monarchs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(57 games played is my estimate of regular season
games he played against Negro league competition. Including games from spring
training and in-season exhibitions, I estimate Jackie played close to 90 games
with the Monarchs.) Those numbers combined with good defense at shortstop plus
fantastic base-running look like a strong MVP candidate to me. The narrative I’ve
heard on occasion that he was just an OK to very good player for the Monarchs, but
was selected for his background and character, and then took his game to a new
level when the stakes were raised doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. I think he
was already an elite player in addition to having the right make-up to face the
strain ahead. Perhaps those Negro leaguers that downplayed his performance in
1945 did so because he wasn’t an established star. Guys like Satchel Paige,
Josh Gibson, and many more had been performing at Hall of Fame levels for many
years, so there were some ruffled feathers when a new kid on the block was
selected. But the established stars were on the wrong side of their primes. It
would be kind of like choosing between Mike Trout and Albert Pujols right now.
I’m sure MLB players have a lot more respect for Pujols at the moment, but as a
GM, who would you rather have on your team for the next 10 years?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In closing, I’d like to share my favorite
story from Jackie’s time with the Monarchs. It comes second-hand from Buck O’Neil,
and tells you a lot about who Jackie was and the mark he left on the Monarchs
in his short time with the team. Quoting from Buck’s autobiography:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">We had been buying gas for years at a service
station (in Muskogee, OK) that had just one restroom—and we weren't allowed to
use it. We thought nothing of it, and we gave the owner a lot of business
anyway. Well , when the bus pulled into Muskogee and stopped at this station,
Jackie got out and headed toward the restroom. The owner, who was filling the
tank, called after him, "Hey boy! You know you can’t go in there." Jackie asked
him why. "Because we don’t allow no colored people in that restroom."</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The guys knew about Jackie’s hair-trigger
temper, so they just stood around, wondering what he was going to do. Jackie
turned to the man very calmly and said, "Take the hose out of the tank." The
owner stopped the pump and looked at him. "Take the hose out of the tank." Jackie repeated. Then he turned to his teammates and said, "Let’s go. We don’t
want his gas."</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, the Monarchs had two fifty-gallon tanks
on the bus. That gas station wasn’t going to sell a hundred gallons of gas to
one customer until the bus came back through a few weeks later. He shoved the
hose back into the tank and said, "All right, you boys can use the restroom.
But don’t stay long.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From then on, the Monarchs could use the
restroom whenever they passed through. But more importantly, they decided never
to patronize any gas station or restaurant where they couldn’t use the
facilities.</span></span></blockquote>
</div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-36877921524021168822013-03-30T13:34:00.002-05:002013-04-10T17:52:30.240-05:00"Jackie With The Monarchs" Talk at Negro Leagues Museum April 13<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLcTVbFPWzUatjcIOIlTF8C0b6fY41hiWMIokZp6xeQINKzNHlvKquVp_5_wnbewLzYavSZqQHtVXkoUtY2N2cB33bLXtbwFlWMt4DRHBQzOKKcV4dazoxxXLMRdYv3rWKmM4i1rrP1M/s1600/jackie+with+the+monarchs+nlbm+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLcTVbFPWzUatjcIOIlTF8C0b6fY41hiWMIokZp6xeQINKzNHlvKquVp_5_wnbewLzYavSZqQHtVXkoUtY2N2cB33bLXtbwFlWMt4DRHBQzOKKcV4dazoxxXLMRdYv3rWKmM4i1rrP1M/s640/jackie+with+the+monarchs+nlbm+image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm very excited to be giving <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/343847882384053/" target="_blank">a talk on Jackie Robinson's 1945 season with the Kansas City Monarchs at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on April 13 at 10:30</a>. The talk is free with paid museum admission.<br />
<br />
There are several other Jackie Robinson Day-related events going on with the museum that you can find out about at their <a href="http://www.nlbm.com/" target="_blank">website</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NegroLeaguesBaseballMuseum?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.<br />
<br />
