The World
Series is the most anticipated event and the most exciting time of the season
for baseball fans. The American and
National League pennant winners clash in what is traditionally referred to as the
“Fall Classic” to determine who will get the crown of World Series
Champion. It is a huge part of baseball
history. This year’s Series, the 113th,
began last Tuesday. The Los Angeles
Dodgers, a long time National League franchise which began as the Brooklyn
Grays in 1890, is going against the Houston Astros who began as a National
League franchise in 1962 (Houston Colt 45s) and were switched to the American
League in 2013. The Dodgers are after
their fifth World Series title (Brooklyn Dodgers 1955, Los Angeles Dodgers 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, and 1988), while the Astros their first.
But this
blog post is not a commentary on the 2017 World Series. It is to give attention to the other World
Series also a part of baseball history. On
October 3, 1924; the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League (NNL)
took on the Hilldale Club of Darby, Pennsylvania of the Eastern Colored League
(ECL) in the first game of the initial Negro League Baseball World Series. Although never the financial success of the
Negro League East-West All Star Game (1933 – 1948), the Negro League World
Series gave an indication of Negro League baseball’s attempt at relative
stability in the face of its economic and racial discrimination barriers. Held for eleven years, 1924 – 1927 and 1942 –
1948, it is the “forgotten” World Series.
By 1924, the
acrimony between the two primary Negro professional baseball leagues had subsided
to a level favorable to begin a championship series with the pennant winners of
each. Chicago American Giant
owner/manager Andrew “Rube” Foster had formed the Negro National League (NNL)
in 1920 consisting of teams in mid America (Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, etc.). Organized of teams along the eastern seaboard
(New York, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, etc.), the Eastern Colored League (ECL)
began operating in 1923. Many NNL
players broke their contracts to play for more money in the ECL angering
Foster. In addition, he had other
financial feuds with some owners of ECL teams.
However, the leagues were able to forgo their differences to pursue the
potential benefits from a championship series.
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| 1924 Negro League World Series |
In an
attempt to maximize revenue (ticket sales), league officials decided on a best
five out of nine series format; same as the Major League’s World Series in 1919
– 1921. Also, in addition to the cities
of the participating teams, some games would be played in cities with a large
African American population.
In the
inaugural Negro League World Series in 1924 there were a number of players who
now have plaques in the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown, New
York). The Kansas City Monarchs had pitchers
Wilber “Bullet” Rogan, a 1998 Hall of Fame inductee, and Jose Mendez (2006),
who also was the team’s manager. Third
baseman Judy Johnson inducted in 1975, catcher Biz Mackey (2006) and catcher
Louis Santop (2006) were on the Hilldale club.
The latter two were involved in one of the key plays in the Series. In Game Seven with the Series tied three
games apiece, the Monarchs trailed 3 -2 in the bottom of the ninth inning with
two outs and the bases loaded. The
Monarch’s batter Frank Duncan hit a foul ball behind home plate within the
reach of Santop which should have resulted in a Hilldale victory. But the catcher dropped it, giving Duncan
another swing. On the next pitch Duncan
hit a ground ball that got passed Biz Mackey who was playing shortstop to give
the Monarchs a 4 – 2 win.
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| Louis Santop |
Hilldale
recovered to win Game Eight and tied the Series.
Monarch’s manager Jose Mendez, supposedly past his prime at 37 years
old, pitched a 5 – 0 shutout in Game
Nine for Kansas City to be the first Negro League World Series champion. The teams played the Series in four cities;
two games in Philadelphia, one in Baltimore, three in Kansas City, and three in
Chicago.
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| Jose Mendez |
They met again in the 1926 Series, but with a different outcome. Accidentally punctured with a needle in the knee by his son, Monarchs pitcher and best hitter “Bullet” Rogan could not play. Hilldale won the Series four games to one. Biz Mackey, who had replaced the aging Louis Santop at catcher, hit .360 including three hits in the Series clinching Game Five.
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| Biz Mackey |
Both the 1926 and 1927 Negro League World Series featured the NNL’s Chicago American Giants against the ECL’s Atlantic City Bacharach Giants. Due to a debilitating illness to “Rube” Foster, Dave Malarcher took over as manager for Chicago. Excellent pitching highlighted the Series both years. In 1926, Atlantic City left handed pitcher Red Grier hurled a no-hitter in Game Three. However, Chicago’s Bill Foster, Rube’s brother, was the pitching star for the Series. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 and considered the best left handed pitcher in Negro League baseball history, Foster won two games as his team took the Series five games to three. In Game Eight, the Series clincher, he pitched a five hit shutout winning 1 – 0. In the 1927 Series, Atlantic City beat Foster twice. However, he still won Game 1 and Game 8 as Chicago won the Series again five games to three.
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| Bill Foster |
In most written accounts of the “Great Depression”, it does not officially start until the New York Stock Market crashes in 1929. However, economic hard times had hit African Americans by the mid-1920s. Negro League baseball game attendance dramatically declined as fans had no money to support the teams. As a result many Negro League teams, under capitalized from the start, went out of business. After the 1927 season, the ECL disbanded and the NNL economically limped to the end of the decade. With only one official league operating and facing extremely difficult economic times, the Negro League World Series disappeared after those four years, 1924 – 1927. However, this is not the end of its story. Stay tuned.
To read more about Negro League baseball history Last Train to Cooperstown
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