There was no bounce in Lou Gehrig’s step as he walked into the depot dining room of Union Station in Kansas City. His roommate, Bill Dickey, carried two equipment bags, his and Lou’s. The World Champion New York Yankees were in town to play an exhibition game with their AAA farm team, the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. Back east, the new Baseball Hall of Fame was being dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y. It was June 11, 1939.

During the night a westbound Union Pacific train had dropped the two Pullmans used by the Yankees on a siding. The team, sleepy-eyed and wearing rumpled suits, their manager insisted they must, would have breakfast in the depot dining room before riding cabs to the ball park for the sold-out game. When the game was over, only Lou Gehrig would check into a hotel after his teammates left. The next day Gehrig would take a train to Rochester, Minnesota, and visit the Mayo Clinic. Someone there might be able to tell him why, at 36, he felt like a man in his 60s.

The Yankees owners, taking advantage of an off day in the major league schedules for the Hall of Fame ceremony, had added this stop to their western swing. The day before they had brushed aside the last-place Browns twice before a sprinkling of depression-era fans in St. Louis. Today would be different. Over 20,000 tickets had been sold to fans eager to see the famous Yankees. The new star, Joe DiMaggio, would face off against his older brother, Vince, a center fielder like Joe. Vince was leading the American Association in batting and home runs. Local enthusiasts argued Vince was the best of the ball playing DiMaggio brothers.

The newspapers had warned that Lou Gehrig would not play. He had been missing from the Yankees lineup since May 2, when his consecutive game string had ended 2, 130 straight games. As the team’s captain, he traveled with the team, carrying the lineup cards to the umpires before each game, then returning to the dugout to puzzle over his lost strength and coordination.

Later that day, Lou Gehrig would explain to reporters, “I guess everybody wonders why I’m going to the Mayo Clinic. But I can’t help believe there’s something wrong with me. It’s not conceivable that I could go to pieces so suddenly. I feel fine, feel strong and have the urge to play, but without warning this year I’ve apparently collapsed. I’d like to play some more and I want somebody to tell me what’s wrong. Usually a fellow slows up gradually.”

When Gehrig handed the starting lineup card to the home plate umpire, surprisingly his name was on it. His replacement in the Yankee lineup, Babe Dahlgren, had been crossed out and Gehrig would bat eighth. He explained that as long as so many people had come to see him, he would try to play a few innings for them. He handled four putouts at first base and it was the third inning before Gehrig came to bat.

The wide stance in the left-handed batter’s box was familiar. Gehrig squared off the way he always had. The bat was held the same way. But the menace was gone. He made contact and the box score tells us that he grounded out, second to first. When the Yankees took the field again, Dahlgren was at first base. Larrupin’ Lou Gehrig had batted for the last time as a New York Yankee. He would never play the game of baseball again.

The fans got their money’s worth. The Yankees, winning 4-1, kept their stars, Gordon, Keller, Rolfe, Henrich, Crosetti on the field for six innings. Joe DiMaggio, with a bandaged right wrist, was hitless in three times at bat. His brother, Vince, singled in his three times up. Neither hit a home run. A brisk wind was blowing in on an otherwise ideal sunny June afternoon.

After the game the police had to rescue the Yankees from crowds of autograph seekers. Inside the clubhouse, the Blues’ youngest player, the future Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, was a happy youngster gathering autographs for himself.

On July 4, after he had learned his fate from the Mayo Clinic, Lou Gehrig would make his formal farewell to the fans in special ceremonies at Yankee Stadium. The scene is familiar, both from the newsreels which show a tearful Gehrig saying, “Today, I’m the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” or Gary Cooper recreating the scene in the movie The Pride of the Yankees.

However, it was to a typical midwestern baseball crowd, few of whom had ever seen him play before, that the once-indestructible Iron Horse said his last goodbye as a player. The slugger called “Larrupin’ Lou” for the velocity of base hits crashing off his bat, had made one final, awkward appearance. The time left to Larrupin’ Lou was short. He died on June 2, 1941, not quite two years after his last ball field appearance, playing first base in the uniform of the Yankees in Kansas City, far from New York City and the Yankee Stadium.

Photo credit

Lou Gehrig, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

In the wake of the Black Sox Scandal, baseball ownership searched for new leadership to salvage the game’s rapidly sinking reputation. When Chicagoan Albert Lasker proposed a new three- member commission, to be headed by fiery Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis to rule baseball, many applauded. But American League president Byron “Ban” Johnson did not. Jealous of losing—or even of sharing—control of the game, Johnson retained the support of five of his eight club presidents. It appeared that baseball might split asunder, with eleven clubs following Landis and the “loyal five” still pledging fealty to Johnson.

On Tuesday, November 9, 1920, major league owners assembled at Kansas City’s Hotel Muehlebach, where the National Association was to meet the following day.

Johnson was belligerent as ever. Not only were his “loyal five” threatening to go their own way, but rumors swirled by pro-Johnson forces were scheming to oust National Association secretary John H. Farrell and replace him with a friendlier individual. Addressing the convention for the first time in his career, Johnson laughed at the threat of war and called it “the best cleanser.” He attacked “undesirable owners” who tolerated gambling in their parks and declared that only his “loyal five” had aided him in any meaningful sense in battling the gaming scourge. Albert Lasker, he declared, was “one who has not shed his swaddling clothes in baseball.” The National Association, warned Johnson, should steer clear of the new league and Lasker’s plan.

Aside from such bluster, the Johnson forces did manage to present their own version of baseball’s future. American League attorney George W. Miller proposed an unwieldy nine-member commission, composed of three members named by the National League, three by the American, and three by the National Association.

The minor league delegates seemed impressed by Johnson’s enthusiastic rhetoric, but while he had been orating, his major league allies were clearly wavering. In a Hotel Muehlebach corridor, Barney Dreyfuss, Bob Quinn (representing Browns owner Phil Ball), Clark Griffith and Garry Herrmann assembled. “If my two boys wanted to fight over anything so silly,” Quinn sadly observed over the coming baseball war, “I would spank them both.” The Johnsonites concurred, and it was agreed Griffith and Quinn would sit in on a meeting with the “eleven” to represent the “loyal five’s” interests.

During the session Herrmann raised the issue: “Judge Landis has been chosen as head of the new Commission at a salary of $50,000 a year. It is now proposed that his two associates be selected at a salary of $25,000. It seems to me that considerable trouble will result unless we pay these associates as much as Judge Landis. They will naturally be prominent men who will consider themselves as competent as the Judge and deserving of as much salary.”

Quinn now raised an entirely new issue. “Personally,” he stated, “I see no necessity for having three commissioners. In my mind one would do as well. A man like Judge Landis, who is a Federal Judge and accustomed to handling large business interests, can certainly be trusted to administer any business Organized Baseball may give him.”

Herrmann interrupted. He wanted to know if Quinn spoke on his own or represented Ball. “I have not consulted Mr. Ball on this matter,” Quinn admitted, “but I will say that he has never failed to back me up in any reasonable measure. I consider this measure reasonable. I am sure the St. Louis Browns would never be involved in any difficulties they would not trust to the hands of Judge Landis.”

The proposal failed to meet with any enthusiasm. Shortly thereafter, when Clark Griffith proposed a six-member joint committee (three members from each faction) the session nearly collapsed. But when the owners reconvened, Garry Herrmann endorsed Quinn’s one-commissioner proposal. In the interim all the owners had swung around to Ball’s thinking.

Detroit owner Frank Navin and Herrmann spoke to the National Association convention the next morning. As Herrmann addressed the minor leaguers, he was handed a note. He stunned the gathering with its contents. His fellow owners had agreed to meet the next day in Chicago. No attorneys, no stenographers, and most significantly, no league presidents would be present.

The Kansas City Journal headlined “Moguls Leave Determined to Fight It Out,” but it was all over for Johnson. His loyalists had realized the futility of a new baseball war. Before the next opening day, they would have to create three new franchises and staff them. If they tried to place new clubs in Boston, New York, and Chicago, they would have to find not only new owners but new ballparks. In New York that would be virtually impossible. In bidding for talent they would have to go against such millionaires as Jake Ruppert and Charles Stoneham. They knew resistance would be folly.

A new czar of baseball was about to be crowned.

Satchel Paige, the tall, talented, tan, talkative traveler from Mobile, Alabama, was known for his athletic achievement, phenomenal longevity and crowd-pleasing charisma which earned him the distinction of being baseball’s greatest gate attraction. Satchel was boastful and unpredictable, a brilliant pitcher with an infectious personality. The entertaining Paige had impeccable control and four different windups. One was called a hesitation or hiccup delivery—that major league baseball banned. His pitching arsenal included the Blooper, the Trouble ball, Long Tom (a super fastball) and the microscopic Bee-Ball (“it be where I want it to be”). Former St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Dizzy Dean claimed: “I’ve seen all of them fellows except Matty and Johnson and I know who’s the best pitcher I ever seen, and it be old Satchel Paige, that big, lanky colored boy.”

He was born in 1906, the sixth child of 12 (including a set of twins) to John Paige, a gardener, and Lula Coleman, a domestic worker. Paige acquired his nickname as a seven-year-old by carrying passengers’ luggage or satchels on long poles across his shoulders at the Mobile train station. At age 12, he was found guilty of shoplifting and truancy from W. C. Council School and sent to the Industrial School for Negro Children in Mount Meigs, Alabama. He developed his pitching skills at the school and joined the semipro Mobile Tigers in 1924. After two years with the Tigers, he signed his first professional contract with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts of the Negro Southern League. He made his professional pitching debut on May 1, 1926, defeating the Birmingham Black Barons, 5-4.

In 1928 the Negro National League Birmingham team purchased his contract, and paid him $275 a month. He stayed with the Black Barons until 1930, when he joined the Baltimore Black Sox for the remainder of the season. The following year, the Nashville Elite Giants purchased the tall (6’32”) hard-throwing right hander. The financially troubled Nashville franchise moved to Cleveland (Cubs) in mid-season, and eventually disbanded.

Businessman Gus Greenlee encouraged Paige to join his Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1932. There his life took a new direction. In Pittsburgh, he met waitress Janet Howard and married her on October 26, 1934. Famed toe-tapper Bill “Bojangles” Robinson served as the best man. In 1935, the power-packed Crawfords became league champions. The team had four other future Hall of Fame members: Oscar Charleston, James “Cool Papa” Bell, William “Judy” Johnson, and Josh Gibson. He stayed with the Crawfords until 1937, when the Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo enticed him and other prominent Negro League stars to play on his politically-motivated team. Stripped of his team’s nucleus, an angered Gus Greenlee sold Paige’s contract to Effa Manley’s Newark Eagles. Paige refused to report to the Eagles and headed for Mexico, where he quickly developed a sore arm. His future was in doubt.