I'm also excited about the <a href="http://42kansascity.com/" target="_blank">Kansas City premiere of new Robinson bio-pic <i>42 </i>on April 11. Word is few tickets remain, so get 'em while the gettin's good</a>.</div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-68582898796753243762011-11-10T12:01:00.000-06:002011-11-10T12:06:39.220-06:00Othello Renfroe On Jackie's First Year In The Majors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YqBVagtcPZpvv4CcqenvA3mjYtEDh5tpvkLSQ6d6eLY1Qmg9ujMKoxg-j45b5YCComIfQRwkzak8_bmlJlF-6F8qyN2q6Uga5yQIV627iZZKcU2-deccK-bTUxrQTjQrL8WdQMyOcSg/s1600/renfroe+on+jackie+in+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YqBVagtcPZpvv4CcqenvA3mjYtEDh5tpvkLSQ6d6eLY1Qmg9ujMKoxg-j45b5YCComIfQRwkzak8_bmlJlF-6F8qyN2q6Uga5yQIV627iZZKcU2-deccK-bTUxrQTjQrL8WdQMyOcSg/s1600/renfroe+on+jackie+in+48.jpg" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1PLAsV2chtRPHUEzigiBLXZppwrBLbILtHz50o8jYb3Xi5E1y7mOg7kKcOOMscFgmglZAcvkQbq5GbfZ5tOHHMtvv9tx7dthfnxlRGk8CzDP-06p-oorEuGla4-LaiUvvQ07ynJHm18/s1600/renfroe+w+jackie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1PLAsV2chtRPHUEzigiBLXZppwrBLbILtHz50o8jYb3Xi5E1y7mOg7kKcOOMscFgmglZAcvkQbq5GbfZ5tOHHMtvv9tx7dthfnxlRGk8CzDP-06p-oorEuGla4-LaiUvvQ07ynJHm18/s1600/renfroe+w+jackie.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robinson & Renfroe with the Monarchs in 1945</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-48092862232677313632011-02-05T23:10:00.000-06:002011-02-05T23:10:53.835-06:00Jackie In 1942 KC Paper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I was researching the Monarchs 1942 season when I came across the below photo of Private Jackie Robinson serving at Fort Riley, Kansas. The photo ran three years before he became a Monarch, and is further evidence of the national notoriety he had gained as a multiple-sport star at UCLA.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXTd2m4ixXsBHHFizgKn_tenFU62TSi6cFW2Yc8647AosGH2rwubs3BMGJ5CLLMqe9YkJr6urZaHdLk_JYvbeBO3L9hvy1iJg7Vpd4oxfq0oNK3nJU0xdUFmSFoRO5xILA2wo9IDlNCY/s1600/5-1+jackie+at+ft+riley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXTd2m4ixXsBHHFizgKn_tenFU62TSi6cFW2Yc8647AosGH2rwubs3BMGJ5CLLMqe9YkJr6urZaHdLk_JYvbeBO3L9hvy1iJg7Vpd4oxfq0oNK3nJU0xdUFmSFoRO5xILA2wo9IDlNCY/s640/5-1+jackie+at+ft+riley.jpg" width="369" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 1, 1942 <i>Kansas City Call</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-9739594521128402242010-09-08T14:42:00.000-05:002013-03-10T21:56:14.390-05:00Can You Help?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The day-by-day tracking of the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs has come to a close, but that doesn't mean I'm not still on the lookout for game reports. I'll go back and add info and stats if and when they turn up. If you're interested in helping, here's a list of Monarchs games I have reason to think were played but for which I have no report. If you have access to newspaper archives for the host cities, perhaps you'd be good enough to check. Thanks!<br />
<br />
April 9 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Montgomery<br />
April 10 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Montgomery<br />
April 13 vs. Memphis Red Sox in Little Rock<br />
April 23 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in New Orleans<br />
April 24 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Houston<br />
April 25 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Houston<br />
April 26 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Houston<br />
April 30 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Houston<br />
May 1 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Waco<br />
May 2 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Ft. Worth<br />
May 4 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Oklahoma City<br />
May 15 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Oklahoma City<br />
May 23 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Indianapolis<br />
June 4 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Montgomery<br />
June 5 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in New Orleans<br />
June 7 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Nashville<br />
June 11 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Kansas City<br />
June 12 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Belleville, IL<br />
June 23 vs. Homestead Grays in ?<br />
July 17 vs. Baltimore Elite Giants in Baltimore<br />
July 30 vs. Chicago American Giants in Kansas City<br />
August 11 vs. Baltimore Elite Giants in ?<br />
August 11 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Wilmington, DE<br />
August 17 vs. Baltimore Elite Giants in Baltimore<br />
August 21 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Nashville<br />
September 2 vs. Memphis Red Sox in Kansas City<br />
September 3 vs. Memphis Red Sox in Kansas City<br />
September 4 vs. Memphis Red Sox in Belleville, IL<br />
