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38-457: The Monarchs were formed in 1920, primarily from two sources. Owner J. L. Wilkinson drew players from his All Nations barnstorming team, which had been inactive during World War I, and the 25th Infantry Wreckers, an all-black team recruited into the U.S. Army almost exclusively for their playing talent. He put together a collection of talent, including pitcher/outfielder Bullet Rogan , an eventual Hall of Famer who established himself as one of

76-424: A Negro leagues barnstorming team. Some barnstorming teams lack home arenas, while others go on "barnstorming tours" in the off-season. Teams in baseball's Negro leagues often barnstormed before, during, and after their league's regular season. Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Satchel Paige barnstorm toured with Dempsey Hovland 's Caribbean Kings. Hovland founded (and owned) several barnstorming teams, including

114-402: A dance band to play before the games and wrestlers like Ben Reeves to perform after their games. Wilkinson transported the team from location to location in a $ 25,000 Pullman car , which also held portable bleachers which would be set up for the game. He did not pay for rooms for his players, however, instead having them sleep the night before the game in tents they brought with them on

152-1216: A cap insignia or with the cap insignia obscured but the Hall of Fame recognizes Monarchs as "Primary Team" In February 2021, the team's name was revived by a Kansas City, Kansas, minor league team, the Kansas City T-Bones . The name was approved through a negotiation with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The Kansas City Royals have honored the Monarchs by wearing replica uniforms during regular-season baseball games on several occasions, including July 14, 2001 (at Pittsburgh), July 1, 2007, and May 30, 2009 (at home vs. White Sox), June 9, 2012 (at Pittsburgh), July 21, 2012, and June 23, 2019 (both at home vs. Minnesota), August 24, 2013 (at home vs. Washington Nationals), May 18, 2014 (at home vs. Baltimore), May 17, 2015 (at home vs. New York Yankees), May 15, 2016 (at home vs. Atlanta), May 7, 2017 (at home vs. Cleveland), and August 13, 2022 (at home vs. Los Angeles Dodgers). Throwback jerseys worn during Royals home games have typically been auctioned as

190-590: A fundraiser for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum . All Nations All Nations was a barnstorming professional baseball team that toured the Midwest from 1912 to 1918, and again in 1920 and 1921, and from 1923 to 1925. It derived its name from the fact that its team included players of several nationalities, including blacks and whites, Indians, Hawaiians, Japanese and Latin Americans. The team

228-506: A half-season pennant in 1951 but lost a playoff. O'Neil won his only two league titles in 1953 and 1955, with a last-place finish sandwiched between in 1954 as the Negro American League of the 1950s declined in quality and shrank in size, while in the process grooming a number of eventual major league players. The Monarchs played their home games in the minor league Kansas City Blues ' Association Park from 1920 to 1923, and moved to

266-687: A name for himself by playing for seven years with the Detroit Stars had joined the Monarchs. No World Series was played that year between the Monarchs and the Baltimore Black Sox , champions of the eastern American Negro League . J.L. Wilkinson was the owner of the Kansas City Monarchs team from 1920 until the team was sold to Tom Baird in 1947. J.L. Wilkinson was the first person to use days like " Ladies' Day " and "Kid's Day". These days were used to promote baseball and attract more players to

304-599: A scout for the Chicago Cubs , and then sold the franchise to baseball entrepreneur Ted Rasberry, who moved its base to Grand Rapids, Michigan , though retaining the name "Kansas City Monarchs". From 1956 on, the Monarchs were a full-time barnstorming team. The Negro American League ceased operations in 1962 , and the Monarchs finally disbanded after the 1965 season. In Grand Rapids, the Monarchs Played at Valley Field, located at 700 Valley Ave NW, near where Sullivan Field

342-550: Is primarily used in the United States. Barnstorming teams differ from traveling teams in that they operate outside the framework of an established athletic league, while traveling teams are designated by a league, formally or informally, to be a designated visiting team. Barnstorming allowed athletes to compete in two sports; for example, Goose Reece Tatum played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters and baseball for

380-432: Is today. The Kansas City Monarchs were one of a few Negro league teams that informally employed a farm team. The Monroe Monarchs played from the late 1920s to 1935, mostly as a minor league team loosely associated with Kansas City. Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Monarchs cap insignia. An asterisk (*) denotes the player is depicted on Hall of Fame plaque without

418-569: The Newark Eagles ; in this series, they lost four games and won three. In 1945, UCLA football star and Army lieutenant Jackie Robinson hit .387 as the Monarchs' shortstop. He became the first Monarch to make the jump to white baseball, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946. He broke the minor league color line in 1946 with the Montreal Royals , and integrated the major leagues with

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456-578: The Texas Cowgirls (1949–1977), the first integrated professional women's basketball team to tour worldwide, and the New York Harlem Queens . The Harlem Globetrotters and Texas Cowgirls shared training camps, seasons, and circuits. Barnstorming is most commonly connected with baseball, with many stars of the Major Leagues doing barnstorming with their own "all-star" teams from the start of

