SABR Digital Library: When the Monarchs Reigned: Kansas City’s 1942 Negro League Champions
Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:
When the Monarchs Reigned: Kansas City’s 1942 Negro League Champions
Edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin
Associate editors: Carl Riechers and Len Levin
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-9701-5952-3, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9701-5953-0, $29.95
8.5″ x 11″, 268 pages
The Kansas City Monarchs are arguably the best-known of all Negro League teams, thanks in part to the inimitable Satchel Paige’s association with the team and longtime Monarch Buck O’Neil’s role as an ambassador of Black baseball history.
The Monarchs won the first-ever Negro League World Series against the Hilldale club in 1924. Black World Series play went on a 15-year hiatus after 1927, but when it returned, so did the Monarchs. That time, 1942, the team faced the perennial Negro National League champions, the Homestead Grays. In the clash between the two powerhouse squads, the Kansas Citians made mincemeat of the mighty Grays and turned 1942 into the year When the Monarchs Reigned.
This book — the result of a collaborative effort by 32 SABR members — features biographies of Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, and Willard Brown; stalwarts such as Newt Allen and Buck O’Neil; and many other players. Also included are biographies of principal owner and Hall of Famer J.L. Wilkinson and other front-office personnel, Ruppert Stadium (which was renamed several times over the course of its existence), and groundbreaking Kansas City Call reporter Willa Bea Harmon. Feature articles focus on topics such as the Call’s coverage of the Monarchs, Wilkinson’s role in helping to resuscitate Paige’s career, and the fate of the Monarchs during the World War II years. In addition to an extensive season timeline, game articles highlight a contest against Dizzy Dean’s All-Stars, Satchel Paige Day at Wrigley Field, the two East-West All-Star Games, and the grand finale to the season — the World Series triumph over the Homestead Grays.
Contributors include: Richard Bogovich, Dr. Milbert O. Brown Jr., Frederick C. Bush, Alan Cohen, Rory Costello, Charles F. Faber, Steven Greenes, Margaret M. “Peggy” Gripshover, Tim Hagerty, Donna L. Halper, Leslie Heaphy, Chris Hicks, Jay Hurd, Kirk C. Jenkins, William H. Johnson, Thomas E. Kern, Bill Lamberty, Bob LeMoine, Larry Lester, Len Levin, Bill Nowlin, Tony S. Oliver, Richard J. Puerzer, Carl Riechers, Glen Sparks, Mark S. Sternman, Jeb Stewart, Tim Tassler, Larry Tye, Bob Webster, Dave Wilkie, and William A. Young.
SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!
- E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of When the Monarchs Reigned for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, MOBI, and EPUB/Kindle formats.
- Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the When the Monarchs Reigned paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Kindle Direct Publishing can take up to 4-6 weeks.)
Buy the book
- E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of When the Monarchs Reigned for $9.99 from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, MOBI, and EPUB/Kindle formats.
- Paperback: Get the paperback edition of When the Monarchs Reigned from the SABR Store ($34.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Kindle Direct Publishing can take up to 4-6 weeks.)
About the SABR Digital Library
For more than 40 years, SABR and its members have led the way in publishing the best baseball historical and statistical research. Our publications program is shifting to take advantage of new methods of publishing. Not only will we continue to publish new books like Can He Play? A Look At Baseball Scouts and Their Profession (2011); Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century (2013); Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox (2015); Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos (2016); and The Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords (2020), which showcase the best efforts of SABR’s members, chapters and committees, but new technology makes it possible for us to bring out-of-print titles like The Fenway Project (2013); Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox (2019); and Green Cathedrals (2020) back again.
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find all past titles and download your favorites. Books will be available in digital formats as well as paperbacks produced by “print on demand” (POD).
SABR members can download all Digital Library e-book editions for free and save 50% on purchase of the paperback editions. If you’re not a member, click here to join SABR.
Stay tuned throughout the year for new (and old!) titles that we’ll be adding to the SABR Digital Library. To learn more about SABR Publications, contact Publications Editor Cecilia Tan at ctan@sabr.org.
- Having trouble downloading our e-books? Click here for step-by-step instructions or a short tutorial video on how to download SABR digital publications.
- Note for Kindle users: Amazon no longer allows Kindle users to send new MOBI files to their Kindle library. (Any MOBI files already in your Kindle library will not be affected by this change.) Compatible formats for Kindle e-readers now include EPUB (.epub), which you can download and send to your library using your Send to Kindle email address. Amazon will also be adding EPUB support to the free Kindle app for iOS and Android devices and the Send to Kindle desktop app for PC and Mac.
Originally published: August 2, 2021. Last Updated: December 13, 2024.