September 7 vs. Birmingham Black Barons in Toledo<br />
September 20 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Wichita, KS<br />
September 23 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Houston<br />
September 24 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Houston<br />
September 25 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Waco<br />
September 26 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Ft. Worth<br />
September 27 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Dallas<br />
September 28 vs. Cincy-Indy Clowns in Ft. Worth</div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-62392544390547871872010-09-08T14:15:00.000-05:002011-02-13T11:34:20.245-06:00Thank Yous<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of the fun things about this project has been receiving help from fellow Negro Leagues enthusiasts. I posted to the SABR email list before starting the project asking for help, and I am grateful to all those who have generously assisted me.<br />
<br />
Thanks to:<br />
Chris Wertz<br />
Dwayne Isgrig<br />
Larry Lester<br />
Wayne Stivers<br />
Howard Henry<br />
John Erardi<br />
Jeff Zimmerman and Royals Review for the <a href="http://www.royalsreview.com/2010/5/10/1465791/interview-with-the-author-of">interview</a><br />
<br />
And special thanks to John Holway, who paid out of his own pocket for research to be conducted that turned up many game accounts I wouldn't have otherwise found.</div>Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-28534312122446395062010-09-05T15:40:00.000-05:002013-03-10T21:59:10.903-05:00Your 1945 Kansas City Monarchs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUW3eXriViHcjM_8l6ZyH2a3DYWc9ZmYClG9HsUlgTuvclorwrZoTgZoQZY4NjBzv4bTUk-l93beVplSA5qcZspUdgAwGUI597GnIskbOdphWapmLBnHa-k0aZHWq-boqA2chPknZx6Y/s1600/45+team+-+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUW3eXriViHcjM_8l6ZyH2a3DYWc9ZmYClG9HsUlgTuvclorwrZoTgZoQZY4NjBzv4bTUk-l93beVplSA5qcZspUdgAwGUI597GnIskbOdphWapmLBnHa-k0aZHWq-boqA2chPknZx6Y/s640/45+team+-+road.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(click to enlarge)</span></div>
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front row, L to R: Frank Duncan, John Scott, Jackie Robinson, Chico Renfroe, Chester Gray, Herb Souell, Walter Thomas, Sammie Haynes<br />
<br />
back row: Jesse Williams, Jack Matchett, Booker McDaniels, Jim "Lefty" LaMarque, Dozier Hood, Eddie Williams, Lee Moody, Hilton Smith, Ensloe Wylie<br />
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Photo is from the wonderful book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Kansas-America-Sports-History/dp/073850842X?ie=UTF8&tag=jacwitthemon1-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><i>Black Baseball in Kansas City</i></a>, which is a collection of photos with a heavy emphasis on the Monarchs.<br />
<br />
Jackie wrote in his autobiography that playing in the Negro Leagues was a miserable way to make a buck, but he always seems to have a beaming smile in the few pictures of him with the Monarchs!</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=jacwitthemon1-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=073850842X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left; width: 131px;"></iframe></div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-20987947494836591772010-09-04T07:00:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:08:30.131-05:00Postseason Exhibitions End The Season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The regular season came to an end on September 3rd, and the Monarchs weren't headed for the playoffs - but they weren't quite done either. They played exhibitions throughout September, including a long series with the Clowns between the 15th and 30th. I've scraped together nine game results from this period that include five wins to four losses. On the 18th in KC, outfielder John Scott knocked two home runs in a 6-0 win, with Lefty LaMarque tossing the shutout. The next day, Scott hit a double and triple as the Monarchs trounced the Clowns 9-1. The season came to a close in New Orleans when the workhorse of the '45 pitching staff, Booker McDaniels, tossed a gem: 13 strikeouts, three hits and a shutout.<br />
