November 22, 2008
Fall Classic
Shadow Series
80th anniversary of the first Negro League World Series
Jose Mendez wasn't concerned with pitching on short rest. Although he had already made three relief appearances, this was the final game of the World Series and his team needed an arm it could trust. As player-coach, Mendez declared himself the starter.
The 36-year-old Cuban-born righthander had lost some distance on his fastball, but his heart did not shrink in these situations. Mendez pitched a three-hit shutout and his Kansas City Monarchs beat the Hilldale Daisies five games to four to win the first Negro League World Series in 1924.
Had such heroics occurred in the Major Leagues, Mendez would perhaps be as celebrated as Walter Johnson or Christy Mathewson. That it did not, and that Mendez performed away from the mainstream media, remains part of the unfortunate history of the Negro Leagues.
This October marked the 80th anniversary of the inaugural Negro League World Series. There were only 11 World Series contested in the history of the Negro Leagues and it took some convincing to get the first one started.
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In 1920, Rube Foster established the Negro National League (NNL), which became the first organized and successful league for black players. While there is documentation of several unofficial championships played between the NNL and other loosely constructed leagues, the possibility of a legitimate Negro League World Series first emerged in 1923.
The Eastern Colored League (ECL) was formed and remained solvent long enough for the black newspapers of the day to call for a World Series between the leagues. At first, Foster resisted because he accused the ECL of stealing his marquee players. Eventually, both sides saw the prestige and potential profit a series could produce. A year later, a truce was made between the leagues.
"The press was clamoring for a World Series, the fans wanted it, this was something that had never been done," said Dr. Lawrence Hogan, professor of history at Union College and an expert on the Negro Leagues. "Foster finally agreed to it after he was assured that the ECL would stop raiding his teams for players."
The first series between the Monarchs and Daisies was well attended, with games being held in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago and Kansas City. In 1925, the Daisies avenged their loss to the Monarchs in six games.
In '26 and '27, the Chicago American Giants defeated the Atlantic City Bacharachs to win consecutive championships. Then in the spring of 1928 the ECL began to lose money and collapsed, taking down the World Series with it.
"There was a general decline in attendance for all of black baseball in the late '20s, as there was in the white major leagues," said Hogan. "It was too early to blame it on The Depression, although that would become a factor."
The original NNL would survive until 1931 and two seasons later, a new Negro National League was formed. During that era, a playoff series would be held at the end of each season between the first- and second-half winners. It clearly didn't have the same cache as the World Series and was never promoted as such.
"The playoffs were exciting," said James "Red" Moore, a first baseman with the Atlanta Black Crackers and Newark Eagles. "It was a chance for us to make a little extra money and sometimes the winners would get a nice jacket."
It wasn't until the Negro American League emerged in 1937 that the World Series again became viable. The series made its return in 1942 and was played every October until 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.
During those seven seasons, the Negro Leagues reached its apex. Its teams were saturated with talent. As integration approached, Major League scouts began to include Negro League games on their itinerary. That its World Series was generally ignored by the established media, does not mean there weren't moments worth reporting. Or, remembering.
The Showdown
Before inter-league play, the Fall Classic produced the kind of matchups that were only possible in October. The World Series was the only time of year a fan could watch Bob Gibson try to throw his fastball by Mickey Mantle or Frank Robinson take his swings against Tom Seaver.
The second game of the 1942 Negro League World Series produced perhaps the greatest single matchup in Negro League history. Satchel Paige, the league's foremost pitcher and a future Hall of Famer, entered the game in relief with his Kansas City Monarchs leading the Homestead Grays, 2-0, in the seventh inning.
Buck O'Neil, the Monarchs first baseman, recalls what happened next. "There were two outs and the bases were empty when Jerry Benjamin hit a triple. Satchel calls timeout and calls me over to the mound. He said, 'Do you know what I'm going to do?' I said, Yes, you are going to strike this guy out and we are going into the clubhouse to celebrate. He said, 'I'm going to walk Howard Easterling and Buck Leonard and pitch to Josh Gibson with the bases loaded.'"
Gibson, also a future Hall of Famer, was known as the "Black Babe Ruth" and was the Grays most dangerous hitter.
O'Neil was furious. He summoned the manager from the dugout and explained Paige's strategy. Monarchs manager Frank Duncan, replied, "You see all these people in this ballpark, they came to see Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. Whatever Satch wants to do, let him do it."
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