Perhaps no city in the United States is more closely connected to Negro League baseball than Kansas City. Fittingly, the Kansas City Royals dedicate one game each season to celebrate the legacy of baseball played by non-white players prior to integration in 1947.
When the Royals host Detroit on Sunday, they will do so in Kansas City Monarchs uniforms, pitted against the Detroit Stars in the annual Salute to the Negro Leagues.
New to the Royals this season, outfielder Jon Jay recognizes the importance of Negro League baseball to Kansas City, and is happy for the chance to celebrate it.
“History is huge to me. And part of that history is the Negro Leagues, and what went before Jackie Robinson,” said the nine-year veteran Jay. “Guys were playing segregated baseball, and I don’t take that for granted at all. Every day that I put on the uniform is something special. And to wear the Negro League uniform is a really good way to remember what they went through so that we can play in the major leagues today.”
The Kansas City and Topeka areas were a hotbed for baseball amongst the African-American community for more than half a century. In fact, the Topeka Giants were celebrated as the “Black Champions of the West” in 1906, and the Kansas City Giants were named the “Colored Champions of 1909.”
Arguably the most important singular event in segregated baseball occurred at the Paseo YMCA in 1920, when eight owners gathered to form the Negro National League, which included the Kansas City Monarchs. The formation of a league brought new legitimacy to the brand of baseball played by non-whites.
And from 1920 to 1965, the Monarchs were the most consistently competitive, profitable and well-known of the Negro League franchises. They crisscrossed the nation with players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neill, and were the team that launched Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier shortly after World War II.
Similar to African-Americans, dark-skinned Hispanic players were barred from the major leagues prior to 1947, a fact not lost on Nicaraguan native Cheslor Cuthbert. It is estimated that up to 20 percent of Negro League players were from outside the U.S.
“It’s hard to envision what that must have been like,” Cuthbert said. “But when you love baseball, you just want to play, no matter what.”
The major leagues gradually accepted more and more non-whites, and today the game is brimming with players from Latin America. 2017 saw the highest percentage of non-white players in major league history at 42.5 percent. Of that number, 31.9 percent were categorized as Latin American.
“It’s an honor to play the game and show your appreciation for what they did,” Cuthbert said. “I know it was hard for them. We owe them a lot. Because of what they did, a lot of Latin Americans have had the opportunity to play.”
Fans are encouraged to suit up too. Sunday games were the biggest and best attended of the week for Negro League clubs, and fans often came straight from church, dressed in their Sunday best. Kauffman Stadium will host some nattily dressed guests again this year, as “Dressed to the Nines” has officially become a part of the annual celebration.
The short, baggy pants and the billowy jerseys with the Monarchs’ iconic KC logo on the chest will be auctioned to raise money for Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
The recent uptick by the 2018 Royals has momentarily lifted fans’ spirits. The game with the Tigers Sunday, however, provides a reminder of an even more important struggle than that on the field. For one day, the Royals become the Monarchs, and win or lose, they play for something truly historic.