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Here's what the postseason exhibition schedule looked like:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W5KGIeJS7GqF-NtPuCiLoLUX_Dy9nnXTSpO3TQXa9PRe1ULm_02b4OH1EInBa6lH6wR4-Yb0IJaFCtl6zsMQjNXMoH8-EFymEqQXWwDZPQZqU6X69Wv-cGDDI4VXmUTBf_vmPKL_I8I/s1600/postseason+results.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W5KGIeJS7GqF-NtPuCiLoLUX_Dy9nnXTSpO3TQXa9PRe1ULm_02b4OH1EInBa6lH6wR4-Yb0IJaFCtl6zsMQjNXMoH8-EFymEqQXWwDZPQZqU6X69Wv-cGDDI4VXmUTBf_vmPKL_I8I/s640/postseason+results.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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And here's a look at the approximately 3,500 miles added to the bus on the tour:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GJpKuYS7r6jCAx6H59t5YBErh_YBKddK8QpnFhdz9fGhrlyHjT_CS5sOWYVpOxEh3bn-Mcmc12qxSXIV5gzSQPG-IlI5ulFja8ofKYlR_DrgR1PCbTn-dnJxOilPoII2rGJog0YYbug/s1600/postseason+map+3500+miles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GJpKuYS7r6jCAx6H59t5YBErh_YBKddK8QpnFhdz9fGhrlyHjT_CS5sOWYVpOxEh3bn-Mcmc12qxSXIV5gzSQPG-IlI5ulFja8ofKYlR_DrgR1PCbTn-dnJxOilPoII2rGJog0YYbug/s400/postseason+map+3500+miles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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9/28 <i>Kansas City Call</i> re: 9/18 & 9/19:<br />
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<a height="1401" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLs4P4Q6X9GrMkWRKgnmm2ennPGjs4gKyBWB7-g4LN54U9osC2G_qCuMAhMbiS0T79nFmqb1RaxI1JmodrH3S_4ET0I7ygJBa8QKCt59Vywgywn7hA77WVs8ypgGe8fdckVuYmyq8sGU/s1600/9-28+KCC+re+9-18+and+9-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLs4P4Q6X9GrMkWRKgnmm2ennPGjs4gKyBWB7-g4LN54U9osC2G_qCuMAhMbiS0T79nFmqb1RaxI1JmodrH3S_4ET0I7ygJBa8QKCt59Vywgywn7hA77WVs8ypgGe8fdckVuYmyq8sGU/s1600/9-28+KCC+re+9-18+and+9-19.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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10/6 <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i> re: 9/30:</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRq0F-rzawLe3AmAUcwRfEtBwgkXVcDirCtmN-lPwcfAA5dnwhr96ploCHy36Z6ujTYeLueLlVxsXJV9fhZt3fqdMxZ92ugIJ4qlprIPPf1FUYhkq0FFYn_ltPokZOpH0BxGbZzhJsck/s1600/10-6+pc+re+9-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRq0F-rzawLe3AmAUcwRfEtBwgkXVcDirCtmN-lPwcfAA5dnwhr96ploCHy36Z6ujTYeLueLlVxsXJV9fhZt3fqdMxZ92ugIJ4qlprIPPf1FUYhkq0FFYn_ltPokZOpH0BxGbZzhJsck/s1600/10-6+pc+re+9-30.jpg" /></a></div>
Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-81715595293523911612010-08-27T07:00:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:09:52.387-05:00End Of The Second Half<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Monarchs played just a few more regular season games after Jackie was injured on August 21 and left the team for good on August 27. They lost their fourth straight game to the American Giants in Chicago on the 27th, 5-6. Rarely used Monarchs pitcher Steve Wylie walked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. On the 28th, while Jackie Robinson was meeting with Branch Rickey in Brooklyn, the Monarchs continued their losing ways by dropping both ends of a double header to the Clowns in Cincinnati. Hilton Smith pitched the first game, a 5-6 loss, while Lefty LaMarque pitched the second game, a 0-3 loss. In the final games of the regular season, the Monarchs hosted the Memphis Red Sox in double headers on September 2nd and 3rd. I unfortunately don't know the results of these games. Regardless, the Monarchs late season slide meant they no longer had any hope of capturing the second half title for the right to face the Cleveland Buckeyes in a postseason series to determine an American League champion. Games I've turned up show a 15-12 second half record, but final standings from the September 14 <i>Call</i> give their record as 8-8. If I remove games against the National League and non-league competition, I show a 7-10 record for the Monarchs. No hope for a postseason berth.<br />
<br />
According to the September 14th <i>Call</i>, the AL batting leaders finished like this:<br />
<br />
.393 Sam Jethroe, Cleveland<br />
.372 Art Wilson, Birmingham<br />
.361 Art Pennington, Chicago<br />
.352 Ed Steele, Birmingham<br />
<br />
Furthermore,<br />
<blockquote>
It was Jethroe almost "across the board" in the other departments too. The hard hitting Cleveland outfielder climaxed a great campaign by finishing on top in five other divisions with 55 runs scored, 123 total bases, 10 triples, 8 home runs and 21 stolen bases</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The two Cleveland Jefferson boys, George and Willie, topped the pitchers. George was first with 11 victories and only 1 defeat and Willie second with a 10 mark. Gentry Jessup of Chicago, however, won the most games, 15, but lost 9.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The Monarchs won the team fielding honors, with .966...Jackie Robinson was seventh in individual batting standing, and LaMarque stood third in the number of games won.</blockquote>
Here are the results I've found for the second half along with Jackie's hits and at-bats:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJRvqsx315s3oxJ0Uz6WMrsqjJZ6j-yFByf-zf7ZRfiZ9pz1au11FNqdWeKY9XsSk7jaJtCEcymJnNDVjPx6WasdEFGPLotQUvW4RXYIxaFyZXrx4Hj7dS2OXByP8ilqkSH8_0IEsF9c/s1600/2nd+half+results.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="579" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJRvqsx315s3oxJ0Uz6WMrsqjJZ6j-yFByf-zf7ZRfiZ9pz1au11FNqdWeKY9XsSk7jaJtCEcymJnNDVjPx6WasdEFGPLotQUvW4RXYIxaFyZXrx4Hj7dS2OXByP8ilqkSH8_0IEsF9c/s640/2nd+half+results.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(click to enlarge)</span></div>
