Some say that Kansas City has the best black baseball, blues, and "Q" in the nation. It has been called the heart of America, a cultural melting pot, and the breadbasket of the Midwest. It was also home to the famous Kansas City Monarchs. Black baseball began in Kansas City with the Maroons in 1890. However, it wasn't until 1921, when the black Kansas City Monarchs triumphed over the white Kansas City Blues, that black players started receiving national attention. The Monarchs produced several championship teams and major league players, and became black baseball's longest running and most stable franchise.

Black Baseball In Kansas City (Black America Series)

Arts & Photography

Lester, Larry

Miller, Sammy J.

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

In 1924, after the Hilldale Giants captured the league crown in the new Eastern Colored League and the Kansas City Monarchs won out in the four-year-old Negro National League, the two teams met in what was to be a best-of-nine series for the world championship. But a 13-inning tie in Game 4 and alternating wins throughout would force a tenth and deciding game, making it the longest World Series—black or white—on record in the modern era. It was arguably the most dramatic, as well, as each team reeled off three wins in a row, four games were decided by a single run, and five were won in the final inning. This heavily illustrated volume provides a comprehensive account of the first championship series played between teams from two all-black professional leagues. Noted Negro League historian Larry Lester provides commentary, records, and full statistics for each club’s regular season performance, along with biographical profiles of the players. Coverage also includes position-by-position comparisons of the Series combatants; a breakdown of the attendance, gate receipts, and team shares; game-by-game summaries; comments from the players; and complete statistics—including pitcher-batter matchups—for both teams.

Baseball's First Colored World Series: The 1924 Meeting of the Hilldale Giants And Kansas City Monarchs

Reference

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

McFarland Publishing

Although Andrew "Rube" Foster (1879-1930) stands among the best African American pitchers of the 1900s, this baseball pioneer made his name as the founder and president of the Negro National League, the first all-black league to survive a full season. In addition to founding this groundbreaking black-owned and -operated business, Foster also founded and managed the Chicago American Giants, one of the most successful black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. This definitive biography combines period editorials and correspondence with insightful narrative to provide a comprehensive portrait of this innovative Hall of Famer. From the unstructured early days of black baseball, when Foster gained glory as a hard-throwing pitcher, through his struggles to establish the NNL and the Giants, to his tragic death from complications of syphilis, this work pays overdue tribute to an authentic American baseball icon.

Rube Foster in His Time: On the Field and in the Papers with Black Baseball's Greatest Visionary

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

McFarland Company

In 1924, after the Hilldale Giants captured the league crown in the new Eastern Colored League and the Kansas City Monarchs won out in the four-year-old Negro National League, the two teams met in a best-of-nine series for the world championship. But a 13-inning tie in Game 4 and alternating wins throughout would force a tenth and deciding game, making it the longest World Series--black or white--in the modern era. 
 This heavily illustrated volume provides a comprehensive account of the first championship series played between teams from two all-black professional leagues. It provides commentary, records, and full statistics for each club's regular season performance, along with biographical profiles of the players. Coverage also includes position-by-position comparisons of the Series combatants; a breakdown of the attendance, gate receipts, and team shares; game-by-game summaries; comments from the players; and complete statistics--including pitcher-batter matchups--for both teams.

Baseball's First Colored World Series: The 1924 Meeting of the Hilldale Giants and Kansas City Monarchs

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

McFarland

The verdict is in. Whatever the deficiencies of the black baseball leagues as a source of reliable statistics, no one now doubts that when the best black players assembled for the annual East-West games, which for a generation paralleled the white All-Star games, the concentration of ability on the field was second to none. 
This work brings together for the first time the painstakingly assembled history of those games, including reconstructed play-by-plays and accurate statistical records. Larry Lester recaptures the vigor of black communities' united attention to the event, describes the players whose talent brought them to this pinnacle of achievement, and discusses the maneuvers of promoters, gamblers, and petty tyrants who cast an occasional shadow on the sunlit fields of Chicago.

Black Baseball's National Showcase: The East-West All-Star Game, 1933-1953

Sports & Outdoors

Baseball

University Of Nebraska Press

Covering the post-Civil War period through the 1950s, this richly illustrated--300 photographs!--history examines black baseball in and around New York City, focusing on its economic impact and cultural legacy. The author documents such famed teams as the Cuban Giants, Lincoln Stars/Giants, Black Yankees, Newark Eagles, and Brooklyn Royal Giants, along with a number of other historically important clubs, as well as the integration of Major League Baseball's Dodgers, Yankees and Giants.
 The photos include rare images of Willie Wells, Smokey Joe Williams, Satchel Paige, Minnie Minoso, Monte Irvin, Martin Dihigo, Pete Hill, Rap Dixon and Cannonball Redding, among many others.

Black Baseball in New York City: An Illustrated History, 1885-1959

History

Americas

The Kansas City Monarchs, the Chicago American Giants, the St. Louis Stars, the Birmingham Black Barons, the Homestead Grays, and the Indianapolis Clowns; for over fifty years, they were the Yankees, Cardinals, and Red Sox of black baseball in America. And for over a decade beginning in the late 1940s, umpire Bob Motley called balls and strikes for many of their games, working alongside such legends as Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Willie Mays. Today, Motley is the only living arbiter from the Negro Leagues. His personal account of the Negro Leagues is a revealing, humorous, and unforgettable memoir celebrating a long-lost league and a remarkable group of baseball players. In Ruling Over Monarchs, Giants, and Stars Motley and his son Byron share the characters, adventures, and challenges faced by these amazing men as they enthusiastically embraced America’s pastime and made it their own. Filled with stories of talented heroes, small miracles, and downright fun, this unique memoir is a must-read for any baseball fan.

Ruling Over Monarchs, Giants, and Stars: True Tales of Breaking Barriers, Umpiring Baseball Legends, and Wild Adventures in the Negro Leagues

Motley, Bob

Motley, Byron

Sociology

Sports Publishing

The ultimate, most comprehensive collection of information about players from the Negro Baseball Leagues ever published. More than 7,000 players are listed with their respective years and teams. A special section about female team owners is included. Also, debut dates of every Major Leaguer from the Negro Leagues; an East-West All-Star team section; a World Series roster section; Players who played in other sports; listing of relatives within the league; listing of historical markers, monuments, streets and ball parks named in their honor; books authored by Negro League players; the only source for uniform numbers; players who served in the military; collegiate players and cemetery burial sites. Now available in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Negro National League in 1920.

The Negro Leagues Book: Volume 2: The Players, 1862 - 1960

Stivers, Wayne

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Bowker

When the best Black baseball players assembled for the annual East-West All-Star games, which for a generation paralleled the White All-Star games, the concentration of talent on the field was second to none. This scholarly work brings together the painstakingly assembled history of those games, reconstructed play-by-plays, and accurate statistical records. Larry Lester recaptures the vigor of the Black communities' united attention to the event, describes the players whose talents brought them to this pinnacle of achievement, and discusses the less salubrious but still important stratagem of promoters, gamblers, and petty tyrants who cast an occasional shadow on the sunlit fields of Chicago's Comiskey Park. This is the expanded version, which extends the original book (published in 2001) from 1953 up through 1962 with additional commentaries and box scores. Also added are team pitching and batting statistics. The original edition won The Sporting News' Best Researched Baseball Book in 2002.

Black Baseball's National Showcase: The East-West All-Star Game, 1933 to 1962

Caged Champions: Colorful Firsts in U.S. Sports, 1855 - 2023

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