In 1939 Paige joined the Kansas City Monarchs’ B-team, called either the Stars or the Travelers, depending on what part of the country they were playing. He pitched a few innings every week, but mostly played first base. After many therapeuic rub- down sessions with a special potion supplied by trainer Jewbaby Floyd, his once lame arm was rejuvenated. Monarch owner J. L. Wilkinson immediately called for Paige to rejoin the parent club, where he soon became the ace of the Monarch pitching staff. He led the Monarchs to World Series appearances in 1942 and 1946. In the first series, the Monarchs swept the powerful Homestead Grays in four games. Paige appeared in all four contests, winning three of the games. Always popular with the fans, they voted him to the annual East-West All-Star classic in 1934 and 1936 as a Pittsburgh Crawford and in 1941, 1942 and 1943 as a Kansas City Monarch. Paige’s All-Star career netted him a record ERA of 0.60 in 15 innings pitched. His All-Star won-lost record was 2-1.

Paige remained with the Monarchs until 1948, when owner Bill Veeck of the Cleveland Indians signed him to a major league contract. It just happened to be Satch’s 42nd birthday. Many fans viewed the signing of this middle-aged man as a box office promotion. It was a huge success. A record night-game crowd of 78,383 fans watched Paige make his first appearance in Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Later, in his first starting role, he defeated the Washington Senators 5-3 in front of 72,434. In his third big league appearance, 51,013 fans jammed into Comiskey Park. Despite being baseball’s oldest rookie, in less than three months he claimed six victories and one loss, guiding the Indians to a pennant and making his only World Series appearance against the Boston Braves. To capitalize on this media frenzy, writer Hal Lebovitz and Paige collaborated on a semi-autobiography, Pitchin’ Man: Satchel Paige’s Own Story (1948).

In 1949, Veeck sold his controlling interest in the Indians. Paige was forced to seek employment elsewhere. However, two years later Veeck purchased the lowly St. Louis Browns and promptly signed Satchel again. Incredibly, the next year, at age 46, Paige enjoyed one of his finest major league seasons. He won 12 games and was selected to the American League All-Star team, becoming baseball’s oldest major league All-Star.

After the 1953 season, Paige was released again. He barnstormed across the country until the Miami Marlins signed him in 1956. Once again, under the guidance of Bill L. Veeck, now club vice-president, he spent three years with the International League team. In the three years, the great Satch walked only 54 batters in 340 innings. Quite an achievement for a player now in his fifties.

A change of mind in 1961 found Paige returning to baseball with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. At Portland, the ageless wonder, now 55, struck out 19 batters in 25 innings. Timely, he wrote his second semi-autobiography with David Lipman, called Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever (1961). It was complete with anecdotes and travels of the baseball legend. Baseball fans thought the final chapter of Paige’s had been written.

However, in 1965, he signed a two-month contract for $4,000 with Charlie O. Finley of the Kansas City Athletics. On September 5, Paige made his final major league appearance against the Boston Red Sox at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. The 59-year- old legend pitched three scoreless innings, yielding one stingy hit to future Hall of Fame member Carl Yastrzemski. At last, Paige appeared to retire permanently from baseball.

He later served as a deputy sheriff in Kansas City before losing a Democratic primary bid for the state legislature on August 6, 1968. He gathered only 382 votes against 3,870 votes for political veteran Leon M. Jordan.

A week later, on August 12, Atlanta Braves president William Bartholomay announced the signing of Paige as an advisor and part-time pitcher. The Braves assigned Paige his retirement age, 65, as his jersey number. Although Paige never pitched for the Braves, he was able to get the 158 days needed to qualify for his major league pension as a coach.

Fittingly, on August 9, 1971, he became the first player from the Negro Leagues to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. With Hall of Fame credentials, Paige’s popularity surged with a guest appearance on the popular Ralph Edwards show, This Is Your Life on January 26, 1972. Special guest appearances were made by his old catcher Frank Duncan, friends and family.

Paige, aged 75, suffering from lingering emphysema, made his last appearance on June 5, 1982. Only three days before his death, speaking from a wheelchair with the aid of a respirator, he graciously received recognition at the dedication of Satchel Paige Memorial Stadium, a $250,000 renovated park in Kansas City, Missouri.

Funeral services were held at the Watkins Brothers Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver (later mayor of Kansas City) giving the eulogy. A 1938 Packard hearse carried Paige’s body to Forest Hill Memorial Park Cemetery in the city. He was survived by his wife and eight children. Later, in 1989, the original headstone was removed and replaced with a 6’8” tall, 7,000-pound granite monument, on a remote island along Racine Avenue, a street within the cemetery.

Despite little formal education, Paige was honored on October 9, 1991, with the dedication of a new magnet school in Kansas City, Missouri, called the Leroy “Satchel Paige Classical Greek Academy. The academy promoted the Greek philosophy of “body and spirit.” Over a span of five decades, Paige established himself as one of the most physically talented bodies to play the sport of baseball.

In 1866, a year after the Civil War ended, Kansas City organized its first baseball team, the Antelopes. The team played games on an exercise field at 14th Street between Oak and McGee. At the end of the season, the Antelopes met the older Frontier Club of Leavenworth. The Antelopes won 47 to 27.

In 1884, the Unions, sometimes called Onions by the press, became Kansas City’s first professional baseball team. They played in the Union Association. The played at Athletic Park, in Cook’s pasture near Summit and Southwest Boulevard. Organized by baseball entrepreneur Ted Sullivan, Kansas City offered its first ladies day and rainchecks that year. Some Sunday crowds topped 5,000 as the team finished sixth, but reportedly cleared a healthy profit of $3,000 — 5,000. When the Kansas City contingent showed up for the winter meeting they met only representatives from Milwaukee. The league had folded, but neglected to inform the two clubs.

The next year Sullivan fielded another Cowboy entry in the Western League, but that league folded before the season was over. By 1886 the National League and David Rowe — one of baseball’s original “Big Four” — had gained interest in Kansas City. The “Cowboys,” admitted on a provisional basis, played their games in the city’s new League Park, situated on the south side of Independence Avenue at Lydia. The players called the field “the Hole” because when Independence Avenue was graded, dirt was pushed high along the edge of the street, making a mound along the field’s perimeter. It was a skin field without a blade of grass. After a rain the park would become a pond. It rained the day before the opening day of the 1886 season and the game had to be postponed until the field could dry out. The next day the Cowboys beat the defending champion Chicago White Stockings in a game that went 13 innings. Several gun incidents, on the field and off, convinced the Eastern baseball establishment that Kansas City was too rough for their ball players. Kansas City would remain the Westernmost extension of the National League until 1958 when the Brooklyn and New York clubs moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Undaunted by the National League setback, Rowe set up the Western League for the Cowboys. When that league failed to finish the season, he left Kansas City and became involved in the Players Union and the year-long strike in 1890.

Back at home, a group of business men found club acceptance in the American Association. The Cowboys never did very well, but they were major league. During the 1888 season, fans began calling the Kansas City Western Association team “the Blues” because they wore blue uniforms. They chose distinctive uniforms to differentiate them from the Cowboys who still played in the major league American Association. By 1889 the city was back to supporting only one club, the Cowboys. But, the Blues returned in 1890 to win the Western Association pennant in the final game of the year versus the Indianapolis Hoosiers. it was the first baseball pennant for Kansas City and a year in which the club cleared a substantial profit.

Over the next two decades, Kansas City professional baseball was played in Exposition Park, built in 1893 at 15th and Montgall, Sportsman’s Park, home to Kid Nichols’ Blue Stockings, at 17th and Indiana, Association Park — built in 1903 by George Tebeau at 20th and Olive; and Gordon and Koppel stadium — an old athletic field which housed the Federal League nine, at 48th and Tracy.

Kansas City had two teams in 1902 and 1903, the Western League Blue Stockings and the Blues who played in the American Association. From 1913 through 1915 there were again two teams. The Blues played at Association Park and the Packers of the Federal League played at 48th and Tracy.

Young brewery owner George Muehlebach started attending Blues games at Association Park. He built the Muehlebach Hotel at 11th and Baltimore in 1915, and in that same year he purchased a small holding of the Blues. Two years later Muehlebach owned controlling interest in the team. In 1923, after finding out that the railroad had exercised its option to construct tracks through the outfield of Association Park, he built a ballpark for his team at 22nd and Brooklyn. He named it after himself. The Blues won the pennant as fans packed the stadium in record numbers. The franchise had set a minor league attendance record of 309,000 in 1922, the last year at Association Park, which it broke with 430,000 in 1923, the first year at Muehlebach. The Blues beat Baltimore to win the Little World Series in 1923. The Blues won the pennant and series again in 1929.

But by 1930 the fans seemed to lose interest in the team. As ticket sales dropped, Muehlebach attempted to resuscitate the franchise by playing night baseball. Although there were some increase in ticket sales, it didn’t justify the cost of lighting the field. At the end of the 1932 season, Muehlebach sold the Blues and his stadium to a partnership that included the radio and movie comedian Joe E. Brown, E.E. Kayser of Des Moines — a boyhood friend of Kansas City Monarchs’ owner J.L. Wilkinson — and all-time great Tris Speaker. The group grew disenchanted with baseball as the Depression hit the area hard. They sold the club to Kansas City, Kansas, resident Johnny Kling at a bargain price. Kling had been the catcher on the Chicago Cubs team that won four pennants in five years, 1906-1910. He sold the franchise to Col. Jacob Ruppert of the new York Yankees in the summer of 1937. The price tag for the team and the stadium was $230,000. The Blues became a Yankee farm team. Many big league players appeared for this team: Phil Rizzuto, Jerry Priddy, Mickey Mantle, Moose Skowron, Johnny Mize, and Hank Bauer, to name a few.

At the same time, there was another professional winning baseball team in Kansas City. This team won more championships than any other in the city’s sports history. When these athletes played their home games in Blues’ Stadium, crowds filled the grandstand. The team was the Kansas City Monarchs, and from 1920 until 1955 they dominated black baseball.