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And here's a look at the the 8,600 or so miles the team traveled in the second half. Lots of time in the northeast:</div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-58411569602298625292010-08-26T07:00:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:11:16.025-05:00Jackie's Time With The Monarchs Ends As He Heads To Brooklyn To Meet With Branch Rickey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Monarchs were in Chicago for a four game set with the American Giants over August 24-27th. The Monarchs had a series to forget <i>on</i> the field, dropping all four contests while being outscored 29 to nine. Booker McDaniels had a particularly rough game on the 26th, allowing 15 runs and 21 hits in eight innings. The Monarchs managed no runs and just one hit in the game.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jackie Robinson and Clyde Sukeforth (<a href="http://www.centerfieldmaz.com/2009/11/legend-of-brooklyns-clyde-sukeforth.html">source</a>)</span></div>
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Off the field, however, it was a monumental series, even if no one knew it at the time. The Brooklyn Dodgers, in the person of scout/coach Clyde Sukeforth, made their first contact with Jackie at the game on Friday the 24th. According to Arnold Rampersad's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jackie-Robinson-Biography-Arnold-Rampersad/dp/034542655X?ie=UTF8&tag=jacwitthemon1-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Jackie Robinson: A Biography</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=jacwitthemon1-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=034542655X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i>:<br />
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On August 24, at Comiskey Park, Jack was out on the field, but nursing a sore shoulder, when a white man called out his name and beckoned. Jack went over. The man introduced himself as Clyde Sukeforth, which meant nothing to Robinson. The he said he was there on behalf of Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now he had Jack's attention. Mr. Rickey was starting a team, the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers. He wondered about Jackie's arm strength; could Jack throw a few balls for Sukeforth? The Dodger scout would remember Jack listening "carefully, and when I was through he spoke right up--Jackie was never shy, you know."</blockquote>
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"Why is Mr. Rickey interested in my arm?" Jack asked. "Why is he interested in me?"</blockquote>
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Sukeforth convinced Robinson to meet him after the game at the Stevens Hotel, where the scout was staying, and where he bribed a bellman two dollars to allow Jack to use the passenger elevator, from which blacks were normally barred. Eventually Jack arrived and began to pepper Sukeforth with questions. One thing above all intrigued both men. Mr. Rickey had made it clear, as Sukeforth informed Jack, that if Robinson would not come to him, he would come to Robinson. Both Jack and Sukeforth now suspected that something more than a place on the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers might be at stake.</blockquote>
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The men arranged to meet in Toledo, where Sukeforth had to observe another player,then take the train to New York. Sukeforth then sent a wire to Rickey telling of Jack's injury ("Player fell on shoulder last Tuesday [21st]. Will be out of game a few more days"). On Sunday night [26th], after the white scout convinced a ticket seller that, yes, he intended to share quarters with the black man, they left Toledo.</blockquote>
After a day of travel on the 27th, Robinson had his legendary meeting with Rickey on the 28th.<br />
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Robinson did go to the ballpark with his Monarchs teammates one last time on the 26th, but didn't play due to his injury. <i>Chicago Defender</i> sportswriter Fay Young had somehow gotten wind that Jackie might be heading east to meet with Rickey, and he questioned Jackie about it at Comiskey on the 26th. Young wrote in a September 1 column:<br />
<blockquote>
Between the doubleheader [on the 26th], your columnist flagged Robinson and asked him what there was to the rumors.</blockquote>
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"Just rumors," answered Jackie.</blockquote>
