Postseason Exhibitions End The Season

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.

Here's what the postseason exhibition schedule looked like:

And here's a look at the approximately 3,500 miles added to the bus on the tour:

9/28 Kansas City Call re: 9/18 & 9/19:

10/6 Pittsburgh Courier re: 9/30:

Paige, McDaniels Shut-Out Air Force Team In KC

Just two days after meeting a Navy team in KC, the Monarchs hosted another military team on August 5th. The Ft. Leavenworth Sherman Field Flyers started Herman Besse (who split time between the minors and majors between 1936-54) against Satchel Paige. The Monarchs showed the Flyers respect and/or wanted to please the hometown fans by pitching Satchel and Booker McDaniels in the game. The Flyers were no slouches--They had won the 1944 National Baseball Congress (semi-pro) championship. But they were no match for the Monarchs this day. Satchel went five strong innings, allowed three hits, no runs and struck out six. McDaniels picked up where Paige left off and completed the shutout while allowing four hits and four strikeouts.

The Ft. Leavenworth Flyers uniforms may have looked like this in 1945; the auction house where I found the photos lists them as WWII era.

The Monarchs infielders did most of the offensive damage. Taking up the first four spots in the lineup, they got four of the seven KC hits and scored all six runs. In games I have, the infielders (Lee Moody, Herb Souell, Jesse Williams and Jackie Robinson) were hitting between .303 and .450 after this contest. Jackie made the most of his one hit in five at-bats this day; he drove in a run, stole a base, and scored. The Monarchs offense was helped by some sloppy fielding by the Flyers; whoever was keeping score for the Kansas City Call rung them up for nine errors.

Soon after this game, the Monarchs headed off for their final east coast swing of the season.

August 10 Kansas City Call

32 Runs Scored In Exhibition With Naval Team

August 10 Kansas City Call

Robinson, Williams, McDaniels & Duncan In Chicago For East-West Game; Monarchs Take On American Giants In KC

Jackie goes 0-5 at East-West all-star game, Satchel pitches a masterpiece in Kansas City.

August 4 Chicago Defender

August 3 Kansas City Call

Win Over Barons In KC On "Ankle-Deep" Mud

A small crowd of 1,900 braved some nasty weather on July 8 to see the Monarchs host the Birmingham Black Barons. According to the Kansas City Call, the infield mud was "nearly ankle-deep." The Monarchs didn't seem to mind the conditions, and piled up six runs and 15 hits against the visitors. Booker McDaniels continued to shine, throwing a complete game, yielding one meager run and striking out seven. At the plate, he added an RBI double and a run scored for good measure. Jackie continued his tremendous hitting with a 3-for-5 night that included two doubles, two runs scored and three runs batted in. He improved his average to a cool .500 (33-for-66).  

July 13 Kansas City Call

While the Monarchs were playing in Kansas City, Satchel Paige was moonlighting with the East Chicago Giants in East Chicago, Indiana. The Giants faced the Gary Sportsmens Club, who had Dizzy Dean's ravaged  arm pitch the first two innings. The sportsmen were no match for Satch; he struck out the first eight men and allowed one run in his four innings of work. Double Duty Radcliffe had apparently recovered after getting knocked out by a foul tip on July 1st; he caught the game for Satchel. The Giants were victorious, 12-4.

July 14 Afro American

First Half Ends With Two More Losses To Buckeyes

After dropping two to the Cleveland Buckeyes on July 1, the Monarchs had a chance for revenge just three days later in a 4th of July doubleheader in Kansas City...But the first half champion Buckeyes once again took both tilts. Hot-hitting outfielder Sam Jethroe tagged Booker McDaniels for a triple and homer in the second game.

The Monarchs were missing one of their best hitters after first baseman Lee Moody injured his shoulder in batting practice. According to the below summary from the Kansas City Call, Jackie "Robinson, shortstop was moved to first to send Jesse Williams, second baseman back to his former shortstop position. Previously (Johnny) Ray had been sent to third after Souell's illness on Sunday (the 1st). Souell was sent to left field. With this sudden shifting of the field, Manager Duncan's boys made seven errors to aid in pulling up the Buckeye's 8 to 1 score. Plus this McDaniels began to tire in the seventh and in the eighth the Ohioans hit everything he had to offer."