The Negro National League of baseball clubs came out of a meeting of African-American team owners and sportswriters held at the Paseo YMCA and Streets Hotel in 1920. James L. Wilkinson, who started the All-Nations — players of different races and nationalities — put together the Kansas City Monarchs team that same year. Wilkinson, who was white, was respected by both players and members of the black community. He would own the Monarchs for over 28 years and eventually would become vice-president of the Negro National League.

The Monarchs won nine league pennants and were the first Negro World Champions. In 1921 they challenged the Kansas City Blues to a championship series at Association Park. The Monarchs won three out of the five games. When Babe Ruth came through town with his Traveling All-Stars in1922, the team lost both of their games to the Monarchs. The Monarchs won the first Negro World Series in 1924 and went on to win eight more pennants and another Series in 1942.

The Monarchs were the first to light ballfields for regular night games. In 1930 Wilkinson had a portable lighting system built. Poles that could be extended to a height of 50 feet and support six floodlights were powered by generators that were mounted on truck beds. The trucks were placed outside of the foul lines. The system cost more than $50,000, but the lights sold tickets to night games.

During the Depression, when ticket sales went down in Kansas City, the Monarchs took to barnstorming small towns, challenging local teams to earn money. They traveled in their own bus to 18 states. It wasn’t unusual for them to play one game in the afternoon, then drive to the next town to play another game under lights that evening. The Monarchs played anywhere from 80 to 150 games a season.

Leroy “Satchel” Paige has been called one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. He played for Negro League teams for 30 years, then he went to the majors. Paige started playing professionally with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts. He moved quickly to the “Big Leagues” with the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He joined the Monarchs’ traveling squad with a sore arm in 1939. Far from washed up, he used snake oil to revive his dead arm and starred for the Monarchs from 1941 until 1947.

The Cleveland Indians hired Paige in 1948.

He helped the team win the American League pennant that year. Later he pitched for the St. Louis Browns, and in 1965, when he was 59, Charles Finley hired him to pitch three innings for the Kansas City Athletics in order to qualify for baseball’s pension plan. Named to the Hall of Fame in 1971, Paige died on June 8, 1982, and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, not far from fellow Hall-of-Famer Zack Wheat.

When Jackie Robinson, who had played for the Monarchs in 1945, was called up by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he broke the 20th century color barrier in the Major Leagues. This act started the decline of the Negro Leagues, which soon lost its best players to the majors where fans could see Paige, Larry Doby, or Monte Irvin against white Major League players.

Wilkinson sold the Monarchs in 1948, but the team carried on for 16 more years, barnstorming in small towns where they still attracted crowds. By 1964 the team was no more, but their history is on view at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum at 1601 E. 18th.

In 1955, Arnold Johnson, a Chicago businessman who owned Yankee Stadium, bought the major league Philadelphia Athletics and moved them to Kansas City. The grandstand roof of the old stadium, now called Municipal Stadium, was jacked up in order to put a second deck under it to enlarge the seating capacity. Former President Harry S. Truman threw out the first ball of the 1955 season and attendance at the games hit over a million that year to set a franchise record which wa not broken until 1982. Kansas City fans loved the A’s.

It can’t be said that Kansas City loved the next owner of the team. When Arnold Johnson died unexpectedly in the spring of 1960, his family sold the team to Charles O. Finley, a wealthy Chicago insurance company owner. During the seven years that Finley owned the club, the team was in constant chaos. He fired 12 managers and kept threatening to pull the A’s out of Kansas City. When he moved the Athletics to Oakland in January 1968, it was the first time in more than 80 years that Kansas City did not have a professional ball club.

After some persuasion from Senator Stuart Symington, a commitment from the American League was made that Kansas City could have an expansion club in 1969. Ewing Kauffman agreed to put up the money needed to acquire the team then underwrite it until it could sustain itself. He paid $10 million for the franchise and began to put together an organization that would give Kansas City a World Series winner.

Mr. K. was a self-made man who had lived in Kansas City since he was eight years old. He was graduated from Westport High School and then served in the Navy during World War II. Afterward, he went to work as a salesman for a pharmaceutical company. In 1950 Kauffman started Marion Laboratories out of his basement. He bought vitamins from manufacturers and packaged them under his company’s label.

Ewing Kauffman used his organizational skills and salesmanship to help guide the Royals to success. He hired baseball men, like Cedric Tallis and Lou Gorman and let them do their jobs. the team started out playing in the old Municipal Stadium. In 1973, the team celebrated moving into the new ballpark at Truman Sports Complex by hosting the major league’s all-star game. The Royals lost playoffs to the New York Yankees three straight times, 1976-1978, before beating the Bronx Bombers in 1980 on George Brett’s home run off ace reliever Goose Gossage. The Royals were in the 1980 World Series but lost, and they were in the 1981 and 1984 playoffs but didn’t win. However, Kansas City fans supported their team with near-capacity crowds at home games.

In 1983, Kauffman sold half of his interest in the Royals to Avron Fogelman, a developer from Memphis, Tennessee. It was Kauffman’s plan to eventually sell the remainder to Fogelman, too. However, by 1990 the developer’s investments had suffered sever losses and Kauffman was forced to buy back Fogelman’s share of the team.

When theroyals won the 1985 “I-70” World Series playing against the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City fans went wild. Businesses and schools closed so everyone could attend the team’s welcoming home parade. Cheering fans lined up hours before the parade started, several people deep along the parade route from downtown to the Liberty Memorial. Thousands of pounds of confetti and shredded paper were thrown during the parade. It was a celebration that Kansas City fans would not forget.

Mr. Kauffman had not been able to find a partner who would invest in the Royals and eventually buy him out. In the spring of 1993 he presented a plan that would keep the Royals in Kansas City for at least six years after his death. The Plan proposed that local philanthropists contribute $50 million to be banked toward the team’s future, and the interest would be used to pay the Royals’ operating expenses. At Kauffman’s death, the team would be managed by a group of civic leaders. When the team was sold, the money from the sale would go to the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

Those who had contributed to the plan could then donate their share to any charitable organization they wished. Kauffman’s estate would donate sufficient money to pay the Royals’ projected yearly losses during the transition time. At the time the plan was announced, Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman pledged $10 million toward the $50 million needed.

Ewing Kauffman died August 1, 1993. His wife and partner in the Royals, Muriel Kauffman, died March 17, 1995. In May 1995, the Internal Revenue Service approved the Kauffman’s plan to keep the Royals in Kansas City. The major-league owners gave their approval. When the rest of the $50 million was raised and in June, 1995, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation became the owners of the Royals. According to the Kauffman’s wishes, if there isn’t a local buyer within six years, the Royals can be sold to someone in another city.

While to was a good day for the Blues, it was a bad day for Blues’ fan C.A. Edling. It was a very bad day. C.A. Edling purchased an unreserved ticket for 50 cents and looked for a place to sit. Association Park, by most accounts was crowded, as temporary bleachers were added tot he already existing grandstand and bleachers. Mr. Edling found his seat behind home plate and he was protected only by “an old rotten and worn” chicken screen netting. A foul ball traveled through the netting and smashed Edling by his left eye. The blow produced a swollen eye and a broken nose, and Edling sued the Blued in negligence for not using ordinary care in the maintenance of the screen.

Edling had several legal theories for recovery. He could sue for breach of contract and maybe recover his 50 cents. Edling instead sued in tort (a non-contractual civil wrong). There are three types of torts: Intentional (eg battery, conversion, defamation, etc.), Negligence (defendant does not act with reasonable/ordinary care) or finally he could sue in strict liability (defendant is in control of an inherently dangerous condition, such as dynamite or dangerous animals, and the plaintiff can recover his damages without having to rove the defendant’s negligence.).

Baseball players can not, normally, direct batted balls and intentionally hurt spectators, nor is baseball an inherently dangerous spectator sport. Therefore, Edling sued the Blues in negligence for not using ordinary care in the maintenance of the screen. In tort, unlike contract, a plaintiff can receive punitive damages and more likely recover consequential damages.

Plaintiff Edling had to prove each element in the Prima Facie case in negligence.

1) The defendant owes a duty to the injured plaintiff.

2) The defendant breached that duty.

3) The defendant’s breach was the direct and foreseeable cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

Even if the plaintiff can meet the above requirements, the defendant has several defenses. The defendant could show that the plaintiff was at fault through contributory/comparative negligence or that the plaintiff assumed the risk of his injuries.

The Edling court had to rely upon a previous Kansas City case Crane v Kansas City Baseball + Exhibition Co., 168 Mo. App. 301, 153 S.W. 1076 (1913). Crane paid 50 cents for a grandstand seat for a Blues morning/afternoon doubleheader. Although history did not record which game Crane attended, legal history noted Crane and its Kansas City progenies, as important legal precedents. Crane announced that baseball clubs are not insurers to the fans. Just as in any entertainment media, baseball must exercise ordinary care towards their patrons. This care is measured by the ball club providing screened seats from wild throws and batted balls for fans who desire such protection. The Blues in Crane met their Prima Facie duty to Crane by providing this option to Crane. Even if Crane could make the Prima Facie case against the Blues, the blues could employ their negligence defenses. The court held that Crane had “common knowledge” concerning the national game, and therefore Crane assumed the risk for the known dangers. In fact, Crane’s selection of his seat CONTRIBUTED to his injuries.

This was a difficult challenge for Edling. He claimed that the Blues failed to meet their duty to him by not providing a screen free from defects. The Blues’ failure to maintain the screen was the proximate cause of his eye and nose injuries. In addition, the court also held that the Blues had no defenses. Edling neither assumed the risk of a defective screen, nor was this fan contributory negligent. In fact, this appellate court cited Edling’s trial attorney, when the attorney stated,

“If the Kansas City Blues had kept their eyes on the ball with the accuracy defendant says plaintiff should have displayed, they would have attained a higher place in the race for the pennant.” (see Edling v. Kansas City Baseball + Exhibition Co., 168 S.W. 908 at page 910)

Edling is one of the few cases where plaintiffs have successfully sued baseball (Crane is the more likely outcome). But both the Crane and the Edling cases have become precedents for more nationally known cases (see Quinn v Recreation Park, 3 Cal. 2d 725, 46 P. 2d 144 (1935) for Edling, and Wells v Minneapolis Baseball & Athletic Ass’n, 122 Minn 327, 142 NW 706 (1913) for Crane). Although foul balls have continued to find the anatomy of Kansas City baseball fans, only two more Kansas City cases have made important contributions to the jurisprudence of foul ball injuries.