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Pressed for an answer to a simple question as to whether he had been invited, approached on the subject or not, Robinson evaded a direct answer.</blockquote>
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Told that if it was such a secret , somebody had been doing some talking as too many, even to his club owner, knew about it, Robinson came back with a grin, "Well, it's a rumor. If you don't see me here tomorrow, then there's something to it."</blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">September 1 </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chicago Defender</span></i></div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-91310048174684557182010-08-20T16:05:00.000-05:002010-08-24T12:37:50.474-05:00Satchel Whiffs 15 Clowns In Complete Game Victory<div class="MsoNormal">From the August 21 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nashville Banner</i>, courtesy of John Holway:</div><blockquote>Leroy (Satchel) Paige showed Nashville baseball followers why he is regarded as one of the best hurlers in the country at Sulphur Dell Monday night as he turned back the Cincinnati Clowns, 6-4, for Kansas City on nine well-scattered safeties.</blockquote><blockquote>Paige, showing some of the best control seen at the Dell this year, threw a total of 133 pitches to the plate. 87 were strikes 25 were called balls and 21 were hit. He whiffed 15 opponents and walked but one man, a pinch hitter in the ninth. </blockquote>The Monarchs and Clowns played in Nashville again on the 21st before the Monarchs made their way to Chicago for a series against the Chicago American Giants that would prove fateful for Jackie Robinson.Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-8368457996369534752010-08-19T07:00:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:11:53.804-05:00Sunday Double Header In Cincy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Monarchs and Clowns played two on August 19 in Cincinnati's Crosley Field. The Clowns put "a serious crimp" in the Monarchs second half chances by sweeping the two games from KC.</div>
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August 25 <i>Chicago Defender</i></div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-7583272655725677262010-08-18T15:05:00.000-05:002010-08-18T15:05:00.910-05:00Jackie On The End Of WWII And His Off-Season PlansThe US dropped atomic bombs on Japan on August 6th and 9th. By the 14th, Japan had informally surrendered. From the August 18 <i>Afro-American</i>:<br />
<blockquote>Jackie Robinson, former UCLA football star, now shortstop with the Kansas City Monarchs, and a veteran of 31 months: "I bet $5 it wouldn't be over before October, but that is one bet I am happy to lose. If it is true, it is great news. Now the boys can come home. My best friends and cousins are over there, so you know how I feel about the end."</blockquote>Monarchs in the service such as Buck O'Neil, Hank Thompson and Willard Brown could start dreaming about being back home and back with the Monarchs in '46.<br />
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The August 18 <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i> had this report on Jackie's off-season plans:<br />
<blockquote>Sam Huston College of Austin, Texas, announced this week that Jack (The Rabbit) Robinson has signed a contract to coach football there this fall. Robinson, here last week playing shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs, said he hasn't signed a contract and that he may play professional football in the Pacific Coast League.</blockquote>Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-11613973300123380692010-08-18T07:00:00.000-05:002010-08-18T07:00:07.364-05:003-1 Win Over Clowns In IndianapolisHaving wrapped up the last eastern swing of the season, the Monarchs headed back to the Midwest. The first stop was in Indianapolis on August 18. Hat tip to John Holway for turning up this brief game account from the August 19 <i>Indianapolis Star</i>:<br />
<blockquote>The Kansas City Monarchs defeated the Indianapolis Clowns, 3 to 1, in a Negro American League game before approximately 3,000 fans at Victory Field last night.</blockquote>The line score reveals that Booker McDaniels was the lone Monarchs hurler.Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-59920672156254372162010-08-17T07:00:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:12:44.273-05:00Standings and Batting Leaders<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The August 17th <i>Kansas City Call</i> published the below standings that show the Monarchs leading the way in the second half of the Negro American League season. The second half ran through September 3. The article lists the batting average leaders as of August 8 like so:</div>
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.429 G. Jefferson, Cleveland</div>