494-473: The 1940s, Willard Brown became the go-to home run hitter for the Monarchs. With Andy Cooper now at the helm, the Monarchs became charter members of the Negro American League (NAL) in 1937, winning the first league title. Andy Cooper was responsible for leading the Monarchs to bring home the pennant in 1939 and 1940. The Kansas City Monarchs then won the next two league championships and won winning

532-514: The 1950s as more and more baseball games were televised, affording fans a new way to watch their favorite players and teams. While barnstorming is no longer as popular as it was in the 20th century, some teams such as basketball's Harlem Globetrotters , and softball 's King and His Court founded by Eddie Feigner carry on the tradition. In the 1990s the Colorado Silver Bullets women's baseball team resurrected barnstorming because there

570-448: The 20th century, all the way to the 1950s, either playing inter-squad games or against local minor league teams. It was a way for players to make extra money during the off-season, and the games were usually played in smaller towns in the south, Midwest, and western United States, where there wasn't major league baseball, and allowed fans the rare opportunity to see their favorite players in person. The popularity of barnstorming faded away in

608-664: The All Nationals Club to develop their talent and eventually be available to be placed on the Kansas City Monarch team. He was among the top businessmen and promoters for African American baseball. This helped the Kansas City Monarchs become a very stable and successful franchise. J.L. Wilkinson's Kansas City Monarchs was the only team in the Negro Leagues to play against a comedic team even after there were regulations put in place so that other teams could avoid playing against

646-558: The Blues' new park, Muehlebach Field, in mid-1923. They mostly barnstormed in the early-to-mid-1930s, but used Muehlebach (later known as Ruppert Stadium or Blues Stadium at different times) from 1937 until 1955 . After a single season of scheduling games with the major league Kansas City Athletics as prime tenants of the renamed Municipal Stadium, Tom Baird sold eight players to major league clubs and four more players to minor league teams, released his manager, Buck O'Neil , who then signed on as

684-465: The Dodgers in 1947. As baseball gradually desegregated in the late 1940s and 1950s, the Monarchs developed a niche as the foremost developer of black talent for the major leagues. The team sent more players to the majors than any other Negro league franchise, including Robinson, Paige, Ernie Banks , Elston Howard , Hank Thompson , and Willard Brown . Newt Allen succeeded Cooper as manager in 1941, and

722-565: The Monarchs to Tom Baird who owned the team through their minor league days in the 1950s. The Monarchs won the league's western division first-half pennant in 1949, but declined to participate in a playoff with the Chicago American Giants , as their roster was depleted by player sales to major league clubs. They won the NAL West Division title in 1950 but did not meet the eastern champion Indianapolis Clowns that year. They won

760-464: The Monarchs to the league championship. Winning the pennant again in 1924 , the Monarchs participated in the first Negro League World Series , defeating the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale team from Darby, Pennsylvania, in a ten-game series (five wins, four losses, and one tie). In this series, Méndez had an ERA of 1.42 in four of the games and was responsible for a shutout in

798-402: The Monarchs' B team in 1939; by 1940 he had recovered and been called up to the Monarchs' main squad, where he became their top drawing card. Paige was the subject of a lot of stories, both true and folklore, and became a legend to people who don't even follow baseball. For example, he was known to have known the outfielders to sit on the ground behind him while he struck out the hitter and there

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836-403: The Monarchs' tradition of fine pitching, as the team's staff over the next few years featured Negro league greats including Chet Brewer , William Bell , and lefty Andy Cooper . The club traded for legendary Cuban outfielder Cristóbal Torriente , but also permanently lost the services of star shortstop Dobie Moore , whose career ended that year due to a severe off-the-field injury. After winning

874-648: The United States in the early twentieth century. In 1914 he barnstormed against the aviator Lincoln Beachey at least 35 times. In rugby union , notable invitation-only touring teams include the Barbarians and the French Barbarians . Regional and local barnstorming circuits are often undertaken by local celebrity squads and retired alumni of professional leagues, such as the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team . The Lancaster Barnstormers are

912-507: The comedic team. This comedic team wore grass skirts, war paint, and bright uniforms with a clown on the front. The Monarchs won four pennant championships before they introduced night baseball in the 1930s. The Kansas City Monarchs started playing night baseball to try to get more people to come to the games. the first night game was in early march, 1930 in Lawrence Kansas. The Monarchs had portable light systems that could be transported on

950-458: The field on which they would play. Under Wilkinson, the team became "strong enough to give any major league club a nip and tuck battle", according to Sporting Life . It went 3-1 against the Indianapolis ABC's in 1916 and splitting a series with the Chicago American Giants . The team encountered difficulties during World War I , when it found most of its better players were drafted, and