In Hudson v Kansas City Baseball Club, Inc., 349 Mo 1215, 164 SW2d 318 (1942) Eugene L. Hudson, a near-sighted 64-year -old Blues fan, attended a Blues Indianapolis Indians doubleheader on July 28, 1940. While the Blues won the doubleheader, Hudson suffered several disappointments. The Blues fans had expected Johnny Vander Meer to pitch a rehabilitation assignment with the Indians and protested his absence. Although the records do not indicate that Hudson attended the doubleheader to see Vander Meer, he did suffer the pain and indignity of foul ball injury in his unscreened grandstand seat. Hudson argued that the Blues were negligent since the defendant did not meet the ordinary care standard under Crane and Edling. The Supreme Court of Missouri held that the Blues met these standards despite Hudson’s claim of special circumstances.

Hudson expected a screened seat since he purchased a grandstand seat. In addition, the Blues should have been aware of his advancing age and nearsightedness. These special circumstances, claimed Hudson, put the Blues on notice of providing Hudson a screened seat or notifying him that he was sitting in an unscreened area. While the court did not agree with the “common knowledge” standard announced in Crane, they held that Hudson had “actual knowledge” of the conditions and hazards of baseball games. Just because Hudson was “confused” as to his location, the court reasoned that this confusion did not equate to a duty on the part of the Blues.

In the final Kansas City case, Betty Anderson attended a Ladies Night at Blues Stadium on September 6, 1947. History records two expected events. A Blues victory (8-3 over St. Paul) coupled with an injured spectator. Anderson claimed that an usher switched her from a reserved screened seat to an unscreened seat. Also, the usher stated to the plaintiff Anderson that hundreds sit safely in this section every day. Betty reasoned that she relied on the usher’s assurances of safety. The Supreme Court of Missouri disagreed, and stated that the usher’s statements were the equivalent to stating that fans must think that those particular unscreened seats are safe since this was where the other fans chose to sit. The usher’s statements were not guarantees.

The Court believed that the Blues met their ordinary care duty to Anderson by providing screened seats for as many patrons who may reasonably be expected to desire screened seating (see Crane and Edling) and by providing screened seating to the portions of the stands which are most frequently subject to the hazards of foul balls (behind home plate). The Court correctly reasoned that the Blues owed no duty to warn every entering spectator of the hazards of the game! (See Anderson v. Kansas City Baseball Club, 231 S.W. 2d 170 (1950).)

In conclusion, a fan injured by wild throws or batted balls will have little chance of winning a lawsuit. The ball club can either attack the plaintiff-fan’s prima facie case or use their negligence defenses. For instance, a ball club can meet its Prima Facie duty by providing screened seating for a reasonable number of patrons who might request screened seating, screening the most dangerous part of the park (home plate) or providing a warning on the ticket, scoreboard, etc. Even if a plaintiff-fan could meet all the elements of the Prima Facie case, the ball club could always resort to the assumption of the risk defense.

There is a suggestion by legal scholars that an injured fan should be able to sue in strict liability! In this scenario the plaintiff-fan could argue that an improperly designed ballpark is inherently dangerous.

Injured fans could sue without the proof of the ball club’s negligence. This legal argument states that the ball clubs are in the best position to protect the fan from expected injuries with a design change or with insurance coverage. The more likely outcome is that an injured Kansas City fan has little recourse but he/she can take solace in that a foul ball injury is historically coupled with a Kansas City victory!

Before 1930, few working baseball fans envisioned their favorite stars showcasing their talents under the darkness of the summer moon.  The first known lighting experiment came on August 27, 1910, when inventor George F. Cahill brought his patented system to Chicago’s new White Sox park.  Unsuccessful at first, he convinced a doubting Charlie Comiskey to showcase his 20 candlelight power — 137,000 watts — for a game between the local teams, the Logan Squares and Rogers Park.  The game drew over 20,000 fans but failed to appeal to the passion of old-fashioned major league owners. The conservative owners followed closely the conviction of poet laureate, Paul Laurence Dunbar:

Night is for Sorrow and Dawn is for Joy
Chasing the Trouble that Fret and Annoy.

In 1930, James Leslie Wilkinson initiated the dawning of a new era in baseball with the first portable lighting system.  He made it possible for sports enthusiasts to see a constellation of ebony stars perform in the illuminated shadows of the night.

Major league fans waited five more springtime’s, until May 24, 1935, to witness the installation of stadium lights.  On this historic day, from his oval office, President Franklin D. Roosevelt flipped a switch that generated close to one million watts of electrical power from 632 fifteen hundred-watt flood lamps in Cincinnati’s Crosley Field.  Chicago Cubs fans waited a half a century before night time baseball arrived at their Wrigley Field. 

The innovator of night baseball was born on May 14, 1878, in the small town of Perry, Iowa, to John Joseph and Myrtie Harper Wilkinson.  His father, known as J.J., was superintendent of the Northern Iowa Normal School in Algona (near Des Moines).  It was a teacher’s college existing in the Kosulth County seat from 1886 through 1897.  Daddy Wilk served six years as county superintendent of schools prior to being named president of the college by a committee.  He applied his trade as far west as Omaha, Nebraska and eastward to Detroit, Michigan.  Meanwhile, young J.L. Wilkinson was attending Highland Park College in Des Moines, Iowa, where he began his brief pitching career with the Hopkins Brothers, the local sporting goods store.

Wilkinson’s semipro career was interrupted when a broken wrist halted his pitching and led him into management.  His experience with the Hopkins Brothers gave him the idea for one of baseball’s most unique and interesting teams, the All-Nations Club.

In 1912, along with local businessman J.E. Gall (or Gaul), Wilkinson formed an alliance of many nationalities, advertising:  “Direct from their native countries, Hawaiians, Japanese, Cubans, Filipinos, Indians and Chinese.”  The All Nations simply ignored Jim Crow sanctions and barnstormed the Chautauqua loops from Wisconsin to Missouri to Nebraska by Pullman coach.  They boasted of travel in their own “Private Hotel Car,” a specially-built Pullman coach equipped with full sleeping and cooking facilities.  “The All-Nations team traveled in a special private car in those days,” said Wilkinson.  “We all ate, slept and played together.  There was never any trouble.  We were a happy family.”

Wilkinson found the proverbial “melting” pot of gold with his rainbow of nationalities.  Despite being labeled as a “recreation” team by other baseball nines, the All-Nations had some of the finest players in the game.  Along with Mendez, Drake and Donaldson, the great Cuban player Cristobal Torriente later graced the roster.  In 1915, they beat a tough Rube Foster team, the Chicago American Giants, two out of three games.  The following year they swept a doubleheader, 9-5 and 5-2, and later tied a game 5-5, before losing to C.I. Taylor’s Indianapolis ABC’s, 5-1, considered by some sportswriters the most dominant Black club before the first World War.

A new horizon came in 1920, when J.L. Wilkinson was elected by team owners as Secretary of the new Negro National League.  J.L. or “Wilkie”, as he was affectionately known by his players, was the only white owner in a league as dark as a country night.  He would retain this notoriety throughout the life of the league until its breakup in 1931.  When the Negro American League organized in 1937, Wilkinson was elected treasurer.  He was with the Monarchs 28 years (1920-1947); six of those years (1931-1936) his teams barnstormed across the nation’s breadbasket, capitalizing on their popularity.

One of the strongest and most stable clubs in black baseball, the Monarchs were the white major leagues’ equivalent of the New York Yankees; the winning team that everyone wanted to beat.  During Wilkinson’s tenure, the Monarchs won 11 league championships, a feat surpassed only by the perennial champion Yankees.  During the same period, the Yankees won 15 championships under the managerial direction of Miller Huggins (1918-29) and Joe McCarthy (931-1946).  While the Bronx Bombers were fortunate to have played in the World Series each year they captured the league championship, the Monarch were not so lucky, appearing in only four Colored World Series:  1924,1925, 1942 and 1946.  The Monarchs could have appeared in more if the Series had not been discontinued from 1927 to 1941.  During the twenties, thirties and forties, the Monarchs dominated the teams of Negro League baseball.

While many of the New York pinstripers can be identified by a single name — from the Babe to Lou, from the Clipper to Mick to Maris, Yogi, Dickey, Lefty, Red and Whitey — only a few dedicated fans of the game can recognize their Monarch counterparts.  Slowly emerging fromt he shadows of anonymity are box office stars, Donaldson, Mendez, Bullet, Newt, Dobie, Brewer, Torrienti, Duncan, Foster, Turkey, Wells, Buck, Willard, Hilton, Jesse, Mr. Cub, Elston, Connie, Satch, Cool Papa, and, of course, Jackie.

On July 28, 1923, the Monarchs moved to Muehlebach Field,  the future home of the American League’s Kansas City Athletics. The Field, named after brew master George Muehlebach, became Ruppert Field in 1937, when Jacob Ruppert purchased the park for his New York Yankee minor-league franchise.  Normally, seating for the Blues games was segregated, however Wilkinson removed the twisted divider ropes and the crooked segregation signs when the Monarchs played. Fans, regardless of skin color, were allowed to sit wherever they liked at Monarchs games.  A 1931 article in the Kansas City Call, a local African-American newspaper,  reported,  “there  they were, the humble Negroes and the superior whites, all losing their relative social position in the interest of a very good game of ball.”

The aura of the new steel and concrete stadium, seating over 18,000 fans with the state-of-the-art electric scoreboard, propelled Wilkie’s Monarchs to their first league championship of the new decade. They captured 57 games and lost 33.

Although always a popular team, Wilkinson’s Monarchs competed for the entertainment dollar against the more established major-league baseball teams, It was always a struggle to pay salaries and traveling expenses.  In 1929, the midnight hour struck with the Great Depression. The league’s rise to credibility came to a crashing halt. This situation forced Wilkinson to search for innovative ideas to keep his team intact arid survive the country’s financial crisis. Could night baseball be the solution?

To finance this dream, Wilkinson and Tom Y. Baird, owner of a bowling alley and billiard parlor, put up collateral to secure a $50,000 loan. The loan enabled them to purchase a Sterling Marine 100 kilowatt generator with a 250 horse power, six-cylinder, triple-carburetor, gasoline-driven engine. The new power plant consumed more than 15 gallons of gasoline an hour, and required 12 men to install 44 giant non-glare floodlights on telescopic steel poles, mounted on the beds of Ford trucks.  The innovative power plant had an estimated illumination of 198,000 watts.

