Satchel Whiffs 15 Clowns In Complete Game Victory

From the August 21 Nashville Banner, courtesy of John Holway:

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.

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. 

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.

Sunday Double Header In Cincy

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.

August 25 Chicago Defender

Jackie On The End Of WWII And His Off-Season Plans

The US dropped atomic bombs on Japan on August 6th and 9th. By the 14th, Japan had informally surrendered. From the August 18 Afro-American:

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."

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.

The August 18 Pittsburgh Courier had this report on Jackie's off-season plans:

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.

3-1 Win Over Clowns In Indianapolis

Having 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 Indianapolis Star:

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.

The line score reveals that Booker McDaniels was the lone Monarchs hurler.

Standings and Batting Leaders

The August 17th Kansas City Call 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:

.429 G. Jefferson, Cleveland

.409 Sam Jethroe, Cleveland

.388 Ed Steele, Birmingham

.368 Art Pennington, Chicago

.360 Buddy Armour, Cleveland

.349 Jackie Robinson, Kansas City

3-3 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 Pittsburgh Courier).

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 Larry Lester 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.

Victory In Queens Over Semi-Pro Bushwicks

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 Dexter Park. According to the August 16 New York Times,

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.

The report and box (showing Jackie going 2 for 5 with two singles) from the Brooklyn Eagle:

Dexter Park is no more, but there is a historical marker at the site that lists Jackie and Satchel as stars that played there.

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