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.409 Sam Jethroe, Cleveland</div>
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.388 Ed Steele, Birmingham</div>
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.368 Art Pennington, Chicago</div>
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.360 Buddy Armour, Cleveland</div>
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.349 Jackie Robinson, Kansas City</div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-15816540393948070392010-08-16T07:00:00.000-05:002010-08-17T12:19:44.397-05:003-3 Tie Versus The Grays In D.C.After the Memphis Red Sox dispatched the Philadelphia Stars, the Monarchs and Homestead Grays faced off to round out a four team doubleheader at Washington, D.C.'s Griffith Stadium on August 16. Lefty LaMarque got the call to start for KC, and faced Roy Welmaker of the Grays. Josh Gibson was not in the Grays lineup this day, and LaMarque managed to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. But the Grays tied it up, prompting manager Frank Duncan to bring Hilton Smith in from the bullpen. After a scoreless tenth, the game was called "to allow the Monarchs to take a midnight train to Youngstown, Ohio" (August 25 <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i>).<br />
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This is the last game of Jackie's for which I have a box score. He went 1-for-3 with a double, bringing his average to .414 (41-for-99) in stats I've been able to uncover. That figure includes spring training, the all-star game, and barnstorming games outside of the Negro Leagues. In regular season games against Negro American and National League teams, I have Jackie hitting .436 (34-for-78). A hall of fame sanctioned study headed by Dick Clark and <a href="http://larrylester42.com/">Larry Lester</a> gives Jackie's average as .434 (23-for-53) and slugging as .660. Jackie probably played in over 100 games with the Monarchs, and the 99 at-bats I have for him come from just 26 games. All of these numbers are mere hints at how Jackie fared, but they leave the clear impression that he was a phenomenal player in 1945.Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-14633989307628241492010-08-15T07:00:00.000-05:002014-04-14T23:05:22.234-05:00Victory In Queens Over Semi-Pro Bushwicks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
August 15 brought the Monarchs to New York to face a semi-pro club called the Bushwicks. The Bushwicks were regular hosts to Negro League teams at <a href="http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/dexter.html">Dexter Park</a>. According to the August 16 <i>New York Times</i>,<br />
<blockquote>
The Kansas City Monarchs, behind the effective twirling of Booker McDaniels, crushed the Bushwicks, 9-3, last night at Dexter Park in Queens. The visiting twirler struck out eight and yielded five hits, which he kept well scattered.</blockquote>
The report and box (showing Jackie going 2 for 5 with two singles) from the <i>Brooklyn Eagle:</i><br />
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Dexter Park is no more, but there is a historical marker at the site that lists Jackie and Satchel as stars that played there.<br />
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<a href="http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/dexter.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">source</span></a></div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-76312900377811877532010-08-13T07:00:00.000-05:002013-04-01T21:56:36.480-05:00Monarchs Triumph In First Ever Night Game At Braves Field<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRArUDBmKbXymrnYNFhHz4huNAOPEvtbDvAqjKXsR2NO5GR1Tll_1yFg9tfXIbdjDtKXZ07G7E3vQfHgnKtCkZpgvjET0luOzSno98zpSmlq_EA7Kf6FrD0LiGcLxgzFZs8pvNjamoqA/s1600/braves+field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRArUDBmKbXymrnYNFhHz4huNAOPEvtbDvAqjKXsR2NO5GR1Tll_1yFg9tfXIbdjDtKXZ07G7E3vQfHgnKtCkZpgvjET0luOzSno98zpSmlq_EA7Kf6FrD0LiGcLxgzFZs8pvNjamoqA/s400/braves+field.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Braves Field, Boston (<a href="http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/BravesField.htm">source</a>)</div>
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Big, big thanks to <a href="http://professorthoms.blogspot.com/">Chris Wertz</a> for passing along the below game summaries of the Monarchs 11-1 trouncing of a Navy team in the first ever night game played at Braves Field.</div>
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William "Sheep" Johnson of the <i>Boston Chronicle</i> goes to great lengths to disparage Satchel for not showing up to the game, while lavishing praise on Hilton and Jackie. He writes:<br />
<blockquote>