Soon minor league teams discovered that the lighting systemic helped ease the Financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression. The fog of resistance had been lifted.  In one of the darkest moments in baseball history, Wilkinson became a tower of strength. Club owners found that baseball under the artificial sun often doubled or tripled attendance figures.  The Kansas City Star hailed the event by stating:

“Night baseball will be a lifesaver, it will revolutionize the old game, restoring small town baseball on a paying basis.  It gives recreation for the business and workingman who can’t afford day games.  The Monarchs will probably do to baseball this year, what the talkies have done to the movies.”

In 1948, Wilkinson sold his 50% of the mighty Monarchs to co-owner and close friend, Tom Y. Baird.  The contract called for the exclusive rights by Baird to market the name “THE KANSAS CITY MONARCHS BASEBALL CLUB” and a sale price of $27,000. the Wilkinson family, J.L. and his son Richard, were allowed to operate another team under the name “KANSAS CITY MONARCHS TRAVELING CLUB” with restrictions against tampering with any player currently under contract with the original club, except for Leroy “Satchel” Paige.  Because of his popularity, Paige was available for pitching duty with either club.  He was eventually sold to the Cleveland Indians for $5,000.

In 1955, Kansas City baseball underwent a major change.  Blues Stadium was purchased by the city and became Municipal Stadium, and the minor league Blues were replaced by the hapless Philadelphia Athletics of the American League.  As the Monarchs played their last home game, they entered the era of burlesque baseball in the remaining years.  The Monarchs, once the brightest-burning comet of all, were now falling to earth.

Fans, both black and white, flocked to see the big league A’s, which had not won a pennant since 1931, setting an attendance record of 1,393,054.  The rippling effect caused the Monarchs a loss of over $10,000.  They were sold to Ted Rasberry, a businessman from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Under the Rasberry management, the Monarchs never regained the masterful level of play that once dominated the black diamond of the twenties, thirties and forties.  Many of the Monarchs finest stars had been seized by major league clubs, leaving Rasberry with only a shell of a once-great team.  Now, the Grand Rapids based club was only a shadowy remembrance of the Kansas City powerhouse team.  The Call observed, “From a sociological point of view the Monarchs have done more than any other single agent in Kansas City to break the damnable outrage of prejudice that exists in this city.”

Wilkinson’s remaining years were spent at the University Nursing home in Kansas City, Kansas.  He brought baseball out of the aberrant light into the spotlight.  He gave sight to night baseball, only to lose his own vision late in life.  On August 21, 1964, at the age of eighty-six, he passed away during the night.  Earlier, on June 9, 1945, prominent sportswriter Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier wrote:

“One of those who has made a definite contribution to black baseball is J.L. Wilkinson, the silver-thatched, soft-spoken owner of the fabulous Kansas City Monarchs.  Wilkinson has been in Negro baseball for more than twenty years, and during that time he has not only invested his money, but his very heart and soul.  He has stayed in the game through storm and strife because he has loved it, not because he had to.  There is no owner in the country — white or Negro — who has operated more honestly, sincerely or painstakingly.  His baseball history is an epic as thrilling and fascinating as any sports story ever written.”

Like all great men, Wilkinson was not without imitators.  Long before Finley’s follies and the days of Harvey the mechanical home-plate and promotions like “Farmer’s Night” and “Hot Pants Night”, Wilkinson was baseball’s original drum major.  In the mid-20s, he had introduced “Kids’ Day” or “Knothole Day’ (kids 15 and under, admitted free) and “Ladies Day” or “Fannettes Day” (all ladies free) at the ball park.  Earlier, in 1922, Wilkinson hired attractive lady ushers as an added attraction and an incentive for men to use less profanity.  In 1939, he initiated one of his most popular promotions with the Monarchs’ annual bathing beauty contest, initially won by Mrs. Muriel Hawkins.

J.L. Wilkinson was an innovator, a promoter, a beneficiary and personal confidant to his players.  He presented our national pastime with a formula for racial harmony and a quality product.  Though not given the honor, Wilkinson — not Branch Rickey — was the forerunner of interracial baseball.  He produced champions of black teams, who lived outside the glow of the national pastime, away from the brightest of white lights.

Wilkie presented a new science to the game, long before televised baseball games, radar guns, lap-top computers, pronto replays, plastic grass, faxed scouting reports, caged stadiums and carnival scorecards, maybe even before aluminum bats and Teflon baseballs.

Star light, star bright, J.L. Wilkinson was a shining light in baseball’s dark pastime.

These are some of the names given to describe the slugging Kansas City Blues during the stifling summer of 1952.

Several of the adjective-rich terms were applied to the Blues following their return to Kansas City in early July after an eight game road trip in which they hit a total of 26 home runs and set other records for power in the American Association.

The Blues’ homer barrage against the St. Paul Saints on June 29 was front page news the following morning in the Kansas City Times. Headlines of “Salvo of Homers … Ring Up Ten in Game,” greeted morning readers.

In winning the first game of a doubleheader 17-4 over the Saints at Lexington Park in St. Paul, the Blues socked ten home runs and totaled 53 bases, both American Association records. The previous one-game record of nine homers was set in 1951 by Milwaukee at Nicollet Park in Minneapolis. The old total base record of 50 was first set in 1951 by Minneapolis, and later matched by Columbus in a game at Minneapolis in 1948.

The June 29th 20-hit attack was highlighted by a big third inning. The Blues homered six times — establishing another American Association record — as they hit five of them after two were out. Roy Partee, the “Blues” sturdy little catcher, led off the third with a 330 foot homer over the left field fence.

After Blues pitcher Ernie Nevel struck out, Kermit Wahl walked and Fenton Mole went down swinging. Vic Power followed with a curving home run, fair by inches inside the line. Bill Skowron reached first on an error. Then, Kal Segrst, Bill Renna and Andy Carey all homered, before Partee, up for the second time in the inning, connected with number six to a near identical spot he hit the first one.

Renna hit his second homer in the fifth with one on and Partee socked his third home run in the seventh. Power and Segrist hit the final two homers in the eighth inning.

Partee’s three blasts equaled his entire output for the 1951 season. His homers in the third inning tied a league record shared by six others. The mark was first set in 1927 by an obscure Minneapolis player listed only as Kenna. Previous to Partee, it was last equaled in 1950 by Dave Williams of Minneapolis.

Every man in the Blues’ line-up hit safely in the game; Wahl and Mole were held to one hit apiece.

Bill Skowron, the league’s leading home run hitter at the time, failed to homer, but contributed a single and double to the Blues’ base total. Skowron did connect on a tie-breaking home run in the sixth inning of the second game, which the Blues lost 10-4.

The Blues power display that night was considered “unprecedented” in the 51-year history of the American Association. The feat of hitting six home runs in one inning was particularly startling. At the time, the league record book did not carry a listing for team homers in one inning. Despite this, veteran baseball observers in St. Paul, including Association record keepers, said the mark was “unquestionably” an all-time high.

Three days later they unloaded again.

The Blues bombarded the Millers 16-11 in a night game at Minneapolis, slugging eight home runs and eighteen hits.

The Millers led the game 11-5 after four innings, having hammered Blues pitchers Art Shallock and Rex Jones. But in the last five innings, the Blues homered seven times to storm from behind for the victory.

In the top of the fifth, Renna cracked his first homer of the night with two men on. Pitcher Wally Hood followed with a solo shot, cutting the Miller lead to two.

In the sixth, Bill Skowron launched a home run well over the 350 foot banner in left field.

Fenton Mole led off the eighth with a long fly that sailed down the right field foul line and out of the park to tie the game. The next batter, Vic Power, broke the tie with a homer over the left field wall. Then, Renna hit his second homer of the night, and the Blues’ third of the inning.

The Blues’ final three tallies came in the ninth on a home run by Power, with Hood and Mickey Owen on base. Power’s home run was described as a “dinky poke to right field,” traveling no more than 250 or 260 feet.

When the Blues returned to Kansas City, they had completed an eight game road trip and hit 26 home runs. The Blues attack was led by Renna, the “hulking” center fielder who barely made the club in 1951. He homered eight times in eight games, connecting in five consecutive games. The rest of the home run totals for the trip were more evenly divided; Power four, Segrist four, Skowron three, Partee three, and Carey, Owen, Mole and Hood one apiece.

The halfway mark of the season was July 2. The official averages showed the Blues with a team batting average of .303, the top mark for any team in the high minors or majors. The home run total stood at 116, with Skowron leading the team with 21, followed by Renna with 19, Segrist 17 and Power 13.

At the close of the season, the Blues finished in second place, 12 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Yet they ranked first in total bases with 2,472 and second in home runs with 183. Over 154 games, the team scored 869 runs, collected 1,499 hits, and stroked 260 doubles and 82 triples. The team batting average for the season was .286.

Bill Skowron batted .341 for the season, collecting 32 home runs and 134 runs batted in. Power hit .331, with 15 homers and 109 RBIs. Don Bollweg socked 23 round-trippers and batted .325.

Segrist finished with 25 home runs, 92 runs batted in, and hit .303. Renna ended up with 28 homers, hit .295, and knocked in 90 runs.

The team’s output eclipsed the 1923 Blues, previously considered the top sluggers in Kansas City baseball history. The 1923 club hit a total of 109 homers, a mark overshadowed by the Blues’ power in 1952.

The first home game was played June 7 before 1,500. KC lost to Chicago 6-5. Trying to upgrade the team, McKim turned over the managerial reins to Ted Sullivan, who hustled to the disbanded Bay City, Michigan, franchise to sign Hungarian-born Joe Strauss, shortstop Turbiddy and Jumbo Davis as a third baseman. He next landed the famous “Kid” battery — Bob Black and Kid Baldwin — from Quincy, Illinois, of the Northwestern League.

A strange forfeit occurred August 22. With Kansas City leading 6-2 in the ninth, umpire Seward called St. Louis runner Brennan safe at the plate. Ted Sullivan, argued that his catcher Baldwin tagged the runner out. He called his men off the field for the forfeit loss.

Kansas City lost a game in Washington when Powell hit a long fly to the right-field foul line where Black muffed it. The ball rolled through a small hole in a platform near the line. Black could not reach the ball as three Washington National runs scampered across the plate. Though the Kansas City squad “kicked like Army mules,” the umpire did not change his decision and the runs counted.