July 6 Kansas City Call

The four losses dropped the Monarchs into third place in the first-half standings, behind Cleveland and Birmingham. The standings published in the Call put the Monarchs at 17-14; games I've found show a 15-13-1 record.

final first half standings from July 6 Kansas City Call

Here's the Monarchs schedule and results from the first half that I've been able to put together. Jackie's hits and at-bats are also listed. He blistered 26 hits in 54 at-bats in the 15 games for which I have info.

(a noble click embiggens)

And finally, a look at the 6,500 miles the Monarchs put on the bus in the first half:

Monarchs Blow Late Leads Against Cleveland Buckeyes In KC

Jackie Robinson steals home past Cleveland Buckeye catcher, Quincy Trouppe, by Kadir Nelson

The first half of the split season was to end on July 4. The Monarchs and Cleveland Buckeyes had both been in the running for the first half title, so two doubleheaders between the teams on July 1 and 4 had loomed large at the end of the half. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, any tension for the four games was drained thanks to the Buckeyes locking up the first half before coming to KC for the games on July 1. The Monarchs would have to win the second half crown if they wanted a chance to play in the Negro American League championship at the end of the season.

But first, they had to try to handle the powerful Buckeyes as the first half wound down. The June 29 Kansas City Call detailed how tough the task facing the Monarchs was: "Cleveland boasts some of best hitters, pitchers and fielders in the league. The hurling staff is headed by Eugene Bremmer, the Jefferson brothers, Willie and George and Lowell Harden and Manager Quincy Trouppe, catcher. In the hitting department the Buckeyes have four men batting above the .350 mark. Lloyd (Ducky) Davenport is the heaviest hitter with an average of .372 in 23 games; Sammy Jethroe, last year's fair-haired hitter in the American league is batting right behind Davenport with .372 out of 25 games; Woods of Cleveland, third baseman, is batting .350 out of 25 games and last but not least, Armour, left fielder is batting .350 out of 17 games." (Jethroe was one of the players that had a try-out with the Boston Red Sox earlier in the year with Jackie.)

As you can read in the game summaries below, the Monarchs blew leads late in both games. Jackie went 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored in the first game. Double Duty Radcliffe started the first game catching for KC, but was knocked out by a foul tip off Jethroe's bat.

July 6 Kansas City Call

Meeting With the Clowns in KC After a Month On the Road

The Monarchs headed home to meet the Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns on June 10 for a Sunday double header. The Monarchs hadn't been in Kansas City in four weeks. ("Home" might be a misnomer for KC; the bus was really home for the ballplayers.) 8,168 fans filed into the stadium to welcome the road-weary Monarchs. Satchel started the first game versus Lazarus Medina. Satch was on, allowing just one hit and no runs in his four innings. He struck out six Clowns. Medina didn't fare as well, and the Monarchs jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings. Satchel, usually not much of a hitter, helped himself out with a double, single and run scored in two at-bats. Booker McDaniels took over the mound for KC for the final five frames, allowing seven hits but just one run while striking out six. Jackie continued terrorizing pitchers with a 2-for-3 day that featured a triple, two RBI and two runs. Monarchs center fielder John Scott went hitless at the plate, but had "a mighty catch in the first inning which drew the applause of the crowd," and the home team prevailed 7-1.

In the second game, the Clowns evened things up with a 5-2 victory. Pitching for KC was Eddie Locke, making his first '45 appearance that I'm aware of. He got off to a rocky start, giving up five in the first three innings before keeping the Clowns off the scoreboard in the final four frames. The damage was done however, and the Monarchs only managed two runs in a losing effort.