Jackie gave the fans thrill after thrill by his brilliant fielding, base running and hitting. His drag bunt, his delayed steal of third, and his stealing home with the opposing pitcher, looking right down his throat, unable to do anything about it, were his three sensational plays. Jackie proved why he is the talk of the country. He acts like a Big Leaguer, hits like a big leaguer, thinks like a big leaguer, throws like a big leaguer, and he fields like a big leaguer at shortstop. In fact HE IS A BIG LEAGUER AND AS THE COLONEL FROM THE BOSTON RECORD (Dave Egan) SAYS "THE RED SOX COULD USE HIM RIGHT NOW AND PERHAPS GIVE THE BOSTON FANS A REAL BIG LEAGUE CLUB."</blockquote>
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August 25 <i>Boston Chronicle<br />
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August 14 <i>Boston Herald</i></div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-83991107655476281082010-08-12T07:00:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:17:00.278-05:00Paige & McDaniels Too Much For NY Black Yankees At Yankee Stadium<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYeSNX2QMEhilaLmhuzp_US8xjr6PuiUTAoaNEQOiDmWMwpsH3zsWnR4x3On1J_YdmjEXL9zzEN2aFBVsRqzh-yCkbi9xrLwlymKXpb_stcFgKFyxZ4HKyVRhHup-wZ4CdOEyivAXe7s/s1600/8-18+ny+amsterdam+news+re+8-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYeSNX2QMEhilaLmhuzp_US8xjr6PuiUTAoaNEQOiDmWMwpsH3zsWnR4x3On1J_YdmjEXL9zzEN2aFBVsRqzh-yCkbi9xrLwlymKXpb_stcFgKFyxZ4HKyVRhHup-wZ4CdOEyivAXe7s/s1600/8-18+ny+amsterdam+news+re+8-12.jpg" /></a></div>
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August 18 <i>New York Amsterdam News</i></div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-72422982954202401652010-08-09T09:01:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:18:00.275-05:00Monarchs Shut-Out By Wilmer Harris & Philly Stars In D.C.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Monarchs final eastern swing of the '45 season continued on August 9 with a game against the Philadelphia Stars in Washington D.C.'s Griffith Stadium. It turned into a pitchers' duel between Philly's Wilmer Harris and KC's Booker McDaniels. Harris got the better of it, holding the Monarchs hitless through seven before Lee Moody broke through with a single. KC managed two more hits off Harris, but no runs. McDaniels yielded just two runs in a tough luck loss.</div>
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Satchel was slated to start the game, but showed up too late. The Birmingham Black Barons and Homestead Grays played following the Monarchs game, so Satchel started for Birmingham "to keep (from) disappointing the large number of fans who had turned out to see him in action. He held the Homestead Grays hitless for the three innings he toiled, fanning six of the nine batters to face him. Included in the number of strike-out victims was Josh Gibson" (August 18 <i>Afro-American</i>, below).</div>
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Right next to the game summaries is the beginning of an article about the three New York major league teams being under investigation by a New York anti-discrimination commission. The commission didn't need to worry about Branch Rickey's Dodgers.</div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959416863675009840.post-8466191628259473362010-08-08T22:07:00.000-05:002013-03-10T22:18:52.414-05:00Hilton & Monarchs Get Revenge On Homestead Grays<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_leYybjb9WoilvsjT6K1iwYgyOTb4kEU-AmIQ3NqgPQV4SJhnd4FDZONyaK24SBQTKiD64X90wvsCpT8tY8rQGdQ-T4opIQ63aYsrQuyoguvBNmUX4JAo5EwWxrB8xL1hF0QgeQjfHlw/s1600/8-4+pc+ad+for+8-8+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_leYybjb9WoilvsjT6K1iwYgyOTb4kEU-AmIQ3NqgPQV4SJhnd4FDZONyaK24SBQTKiD64X90wvsCpT8tY8rQGdQ-T4opIQ63aYsrQuyoguvBNmUX4JAo5EwWxrB8xL1hF0QgeQjfHlw/s400/8-4+pc+ad+for+8-8+game.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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August 4 <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i></div>
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After losing to the Grays in Philadelphia, the Monarchs evened the score the next night in Pittsburgh. Hilton Smith held the mighty Grays lineup to three hits (one a Buck Leonard home run) and two runs in a complete game performance. Jackie displayed a bit of his famous base-running. From the <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i> summary below: "With Moody at bat and Scott on first, the fleet-footed Robinson came home from third when Josh Gibson tried to nail Scott attempting to steal second. Robinson slid in under Jackson's return throw to Gibson."</div>
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August 11 <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i></div>
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Aaron Stilleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14781380711982256236noreply@blogger.com0