At the Union Association meeting on September 24, a proposal was made to realign the league into East-West divisions: Cincinnati, St. Paul, Milwaukee, and St. Louis in the West; Kansas City, Washington, Baltimore, and Boston in the East. Union backers in Kansas City saw that they had no future in the Association.

Still, Kansas City and Milwaukee showed at the January 15 winter Union Association meeting in Milwaukee. They were surprised to discover that Union founder and league benefactor Henry Lucas had applied for a National League franchise and that the League wanted him! Milwaukee and Kansas City voted to disband the Union Association and began to work on a Western League for 1855.

Ted Sullivan is credited with organizing the new Western League on February 12, 1885 with Indianapolis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Toledo, and Omaha as original clubs. The neophyte league was not without its own intrigue and skullduggery as a battle raged in baseball circles as to what was to be done with blacklisted players — every player in the Union Association was so tagged — while the main culprit, Henry Lucas, had already been accepted into the National League. The Cincinnati Unions, under Justice Thorner, had also been encouraged to apply to the National League. The Cincy group preferred to play in the new Western League. This scenario was impossible because the new league was a National Agreement league which meant adherence to the Reserve Clause that the Unions had so actively flaunted in 1884.

Eventually, all reserve and contract breakers from the previous year were reinstated at the insistence of Al Spalding, who persuaded the other owners that the reinstatement was a business deal, not a moral judgement.

Kanasa City baseball hopes began to flounder when manager Ted Sullivan initiated a mob to chase umpire Hoover out of town. a few days later, Sullivan and Hoover tussled in Milwaukee; bystanders saved the Kansas City manager from a physical beating by the burly arbiter.

In mid-May, Cleveland and Toledo officials were arrested and convicted of Sunday baseball violations. Kansas City continued to draw good crowds on that day. Omaha, the first casualty, disbanded June 6, and Keokuk was brought into the league. The “Westerns” from Keokuk sported the celebrated Negro second baseman, John “Bud” Fowler. The city had earlier been rejected by the Western League as being too small, but the circuit was now desperate.

Cleveland and Toledo — creditors attached gate receipts — disbanded in June, leaving only Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Keokuk. A few days later the Indianapolis Hoosiers sold their best players to Detroit of the National League for $5,000/ When Keokuk won three straight road game at Milwaukee, that city wanted to quit also. The league went belly up, but not Kansas City’s enthusiasm for the National Pastime.

The next year witnessed the entrance of the Kansas City Cowboys into the National League. Eastern sportswriters were astounded in 1886 as three ex-Union Association clubs — Washington, Kansas City, and St. Louis — were in the Senior Circuit. Kansas City was admitted on a one-year, probationary membership. In the fall, the club would have to reapply for a 1887 franchise. The Cowboys sported two sets of uniforms: one, white with blue caps and stockings; the other, chocolate with red caps and stockings. Consigned by most as a last-place team, the Cowboys — 50-1 odds to win the pennant — opened the season before 3,500 fans at League Park. They lost 6-5 in extra innings to the defending League champ Chicago. David Rowe, who sat out the previous season on the blacklist, was the manager. His catcher was Charles Briody who at 250 pounds was known as “Alderman” or “Falstaff.”

Grasshopper Jim Whitney was the best pitcher on the undermanned staff. Midway through the season prejudice began to dominate Eastern articles on the Cowboys. Charlie Fulmer, on his first umpiring trip to Kansas City, was widely quoted as saying, “I ain’t afraid of their yells but as soon as they pull their guns, I’m goin’ to dust.”

The New York Giants’ visit was auspicious. The Easterners lost the first day because a cross-eyed man ate dinner next to the ball club the previous night. Following the Giant defeat, the Kansas City officials felt obligated to offer protection to the visitors. A cowboy rode a mustang alongside the New York stage that carried the players from the Lindell Hotel to the playing field. Much to the chagrin of the 1,200 pairs of cowboy boots at the park, the Giants prevailed 6-2.

Kansas City along with Detroit and Cleveland, applied for the vacancy in the American Association when Pittsburgh withdrew from that league. The Association, believing that Kansas City was to be ousted from the National League, felt that the Senior Circuit was trying to force Kansas City on them and voted to accept Cleveland’s application for membership. A stalemate developed over Kansas City’s membership because more pressing business took place at the winter meetings. Owner John B. Day of the Giants was miffed over comments by St. Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe that the New York club was a “third-rate nine.” Day challenged the beer baron to a seven-game series with Jim Mutire as umpire. The Browns were to be very busy next spring as they had already accepted challenges from Chicago and Detroit. A side bet of $250 was being held by the Baltimore club. Then the Kansas City issue reappeared.

The newly-formed Kansas City Westerns issued a challenge to the League to play for the city championship. The League (National) had already accepted Pittsburgh and was trying to get St. Louis or Kansas City — both former Union Association franchises — to resign. Both refused. Indianapolis offered $10,000 for Kansas City or $20,000 for the St. Louis charter. The two Missouri cities wanted to combine franchises and play in Kansas City. this the other League owners refused. Indianapolis had collected $10,00 and wanted a franchise for 1887. The forcible retirement of St. Louis — owned by Henry Lucas — was put on the agenda for a special March 7 meeting at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York.

If Indianapolis was accepted, the National League would have 10 teams instead of eight. The league directors voted six to one to accept Indianapolis’ application. A shouting match immediately ensued over the disposition of the St. Louis players. The directors retired to an upstairs caucus room. At 7:30 p.m. they returned with their Solomon-like decision: Indy would pay $12,000 to the League for its franchise, and the League would offer St. Louis $12,000 for its club and players. Kansas City would forfeit its players because they had failed to file proper reservations. Some of the delegates felt that something should be offered to Kansas City.

Then, all hell broke loose. President Stromberg of the St. Louis Maroons would not sell for $50,000 if Sunday ball was allowed. Al Spalding boiled at the mention of Indianapolis and declared that “it has never been a decent baseball city.” The influential Spalding wanted the National League to stay in Kansas City, but Arthur Soden of Boston said he would never consent to Kansas City and favored Indianapolis. The next morning, the delegated declared that St. Louis had accepted the $12,000 for its players. Indianapolis was admitted to the National League for $12,000 and was “donated” 14 players. Kansas City was offered $6,000 for its players, but refused to accept. Then , the League offered the Cowboys $3,500 for McQuery, Basset, Donley, Whitney, and Myers; $4,000 if Redford was added.

Indianapolis’ total payment was returnable at the end of the season if the club did not want to retain the franchise in 1888. Kansas City reconsidered and accepted the $6,000. The city would play in the newly-formed Western League in 1887. The St. Louis Maroons franchise became the Indianapolis Hoosiers; the Hoosiers folded after the 1889 National League season.

The Cowboys finished the 1887 season 30 games behind the Topeka Golden Giants who captured the pennant. It was the year of the walks-count-as-base-hits rule. In one Western League game, Lincoln defeated Wichita 46-7 on 50 base hits.

The following year a territorial dispute arose between the Western and American Associations with Kansas City as the battleground. Since the National League at the Board of Arbitration refused to take sides, Kansas City was destined to have two mediocre-drawing clubs instead of one well-heeled operation. Out of the turmoil came the city championship series and the nickname “Blues.” In order to differentiate the Western club from the American version, the Western Association squad dressed in blue. Blue stockings, blue caps, blue pantaloons, and blue jerseys were the vestments of the Blues. The blue uniforms would stay until 1900 when George Tebeau tried to institute cream-colored ones in an ill-fated modernization attempt. Kansas City fans voiced their displeasure with the new attire with in pickets around the stadium. Even local nuns were upset with the new color for the Blues and wrote editorials in the newspaper. After two weeks the Blues went back to wearing blue.

The Westerns challenged the Americans to a preseason tourney for the city championship. The American Association whipped the challengers 14-1 and 6-5 in 11 innings to take all of the gate receipts. The Americans were managed by David Rowe who had been with Kansas City in 1886 and 1887. The club was again expected to finish last. The crowds stayed away which caused Kansas City to become and advocate for the return of $.25 admission. While few fans bothered to come to the city ball park — known as the “Hole”, because it was prone to mud puddles of the field, the city with its many saloons quickly became a favorite watering stop among Association ball players.

Pete Browning, the original Louisville slugger, was quite inebriated on the rainy evening that he took a couple of poles to a water puddle and set up a fishing line in front of his downtown hotel. When the fish refused to bite his unbaited hook he went inside the hotel and created such a disturbance that the police were soon on his tail. Ol’ Pete eluded then, but failed to catch the morning train with the rest of his teammates.

The Association club also experimented with the “double umpire system.” Kansas City and Baltimore each chose one of their own players to umpire and each made decisions that favored his own club. Both sides played the game — won by Kansas City 2-1 — under protest. Midway through 1888, Kansas City, Louisville and Baltimore were estimated to lose $10,000 due to the $.50 admission rule. When the Association went back to the $.25 admission Kansas City upset the Brooklyn crowd by whipping the home team 1-0. The next day, Sunday, they piled it on 6-1 over the Bridegrooms. Meanwhile, the Western Association team was busy establishing itself as the minor league Blues.

The Blues failed to win the 1888 pennant, but they won over the fans with $.25 admission and the pitching of future Hall of Fame hurler, Charles “Kid” Nichols. Jimmy Manning made his first appearance in a Kansas City uniform. He would be involved with Kansas City baseball for the next two decades.

The next year, the Blues disbanded, giving fans one club to support. The Association club sported new uniforms that had “Cowboys” printed across the chest. It was an uneventful season despite the presence of Herman Long and Billy Hamilton on the roster. The club was subject to some intrigue as Al Spalding and Chris Von der Ahe met in Kansas City to discuss forming a 12-team league. L.C. Krauthoff of Kansas City ran for president of the Association as the delegates of St. Louis, Louisville, Columbus and Kansas City held a clandestine meeting in Philadelphia before the winter gathering. Kansas City’s involvement in postseason maneuvering led to ill feelings from Brooklyn and Cincinnati. They represented the anti-Von der Ahe clique. Delegates from the two cities affectively blocked the election of Krauthoff as president. Disappointed, Kansas City resigned from the American Association and entered the Western Association for the 1890 season.

In the Western Association Kansas City won a high-spirited pennant race over Minneapolis and Milwaukee. All three clubs played over .600 ball while the rest finished below .500. Six of the eight teams made money. The league and its members sought membership in the National Agreement as the looked forward to the 1891 season.