June 10 Kansas City Call

The Monarchs record in regular season games that I've found to this point was 12-5 (.706). They outscored their opponents 86-61 in those 17 games, which is an average of 5.06 runs for and 3.59 runs against. Jackie's 2-for-3 day brought his average up to a mean .486, far and away best on the team.

Monarchs Hang Black Barons Out To Dry In Twin Bill

The Monarchs almost surely played some games between Sunday the 6th and Sunday the 13th, but I've found no record of them. Sunday was the day in the Negro Leagues; teams often barnstormed through smaller towns through the week in games that didn't count in the standings, but come Sunday, the crowds came out in their Sunday best, usually for a doubleheader (though game two was usually a seven inning contest). Not surprisingly, Sunday games also got the best coverage in the press.

One week after opening the season at home, the Monarchs were right back on their home turf, Ruppert Stadium, to meet the Birmingham Black Barons, on Sunday May 13th. (Every modern resource says the stadium was renamed Blues Stadium in 1943, but the Kansas City Call and Monarchs advertisements all refer to it as Ruppert in 1945, so I'll call it Ruppert too.) The Barons were reigning AL champions. The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues credits the '44 Barons with a 48-22 record. The World War II years were relative lean ones for the Monarchs; their '44 record is given as 23-42. But this day early in the '45 season belonged to KC. Hilton Smith commanded both the mound and the batter's box in the first game, pitching a complete game and allowing three runs, plus going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, run scored and three RBI. Jackie went 1-for-3 with two RBI and an error. For the second straight Sunday, Herbert Souell tripled for the Monarchs. KC took the first game 7-3.

Booker McDaniels took the mound in game two, and allowed two runs in a complete game, though this was a seven inning affair. The Monarchs again scored seven runs. Second games of doubleheaders were usually not reported on as well as the first. As seen below in the Call's coverage, a box would often be reported for game one but just a line score and a brief mention in the summary for game two. The Chicago Defender report provided a little more detail about game two: "Booker McDaniels, ace Monarch right hander, although a wee bit wild during the early innings, settled to hold the Barons to seven well scattered hits to win the nightcap...The Monarchs hit the ball hard in their half of the fifth inning to sew the game up. Souell made three hits, driving in two runs and scoring two himself. He had a perfect day at bat."

There was a new face on the Monarchs this day as Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe made his Monarchs debut behind the plate in game one. The Chicago Defender reported that the Monarchs secured Radcliffe "from Birmingham in a cash settlement" (May 19). 44 year old catcher/manager Frank Duncan's knees must have been creaking pretty good by this point. Willie Bea Harmon of the Call wrote, "The addition of Radcliffe will release Frank Duncan for managerial duties and bolster the Monarch hitting power" (May 18). (The catcher position would actually prove to be a bit of a revolving door between four or five guys over the season, including Duncan.)

Here's the report from the May 18 Kansas City Call:

Elsewhere in the same issue, Willie Bea Harmon was effusive about what the Monarchs had shown so far:

RAMPAGING MONARCHS: The Monarchs have a hustling team and after seeing them defeat the Birmingham Black Barons, last year's pennant winners, we're willing to say that all things being equal the Monarchs have a top-heavy chance to win the pennant in the American league this year...From here the Monarchs will go to Columbus, Ohio, where they take on the Chicago American Giants for another series beginning on Sunday, May 20. The following Sunday the Giants and the Monarchs will play in Chicago for the first time this season. The Kansas Citians will return home on June 10, Sunday.

Harmon had this to say about Hilton Smith in the May 25th Call:

Hilton Smith, Monarch hurler who three years ago seemed likely to fill the pitching shoes of Leroy (Satchel) Paige as the Monarch's number one pitcher, is coming back into his own this year. Last season Smith suffered with his arm and was on the top-heavy Monarch sick list, which found Jesse Williams, shortstop suffering a broken arm. Smith did not seem to be able to get into the groove. His 1945 story, however, begins differently. He looks like the Hilton Smith of old which showed him to be a hitter as well as a pitcher. Frank Duncan, Monarch manager, always relied upon Hilton as his pinch hitter. Smith's game against the Birmingham Barons here points to brighter days. He held the mighty Barons' bats to five hits while getting a two-bagger and a single for himself.

