Monarchs Triumph In First Ever Night Game At Braves Field

Braves Field, Boston (source)

Big, big thanks to Chris Wertz 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.

William "Sheep" Johnson of the Boston Chronicle goes to great lengths to disparage Satchel for not showing up to the game, while lavishing praise on Hilton and Jackie. He writes:

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."

August 25 Boston Chronicle

August 14 Boston Herald

Paige & McDaniels Too Much For NY Black Yankees At Yankee Stadium

August 18 New York Amsterdam News

Monarchs Shut-Out By Wilmer Harris & Philly Stars In D.C.

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.

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 Afro-American, below).

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.

Hilton & Monarchs Get Revenge On Homestead Grays

August 4 Pittsburgh Courier

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 Pittsburgh Courier 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."

August 11 Pittsburgh Courier

Josh Gibson Blast Downs Monarchs In Philadelphia

The Monarchs met the Homestead Grays in the first game of a four team double header at Philadelphia's Shibe Park on August 7th. The Grays slipped past the Monarchs 3-2. Josh Gibson hit a two run blast off Lefty LaMarque in the fourth inning to plate the eventual winning run. The Monarchs were scoreless through eight before staging a ninth inning rally that fell short. In the second game, the Philadelphia Stars overtook the Birmingham Black Barons 13-9.

August 18 Afro-American

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