What a disaster that year was! As the American Association fell apart, its clubs dickered with Western Association teams: selling players, buying franchises and intruding on league politics. Both Associations went downhill. The Western, with Kansas City, started with eight clubs and limped home with four. Kansas City spend the entire year trying to gain entrance into the American Association and did not concentrate on defending its league title. As a result, Sioux City won the Western Association championship. The Soos also whipped the Chicago White Stockings and St. Louis Browns in a post-season play. Kansas City never re-entered the American Associaton as it died in December 1891. In the next century, Kansas City would become a charter member of a top minor league, named the American Association.

Four different Kansas City teams (from three major leagues) have treated their fans to six triple plays at four different ballparks.

From a historical perspective, it is of interest to revisit the special feats (in batting, pitching, and fielding) achieved by the various baseball clubs that have called Kansas City “home.” In this article, we focus on a category of fielding — specifically, the ultimate rally-killing event — the triple play.

Kansas City served as home base for six teams from five distinct major leagues: 1) the Unions of the Union Association, 1884; 2) the Cowboys of the National League, 1886; 3) the Blues of the American Association, 1888-1889; 4) the Packers of the Federal League, 1914-1915; 5) the Athletics of the American League, 1955-1967; 6) the Royals of the American League, 1969-present. As it has turned out, all but the first two Kansas City franchises have treated their fans to a home-field three-ply special.

July 7, 1888

The Stage: On this date in their inaugural AA campaign, the Blues hosted the Baltimore Orioles at Association Park. In the 9th inning, Kansas City held a 13-8 lead. But the visitors proceeded to load the bases with nobody out — Tommy Tucker stood on first; Sam Trott occupied second; and Jack Farrell held third. Billy Shindle was in the batter’s box awaiting the slants of the Blues’ hurler, Phil Ehret.

The Play: Shindle hit a grounder to shortstop Frank Hankinson, who fielded the ball to first sacker Bill Phillips to retire the batter. On this routine play, the runners each moved up a base, Farrell scoring. However, Trott also tried to race home; he was doubled up at the plate on a peg from the number-three infielder to catcher Jim Donahue. And, while the second out was being recorded, Tucker attempted to advance to the third station. He was nailed there when the backstop whipped the leather to the number five infielder, Jumbo Davis, who tagged him for the game-ending out. The scoring went 6-3-2-5.

July 24, 1915

The Stage: In the middle of the second and final season of the Federal League, the Buffalo Blues were the guests of the Kansas City Packers at Gordon and Koppel Field. At the end of the regulation nine innings, the winning team had not yet been decided. In the top of the 10th session, with the score deadlocked 2-2, the Blues mounted a threat. Clyde Engle and Solly Hofman connected for back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. Walter Blair was at the plate swinging the lumber. On the hill for the Packers was Norm Cullop.

The Play: Blair grounded the pitch to the hot corner man George Pering, who gloved it and fired the horsehide to keystoner Bill Kenworthy who stepped on the middle bag to force out Hofman. Next, he relayed the sphere to first baseman George Stovall who toed the initial station to complete the around-the-horn double play. While the twin killing was in progress, Engle (who initially had to hold close to third) mad a dash for the plate. He didn’t make it, being cut down on a peg from the primary sacker to catcher Ted Easterly. The scoring was 5-4-3-2.

NOTE: In spite of having their 10th-inning rally thwarted by a triple play, the visitors emerged with the triumph, 3-2.

September 4, 1966

The Stage: Near the end of their penultimate season in Kansas City, the AL Athletics were engaged in an old-fashioned (originally scheduled) Sunday double header at Municipal Stadium with the visiting Boston Red Sox. The Crimson Hose, who had already taken the lid-lifter, opened the after-piece by getting their first three men on base. Rico Petrocelli led off with a single, and Joe Foy and Don Demeter drew walks from the A’s starting hurler, Gil Blanco. That brought clean-up hitter Tony Conigliaro to the plate with the bases loaded.

The Play: Tony C. ripped into the pitch, but he managed to only hit a soft, low liner to shortstop Bert Campaneris who fielded the ball on the hop. The number-six infielder then tossed the ball to second baseman Dick Green, who stepped on the keystone sack to force out Demeter. Next, the number-four infielder relayed the ball to first baseman Tim Talton to complete the doubly play. Meanwhile, Petrocelli (who had held up at third in case Campy caught the ball in the air) got a late start in his run for home. He was retired on a throw from the first sacker to catcher Phil Roof. The scoring went 6-4-3-2.

Inspired by their first-inning fielding heroics, the Athletics — who also pulled three double plays — proceeded to carve out a 7-2 victory and gain a split in the twin-bill.

July 4, 1988

The Stage: Just three days before the 100th anniversary of the very first Kansas City triple play, the Kansas City Royals (in the middle of their 20th season in the junior circuit) treated the home-team fans to a three-outs-for-the-price-of-one-special. The visiting Boston Red Sox found Royals Stadium to their liking, having built up a 6-2 lead going into the top of the 4th. The BoSox continued their attack as Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks opened the stanza with consecutive singles, putting men on second and first. That brought up Jim Rice to take his cuts at the offerings of Rick Anderson.

The Play: Rice smashed a sinking liner to center field. The drive had “base hit” written all over it. But the number-eight flyhawk, Willie Wilson, charged in and caught it with a spectacular lunging effort. The runners, who thought the ball would fall safely, were motoring at full throttle around the bases. Were easily doubled and tripled up when the center fielder threw the ball to second baseman Frank White who, after stepping on the keystone to retire Greenwell, tossed the sphere to first baseman George Brett to nail Burks. The score went 8-4-3.

While the Kansas City triple play was the feature of the game, the end result was a BoSox triumph, 9-2.

May 14, 1994

The Stage: With the ballpark having been recently renamed Kauffman Stadium to honor the memory of the founder of the Kansas City Royals, the Oakland Athletics were in town as guests of the Royals. Trailing by a 2-1 score in the top of the third inning, the A’s had runners on first and second, Mike Aldrete and Stan Javier. Geronimo Berroa was in the batter’s box facing Kansas City’s Kevin Appier.

The Play: Berroa hit a sharp grounder to hot corner man Gary Gaetti who picked up the ball and stepped on third to force out Javier. The number-five infielder then rifled the sphere to second baseman Terry Shumpert who, after stepping on the middle station to force out Aldrete, zipped the leather to first baseman Wally Joyner to nab the batter and complete the classic around-the-horn triple play. The score was 5-4-3.

Concluding Remarks

A total of 18 Kansas City players have participated in the executions of the five triple slaughters in Kansas City. One of them, Gary Gaetti, has gained a unique position in the record book. The third baseman has taken part in seven triple plays — the most in Major League history for fielders at the hot corner position. The second ranking third sacker is Frank “Home Run” Baker with four triple plays.

Kansas City has disappointed its fans only twice by hitting into triple plays at home. The Royals were victimized once by the Angels in 1970 at Municipal Stadium and once by the Baltimore Orioles in 1977 at Royals Stadium. The bottom line in three-out-for-the-price-of-one specials in Kansas City is a net of plus-three for the home-team fans.

SABR members HERM KRABBENHOFT and JIM SMITH have collaborated to research and document every triple play executed in major league history. Over the past six years, they have published their findings in Baseball Quarterly Reviews. Currently, they are preparing “BQR presents The Triple Play Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball.”

In May 1905, J.R. Lindsley proposed organizing a baseball team with the intention of joining a professional league. On June 21, a baseball association was formed and plans were made to join the Kansas State League which had already begun play. The K-State League was a Class D minor league operation. It was composed of Kingman, Hutchinson, Minneapolis, Kansas, and Ellsworth. On July 4, Great Bend and Lincoln were admitted to the league. It was the city’s first venture into Organized Ball. The home games were played at the Fair Grounds on the east side.

1905

Catcher Carl Moore was named manager of the team. In the off-season he was a teacher in the St. John school system.

Great Bend’s first league game was played on July 7 at home against Hutchinson. Great Bend was the winner 10-3. Four to five hundred fans attended.

Lefty Holmes pitched a one-hitter on July 14 against Ellsworth at Ellsworth. He won 2-0. The lone hit came in the 9th inning.

Kingman dropped out of the league on July 24 and Hoisington took its place. At the time, Kingman’s record was 10-21.

On August 2, Lefty Holmes pitched a no-hitter against Hoisington in the first game of a double header at Hoisington. He won 4-0 with Wayne taking the loss.

The last game of the season was played August 9 at Minneapolis. A victory would have clinched first place, percentage-wise, for Great Bend. But that was not to be. An umpire, who had been dismissed for rotten decisions was sent by the league president, who resided in Ellsworth, to umpire the game. It appeared Ellsworth saw this as its only chance to win the pennant. Jimmy Durham, Great Bend’s pitcher, could not get a called strike. Carl Moore hit a fair ball, which the umpire ruled foul, over the fence in the fifth inning. At this point, it was evident that the umpire had been sent to rob Great Bend of the game, so Great Bend refused to continue. The umpire forfeited the game to Minneapolis. On that low note Great Bend ended its season in second place. The final standings for the inaugural season were:

1905 Kansas State League
Class D
President George T. Tremble

Kingman disbanded July 22. Hoisington took Kingman’s place in the league July 24. Lincoln Center and Great Bend joined the league July 6.

A Second Beginning

On December 29, 1908, at a meeting in Hutchinson, Great Bend joined the Kansas State League, which had been organized again as a Class D minor league. After a three-year absence, Organized Ball was back in Great Bend. The eight members of the league were: Strong City-Cottonwood Falls, Great Bend, Lyons, Newton, Hutchinson, McPherson, Wellington, and Arkansas City.

The Great Bend teams was known as the Millers. This nickname was appropriate and offered an advertising boost to the town.

A new ball park was built for the team. It was located about a half block east of Frey Street at its intersection with Lakin. Its seating capacity was 1,200. The park had many names, such as League Park, East Side Park, Athletic Park and Sportsman’s park, at various times throughout its history.

The uniforms for the season were cream, nearly white. On the left breast was a swastika in black with the letters “G B” in opposite corners of the lucky sign. There was a fancy ornamentation on the uniforms. The Newton Journal offered this editorial comment: “Great Bend’s uniforms are to be cream color, the dainty things! The players should now be provided with sachet bags and hemstitched handkerchiefs.”

1909

Rudy Kling, who appeared in four games at shortstop for the 1902 St. Louis Cardinals, was named manager of the Millers. In April, management announced that they did not intend to allow betting on games inside the ball park.

