When the Monarchs Reigned: Kansas City's 1942 Negro League Champions

The Kansas City Monarchs are arguably the best-known of all Negro League teams thanks in part to the inimitable Satchel Paiges association with the team and longtime Monarch Buck ONeils 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 ONeil; 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 Calls coverage of the Monarchs Wilkinsons role in helping to resuscitate Paiges 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 Deans 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.