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04/24/2004 Archived Entry: "MLB news: Monarchs on display"
Monarchs on display at Kauffman Stadium
By Michael Toeset
On Friday, the Kansas City Royals unveiled a tribute to the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro Leagues powerhouse that produced four Hall of Famers. Not coincidentally, the display prominently features those Hall of Famers: Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Bullet Rogan and Hilton Smith.
The tribute features plaques of the above quartet and an abbreviated history of the Monarchs – which, according to James A. Riley’s “Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues,” won 10 pennants, tied with the most by a single franchise (the other being the Homestead Grays).
As far as I know, the Royals are the first MLB team to set up such a display (if anyone knows otherwise, please feel free to correct me and provide information as to which team does). It’s fitting that the first team to publicly pay homage to black baseball with a permanent exhibit is Kansas City – the city also is home to the Negro Leagues Museum (go to www.nlbm.com for more information on the museum).
MLB.com reported that museum chairman and former Negro Leagues star Buck O’Neil said, “I’d rather be here looking at this than anything I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Even as someone who was born in the 1970s, I can understand O’Neil’s sentiments: It’s about time MLB teams started truly embracing the past. Not only do teams have a social responsibility to honor their excluded counterparts, such a display provides a valuable history lesson for kids and adults alike. And from a profit angle – the driving force of all team owners – displays like these help draw in fans who might otherwise decide to forgo a trip to the ballpark and instead catch the game on television.
Cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York should make it a priority to honor Negro League teams and players who once graced their towns. Not only it is a disservice to the fans by not honoring the Negro Leagues, it is to themselves. It would be a dream come true to see a black baseball mini-museum or memorial in every stadium, and hopefully, one day there will be.
At the present, however, fans should make Kansas City as much a favored destination as Cooperstown.
e-mail questions and/or comments to mtoeset@baseballguru.com