The home opener was May 6 against Lyons. Nearly 1,000 fans attended the game. A parade of cars containing the players of both teams, city dignitaries and other notables, preceded the first pitch. Unfortunately, Great Bend lost 2-1. It’s no wonder Great Bend didn’t win. Mayor Dawson balked on the ceremonial first pitch and club president Charles Brinkman failed as the receiver of the initial loss.

There were notable performances by Miller pitchers. Great Bend lost to Hutchinson, June 21, 1-0 in 13 innings. Green, the pitcher, had two of the three Great Bend hits and allowed only four himself.

On July 5, Bill Salm pitched 24 innings in one day against Strong City-Cottonwood Falls at Great Bend. However, it was not a good day for Big Bill. He lost the first game 1-0 although he had a no-hitter for 8 1/3 innings. He then lost the second game 3-1 in 15 innings. The monumental effort was too much for Salm, he was not the same pitcher after that day.

In July, the twin city franchise of Strong City-Cottonwood Falls was transferred to Larned. Lack of attendance was given as the official reason. Also, in July, Winfield bought a half interest in the Arkansas City franchise. Half of the remaining games were played there.

Attendance was a problem for Great Bend throughout the season. The Fourth of July doubleheader drew less than 500 people. Still, Great Bend’s attendance was the highest in the league.

The final standings for the season were:

1909 Kansas State League
Class D
President: P.H. Hostutler

Strong City – Cottonwood Falls (22-41) moved to Larned July 12. Winfield bought part interest in the Arkansas City franchise July 22.

1910

The teams in the league remained the same as those that finished the 1909 season. Charlie Lyons, a member of Great Bend’s baseball team in 1905, was named the new manager of the Millers.

Great Bend was involved in three no-hitters within three months. On May 20, Great Bend was beaten by Newton, 2-0, at Great Bend, on a perfect game by Chief Williams. Rolla Mapel was the losing pitcher. One month later, on June 20, George Kaiserling pitched a 10-inning, no-hit game against McPherson at Great Bend as the second game of a doubleheader. Great Bend won 1-0, Lagenaur took the loss. Then, on August 19, Larned beat Great Bend at Larned, 2-0, on a no-hitter by H.C. Watson, formerly a Great Bend pitcher. It was the second game of a doubleheader and lasted only seven innings. Billy Kuhagen was the losing pitcher.

During the final game of the season, Pete Falkenberg was given a silver-plated bat for the highest batting average on the team. Rolla Mapel was given a silver-plated ball for having the best pitching record on the team. These awards were provided by W.D. Gould. Rolla Mapel also led the league in strikeouts with 205.

The final standings for 1910 were:

1910 Kansas State League
Class D
President: P.H. Hostutler

Arkansas City was turned back to the league for its final two games, which were played under Doc Baker as the “Orphans.”

1911

The Millers continued to try new managers, as R. F. “Affy” Wilson was named the third manager in three years. He had been in the Central Kansas League the previous year. El Dorado replaced Arkansas City for the upcoming season.

Great Bend’s new uniforms arrived in April. The suites were real beauties. They were steel gray with navy trimming. The name “Millers” was perpendicularly placed on the shirt fronts. The time-honored swastika was conspicuous by its absence.

Special police were hired to be on the grounds during the games to cut down on rowdyism. The directors of the baseball association said drunks and rowdies would be thrown out of the ball park and given their money back. People found betting would be arrested and prosecuted.

The season opener was May 11 at Wellington. Great Bend won 2-1. Attendance troubles still plagued the league. Wellington transferred to Wichita in mid-June, but didn’t last long as the team went back to Wellington two weeks later.

On July 11, the Kansas State League “blew up.” Wellington and El Dorado had financial difficulties and gave up. When President Stahl of the Kansas State League attempted to make a six-team league by distributing the players among the other teams, Hutchinson and Larned, who also had financial difficulties, insisted the season end at once. Great Bend was declared the pennant winner because they were in first place when the league folded. The final standings were:

1911 Kansas State League
Class D
President: P.H. Hostutler / Stahl

Wellington played 10 games (2-8) in Wichita June 13-21. The league disbanded July 11 due to crop failures and drought.

1912

This year Great Bend became a member of the Central Kansas League. Lyons and Newton joined Great Bend from the Kansas State League. Manhattan and Junction City remained from the Central Kansas. Salina, a member of the Central Kansas League in 1909 and 1910, rejoined the group. Affy Wilson returned as manager of the local team.

Great Bend opened the season at home, May 9, versus Salina. At this game the 1911 pennant was raised. A 60-foot pole of iron pipe was erected for the pennant. It remained flying all season. The game was called because of rain in the bottom of the fourth inning. On May 10, rain again kept the game from being played. At last, on May 11, Great Bend opened the season with victories in both games of a doubleheader against Salina, 13-4 and 9-4.

In June the Newton franchise was transferred to Minneapolis. Poor attendance was given as the reason.

On August 7 Great Bend beat Lyons while Junction City beat Manhattan. This clinched the pennant for Great Bend. Great Bend had a large lead early in the season, then went into a slump during which they dropped to fourth place before rallying to win by two games over the Little Apple, Manhattan. Great Bend did well to win because Manhattan had a number of players on their roster, who had come from Topeka’s Class A Western League team.

Elmer Brown led the league in wins with 18. At the end of the season, the Gould store gave Al Ward a gold-plated bat for being the best batter. LeRoy Plympton received a gold-plated baseball for being the best pitcher. Johnny Fedor, who scored the most runs on the team, was given a cane made of leather with a steel rod in the center. It was made by Andy Ruble.

In September, Great Bend received the 1912 pennant. It was 20 feet long and nine feet wide. It read “Champions Central Kansas League 1912” with letters a foot high. The Topeka Capital sent a silver loving cup to Great Bend for winning the pennant.

Before the start of the season, it had been hard to raise the $1,500 needed to finance the team for the season. Manhattan, Salina, Great Bend, and Lyons were all living hand-to-mouth during the season. The directors of the baseball association could not decide whether Great Bend would have a team in 1913 or not. The ploy was to coax fan support from the locals. The final standing for 1912 were:

1912 Central Kansas League
Class D
President: Roy C. Gafford

Newton (16-11) transferred to Minneapolis July 12.

Once again Great Bend decided to give Organized Ball a try. The city and club directors knew they would have a hard time raising money.

The league was renamed the Kansas State League. The teams were Manhattan, Junction City, Salina, Great Bend, Lyons, and Clay Center which took the place of Minneapolis from the previous year.

Affy Wilson was back for his third season as manager. Great Bend was schedule to open the season at Salina on May 16. However, a number of changes were made to the schedule. One change was that Great Bend would open at home on May 15 with Lyons. Great Bend won the game, 7-4, before a crowd of 800.

On June 1, Great Bend won 2-1 at Lyons. Great Bend pulled a triple play which was probably the first in league history.

On July 3, Lyons beat Great Bend 2-1 in 18 innings, a league record for longevity. Chet Brown left at the end of the ninth inning to catch a train to Grand Island, Nebraska, to whom he had been sold. Stoffer took over and pitched the remainder of the game. LaFlambois went the distance for Lyons and got the win.

On July 6 Cotton Sievers of Great Bend saw his 19-game hitting streak end. The streak established a new league record. The record didn’t last very long as Johnny Morgan, also of Great Bend, hit safely in 20 straight games. His streak ended on July 16.

Manhattan and Junction City “blew up” on July 8. Manhattan had no money and Junction City just blew. Manhattan ended with a 27-24 record while Junction City finished 21-29. The league continued with four teams. A new schedule for the remainder of the season was drawn up. Great Bend clinched its third straight pennant on August 11 by beating Lyons at Lyons.

G.H. Riley led the league with a won-lost percentage of 1.000. His record was 9-0. Despite the fact the baseball association had, again, had a a hard time raising enough money to finance the team for the season, the directors weathered the storm and managed to reduce the debt somewhat. The final standings were:

1913 Kansas State League
Class D
President: Roy C. Gafford

Junction City disbanded on July 9, causing Manhattan to drop July 9.

1914

Salina, Emporia, Great Bend, and Hutchinson were the teams in the league this year. The Lyons team moved to Hutchinson and Emporia took the place of Clay Center. Affy Wilson came back for his fourth season as manager. Once again it was hard to raise the necessary money to finance the season.

Great Bend opened at Hutchinson on May 8 before 3,000 fans. Hutchinson won the game, 5-0, on a three-hitter by Andy Rush.

Great Bend got off to a terrible start, winning only three of its first 19 games. Injuries played a big part in the slump. Finances for the day-to-day operations of the club dwindled. On June 13, it was reported that there was no money for the next week and a pay period was due.

On June 14, Hooks Beltz no-hit Great Bend at Emporia in the second game of a doubleheader. The score was 3-0. The game was stopped at 5:20 p.m. after 4 1/2 innings by agreement to allow Great Bend to catch the train.

On July 3, Hutchinson beat Great Bend at Hutchinson, 4-3, in 21 innings on a field of mud. Red Morton went the distance for Great Bend.

Leonard O’Byrne beat Hutchinson, his former team, in both games of the Fourth of July doubleheader, 2-1 and 5-3.

President Gafford of the Kansas State League or his representative, was in Great Bend on July 26 and 27 to look into the affairs of the local baseball association. As the season drew to a close, payments were getting into a critical condition. Attendance was very light. For the first time in its history, Great Bend missed a payroll.

On July 31 the team “blew up.” On almost every payday the directors had trouble raising the necessary money. Attendance had been very poor. The early losing streak didn’t help matters any. The team was transferred to Minneapolis, Kansas, for the last three games of the season. Great Bend finished the terrible season in last place.

The standings were:

1914 Kansas State League
Class D
President: Roy C. Gafford

It seemed that Great Bend struggled every year to finance the ball club and to draw fans to its games. Even when the team was winning pennants, financial support was hard to come by. Then, when the team failed to win games early in the 1914 season, the fans stayed away from the ball park. The officers of the baseball association grew tired of the continuous struggle to raise money to support the team.

Despite its problems with attendance and finances, the Great Bend baseball team had a successful history on the field. The won three straight pennants and provided memorable performances. Some members of the Great Bend club made it to the major leagues. The lucky ones included George Kaiserling, Rolla Mapel, Charlie Wheatley, Bill Rumler, Harry Patton, Ovid Nicholson, and Bill Luhrsen. All in all, Great Bend would do it again. Those were heady days in the early part of the century.