988-523: The first American Football League (AFL) of 1926 played the regular season as a traveling team, then went on a post-season barnstorming tour of Texas and California, with Red Grange and the New York Yankees as the designated opponent for most of these games. NFL teams were also known to barnstorm in small towns against local teams all the way up through World War II. Several auto racers , most notably Barney Oldfield , staged exhibitions around

1026-477: The first-half pennant, the Monarchs dropped a best of nine playoff to the Chicago American Giants when Rogan lost both games of a series-closing doubleheader to the young Bill Foster , another eventual Hall of Famer. In 1928 the Monarchs narrowly missed a second-half title, but won both halves of the 1929 NNL title with the best overall single-season record ever compiled by a Negro league team at 62 wins and 17 losses. By this time, pitcher Andy Cooper who had made

1064-483: The manager, he still pitched during the few years he held the position. Among the team's regulars during these years were the second baseman/shortstop Newt Allen who in the 1924 series alone had a batting average of .282 and seven doubles and Frank Duncan . Newt Joseph played third base for the Monarchs from 1922 through their NNL years, hitting a composite .284 during that time. In 1926 manager Méndez returned to Cuba, and Rogan took over as player/manager. He kept up

1102-539: The most popular stars of the new league; sluggers Dobie Moore , Heavy Johnson , George Carr , and Hurley McNair ; and pitchers Rube Currie and Cliff Bell. Immediate contenders, the Monarchs became bitter rivals to black baseball's reigning power, Rube Foster 's Chicago American Giants . After three years of failing to break off the Giants' hold on the pennant, Wilkinson fired manager Sam Crawford in mid-1923, replacing him with veteran Cuban star José Méndez , who then led

1140-526: The most stable franchises in the Negro Leagues. Following the death of the original league, the Monarchs spent several years as an independent team, mostly barnstorming through the Midwest, West, and western Canada. They frequently toured with the House of David baseball team. Hall of Famers Hilton Smith , a pitcher, and Willard Brown , a slugging shortstop/outfielder with a consistent batting average of over .300, became Monarch mainstays during this time. During

1178-457: The one game he was the starting pitcher in. Motivated by the Monarchs' runaway pennant victory, NNL president Rube Foster changed the league schedule to a split-season format for 1925. However, Kansas City still took the league title again in 1925, but lost the World Series to Hilldale when Rogan was injured just before the series began, winning one game and losing five. Even though Méndez was

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1216-594: The renewed Negro League World Series in 1942 in four straight games against the Homestead Grays . At the start of this run the Monarchs acquired their most famous player, Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige , who had since his rookie season in 1927 built a reputation as the best hurler in black baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons , Pittsburgh Crawfords , and several other teams. Suffering from an arm injury and generally thought to be done, Paige joined

1254-406: The team's bus to any game. The lights were powered by portable generators and attached to retractable poles. This was the first team to regularly play baseball under artificial light, including the major league teams. Night baseball gave the Monarchs more time to play more games, which also allowed them to make more profits. This increase in profits helped the Kansas City Monarchs continue to be one of

1292-517: Was finally disbanded in 1918. Pitcher John Donaldson managed the All Nations from 1923 to 1924. The All Nations were still owned by J.L. Wilkinson and was used as a traveling team that trained inexperienced players and found talent in the Midwest. Barnstorm (sports) In athletics terminology, barnstorming refers to sports teams or individual athletes who travel to various locations, usually small towns, to stage exhibition matches . The term

1330-465: Was followed by Frank Duncan in 1942. Duncan stayed at the helm through the 1947 season winning two league titles and one world title. After Duncan stepped down, longtime first baseman Buck O'Neil took over. Then Monarchs lost the league title to the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 which prevented them from appearing in the last Negro World Series. 1948 was also the year that Wilkinson sold

1368-608: Was founded by the Hopkins Brothers sporting goods stores. One day, however, the team's manager absconded with the daily gate proceeds. J. L. Wilkinson , who played for the team, replaced him as manager, later becoming owner as well. The team was based out of Kansas City and Des Moines . Under the management of Wilkinson, the All Nations' approach to the game was more serious than that of many teams who followed Abe Saperstein 's farcical approach. They did however provide additional entertainment for their audiences, including having

1406-546: Was no women's league. In 2023, the Savannah Bananas —up to that point, a collegiate summer baseball team— became a full-time barnstorming team to great success, after their proprietary "Banana Ball" format became a national phenomenon. The Bananas helped revive the popularity of barnstorming baseball. It was very common in the early days of professional American football; for instance, the Los Angeles Wildcats of

1444-406: Was someone on base that could possibly tie the game up. Paige also warmed up before pitching in a game by throwing across a gum wrapper as home plate. Paige led another superb Monarchs' staff that included fellow Hall of Famer Hilton Smith , the veteran Chet Brewer , Booker McDaniels , Jim LaMarque , and several others. They won one last NAL pennant in 1946, but lost a seven-game World Series to

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