Before the Monarchs and American Giants met in Columbus on the 20th, the Monarchs and Black Barons were to play games in Muskogee, OK on the 14th and Oklahoma City on the 15th. Negro Leagues researcher Wayne Stivers reports that the Monarchs won on the 14th by a score of 8-3; results for the Oklahoma City game have not been found.

Opening Day

Your 1945 Kansas City Monarchs in their home whites. Jackie is in the lower right; note his bandaged hand.

The 1945 Negro American League season, featuring the Cleveland Buckeyes, Birmingham Black Barons, Chicago American Giants, Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns, Memphis Red Sox and Kansas City Monarchs, got underway on Sunday, May 6. The Monarchs opened up at home against Chicago. The festivities at the ballpark got under way at 2:00, with the first pitch scheduled for 3:00. According to the May 11 Kansas City Call, the pre-game ceremony “began with a parade led by the Wayne Minor American Legion drum corps and Arthur E. Toney, president of the Monarchs Boosters’ club. A detail of the Kansas State Guard…drilled. Dr. J.B. Martin, league president, was introduced from the pitcher’s mound. James H. Herbert, attorney, pitched the first ball to Eddie Dwight, a member of the Monarchs when 'Bullet' Rogan was manager.”

Starting lineup for Chicago:

Ralph Wyatt, SS
Jesse Douglas, 2B
Dolly King, RF
Art Pennington, 1B
Clyde Nelson, 3B
Jimmie Crutchfield, CF
Johnny Bissant, LF
Herb Barnhill, C
Gentry Jessup, P

Gentry Jessup

And for the Monarchs:

Jesse Williams, 2B
Walter Thomas, RF
Jackie Robinson, SS
John Scott, CF
Herbert Souell, 3B
Othello Renfro, LF
Lee Moody, 1B
Frank Duncan, C
Booker McDaniels, P

Booker McDaniels

Jackie had impressed manager Frank Duncan in spring training enough to be slotted in the three hole for his first regular season game. The Chicago Defender reported a crowd of 12,000, the Pittsburgh Courier said 15,000, and the Call only said a “record breaking crowd filled the Ruppert Stadium.” (Capacity was around 17,000 in the single deck days of Muehlebach/Ruppert/Blues/Municipal Stadium.)

The American Giants got on the board first in top of the second after Crutchfield was brought home after tripling. The Monarchs came right back with the tying run in the bottom of the inning thanks to a triple from Souell and a double by Moody. The Monarchs took the lead for good in the third “when three bases on balls, Souell’s second hit of the day, a double to right, a stolen base and an infield hit produced three runs” (May 12 Pittsburgh Courier). Jackie plated a run in the sixth inning with a double, and the Monarchs prevailed 6-2. He was also credited with a stolen base and a run scored for the game. Booker McDaniels went the distance for KC, allowing 4 or 5 hits (depending which paper’s box score you’re looking at) with 3 or 4 strikeouts and 1 walk. According to the Call, McDaniels “appeared jittery during the second inning, settled down…and turn(ed) them back in one-two-three order in five of the nine innings.”

Here’s the box from the Pittsburgh Courier:

Willie Bea Harmon, sports editor of the Call, liked what he saw from the Monarchs:

The Kansas City Monarchs have it. They’ve got the hustle, the spirit and they want to win. The Monarchs looked greater on the field Sunday than they have looked since their World Championship days. The outfield looks good, although it did not have an opportunity to demonstrate it. The infield seems to be a ‘stonewall of defense,’ as Hayward Jackson says. However, Moody has been shifted onto the first…Moody makes up in hits for any possible loss of defense. Booker McDaniels was never better than he was Sunday. The Monarchs have a great chance to win the league championship and know it. The Monarchs battle with the Birmingham Black Barons next Sunday should prove just how good the Monarchs are.

Baseball!

May 4 Kansas City Call