There’s more Kansas City sports history at 22nd and Brooklyn than just the Monarchs

There is a new tourist spot in Kansas City, but unfortunately it is plagued by the same distorted view of our city’s history that we are too accustomed to seeing. Earlier this month, Kansas City officials, area dignitaries, a few retired athletes and many local residents christened an updated version of Monarch Plaza at 22nd Street and Brooklyn Avenue. There was a parade from the site to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to celebrate the 1942 Kansas City Monarchs’ Negro World Series win. A good sized crowd attended, including my wife and me.

I arrived expecting something inclusive, something that was unifying, especially considering the national movement surrounding statues and monuments. But unfortunately, this was not the case. I am voicing my concerns in the hope that more money can be raised to continue this project. I hope this appeal reaches someone with decision-making power, as this project needs much improvement.

The original Monarch Plaza was not representative of Kansas City the rich sports heritage. I was always disappointed when I passed it because of the half-finished history that was presented there. Similar mistakes were made to the updated version of Monarch Plaza, where only African American players are acknowledged with monuments. Featured is an odd assortment of tributes to Jackie Robinson, John Wyatt, Otis Taylor, Satchel Paige, Willie Lanier, Bobby Bell, John Mayberry and a few others. In reality, the history of the location is much more wide-ranging than this.

As a local historian who has studied regional and national sports for more than 40 years, and as a person who saw his first professional game at 22nd and Brooklyn, I care what happens there. If we are going to celebrate the rich history of Kansas City sports at this location, we must began to share the history in truth, in totality and with a deeper appreciation of the diversity that actually occurred there.

Muehlebach Field opened there in 1923. Its name was changed to Ruppert Stadium in 1937. At the start of the 1955 season, an upper deck was added and the park was renamed Municipal Stadium. Hall of Fame first baseman Lou Gehrig played his last game there in 1939 before checking into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Mickey Mantle also played there with Kansas City teams, as did Hall of Famers Enos Slaughter, Phil Rizzuto, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, and Reggie Jackson. The Kansas City Blues won American Association pennants and Little World Series in 1923, 1929, 1938, 1952 and 1953. Most of this history was not included on the former monuments, and is not pictured on any of the new monuments at Monarch Plaza.

Some years ago, I had the great opportunity to interview several outstanding Blues players: Jimmy Zinn from the 1923 and 1929 championship teams, and 1937 Blues infielder Ham Schulte and pitcher Al Piechota. I was in touch with relatives of the great 1920s home run slugger Bunny Brief. Brief had 1,512 hits, and a .332 batting percentage during his long Blues’ career. I interviewed Vic Power, a Puerto Rican who performed with both the Blues and the Kansas City Athletics. This was the Blues’ home field. The Monarchs shared the park, but seldom in a major way.

Don’t make same mistake as Confederate statues

In the 1931 and 1932 seasons combined, the Monarchs played just nine dates at the stadium. During the 1933 season they were there for 11 games. In 1934, they appeared at the stadium only twice. In 1938, Buck O’Neil’s first season with the team, the number of Monarchs dates at the park increased to 13, which included several doubleheaders. During this time, the Blues were playing more than 60 games a year at the ballpark. The Blues played there from 1924 to 1954. You can do the math.

It is great to witness former Monarchs and others getting recognition at the 22nd and Brooklyn location. Still, I ask: where are the monuments for locals Newt Allen, Joe Kuhel, Newt Joseph, Jimmy Gleeson, Connie Johnson, James “Cotton” Tierney, Hilton Smith and others? Why were Hall of Famers Wilber Rogan, Willard Brown, Casey Stengel and others left out? After all, they all have strong connections to the park. I expected something more inclusive, something that would draw a variety of people to the ballpark’s former location.

If the true history of the park is not represented in the new display, and only select African American players are featured, it leaves an opportunity for the entire project to be dismantled at some future date. An entirely new generation may deem this interpretation as revisionist history. This is the bone of contention with the Confederate statues installed around the country well after the Civil War that incorrectly represented American history. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past.

I think a more appropriate name for the location would be the Kansas City Sports Plaza. That’s a good designation because Pelé, worldwide ambassador soccer player and the Kansas City Chiefs also played there. I am not sure who designed the original display or who designed the updated version, but I do wish that more historians would have been involved with the new renovations. In my estimation, this is a project that is yet to be completed.

Historian and writer Phil S. Dixon is co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. He serves on its national advisory board.