The

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

Colored World Series The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...

was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League champion

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale. In a ten-game series, the Monarchs narrowly defeated Hilldale 5 games to 4, with one tie game. It was the first World Series between the respective champions of the NNL and ECL. It was the second year of existence for the ECL, but no agreement could be reached in 1923 for a postseason series, owing primarily to unresolved disputes between the leagues. Five members of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

participated in the series: Biz Mackey, Judy Johnson, and Louis Santop played for Hilldale, while Bullet Rogan and José Méndez played for the Monarchs. In addition, Monarchs owner

J. L. Wilkinson J Leslie Wilkinson (May 14, 1878 – August 21, 1964) was an American sports executive who founded the All Nations baseball club in 1912, and the Negro league baseball team Kansas City Monarchs in 1920. Early life Born in Algona, Iowa, Wilkinso ...

was also inducted into the Hall.

Series summary

* Kansas City Monarchs vs. Hilldale * Monarchs won the Series, 5–4 (1 tie) * Team owners:

, Kansas City;

Ed Bolden Edward Bolden (January 17, 1881 in Concordville, Pennsylvania – September 27, 1950 in Darby, Pennsylvania) was an American baseball executive and owner in the Negro leagues. Early career Bolden's first occupation in baseball was as a voluntee ...

, Hilldale * Managers: José Méndez, Kansas City;

Frank Warfield Francis Xavier Warfield (April 26, 1897 – July 24, 1932) was an infielder and manager in the Negro leagues. Career Standing at just 5'7", Warfield was known primarily for his fielding and baserunning excellence, but he also had several good yea ...

, Hilldale 1924 Negro League World Series

The Games

Game One

October 3, 1924, at National League Park in Philadelphia ::Rogan pitched an 8-hitter, holding Hilldale scoreless until two out in the ninth. Warfield's bases-loaded error in the sixth allowed the Monarchs to score two, and aided by Cockrell's three errors in the same inning, opened up a five-run inning for the Monarchs. Phil Cockrell, who lost this first game of the series, later umpired in Game Four of the

1942 Colored World Series The Negro World Series was a best-of-seven match-up between the Negro American League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Negro National League champion Washington-Homestead Grays. In a six-game series, the Monarchs swept the Grays four game ...

. ::Hilldale did not use its own ballpark,

Hilldale Park Hilldale Park was a ballpark in Darby, Pennsylvania at the northeast corner of Chester and Cedar Avenues. It was the home field of the Hilldale Club professional baseball team which played in the Negro leagues between 1910 and 1932. The ballpark ...

, but instead used National League Park, home field of the Philadelphia Phillies, for the first two games, owing to its larger capacity. 19241003 PHILA

Game Two

October 4, 1924, at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia ::Bill McCall could not get through the first inning, facing only three men and recording no outs before Bill "Plunk" Drake came in to relieve. Drake did not fare much better, lasting only 1⅔ innings himself. Hilldale led 9-0 by the end of the third. :: Nip Winters shut out the normally high-scoring Monarchs on four singles.

Game Three

October 5, 1924, at Maryland Baseball Park in Baltimore ::The Monarchs took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth and again into the bottom of the twelfth, but were unable to put Hilldale away. William Bell pitched 12 innings for no decision; he played the thirteenth inning in right field, as Rogan came in from center field to pitch the thirteenth inning. Monarch fielding errors in the fifth and ninth innings allowed Hilldale to stay in the game. Biz Mackey received three intentional walks during the game. The game was called on account of darkness after thirteen innings. ::This game was played at Maryland Park, home park of the Baltimore Black Sox, on account of Pennsylvania's blue laws, which did not allow professional baseball games on Sundays.

Game Four

October 6, 1924, at Maryland Baseball Park in Baltimore After yesterday's tie game, another game was rescheduled for the following day. Before a sparse weekday crowd, former Monarch Rube Currie relieved Red Ryan with one out in the third and the Monarchs leading 3–0, and shut them out the rest of the game. Hilldale tied the game in the third on two base hits, a walk, and three steals, including Otto Briggs’ steal of home. Two walks and two errors helped score Hilldale's winning run with none out in the ninth.

Game Five

October 11, 1924, Muehlebach Park, Kansas City :: Judy Johnson's three-run inside-the-park home run with one out in the ninth shocked the crowd into silence and provided the difference in the game. A controversial umpire call and three defensive misplays helped set the table for Johnson's heroics. Until the fatal ninth, the game had been a classic pitchers' duel between staff aces Winters and Rogan. Winters finished the game with a flourish, retiring 25 of the last 26 men he faced. Hilldale had a 3–1 lead in games. ::Rube Foster had originally scheduled games Five, Six and Seven for his own ballpark, but Kansas City ownership and fans strenuously objected to losing such lucrative dates, and Foster relented.

Game Six

October 12, 1924, at Muehelbach Park in Kansas City ::Phil Cockrell started the game for Hilldale, but was driven from the mound in the first inning, allowing four runs. Scrip Lee pitched the remainder of the game, but tired in the eighth when the Monarchs scored the tie-breaking run.

Game Seven

October 14, 1924, at Muehlebach Field in Kansas City ::Nip Winters pitched twelve innings and took the loss, while Méndez pitched brilliantly in relief for the win.

Newt Joseph Walter Lee "Newt" Joseph (October 27, 1896 – January 18, 1953) was an American third baseman and manager in Negro league baseball. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Joseph was the older brother of fellow-Negro leaguer Wilson Joseph. He played most ...

stole home in the fourth inning to start the Monarchs’ scoring. Bullet Rogan did not hit the ball out of the infield, but still managed to get three hits, score one run, and drive in the winning tally in the twelfth inning.

Game Eight

October 18, 1924, at Schorling Park in Chicago ::In one of Negro league baseball's legendary games, the Monarchs rallied for three runs in the ninth to stun Hilldale. Because of an injury to shortstop

Jake Stephens Paul Eugene "Country Jake" Stephens (February 10, 1900 – February 5, 1981) was an American baseball player known for his slight stature, speed, and defense at the shortstop position. He played in the Negro leagues for 4 teams (–). Early ...

some weeks before and to get maximum offensive output from his lineup, Hilldale manager Warfield moved regular third baseman Judy Johnson to short, moved catcher-short stop Mackey to third, and installed aging backup receiver Louis Santop as the regular catcher. With three players playing out of position at critical defensive positions, Warfield's moves came back to haunt him in the ninth when Mackey and Johnson both missed key plays, and when Santop dropped Frank Duncan's foul popup, Duncan lined a single past Mackey that scored the tying and winning runs. ::Also legendary was the vicious verbal assault that Warfield launched against Santop following the loss, laying blame for the loss squarely at Santop's feet. Santop and others were already in tears in their locker room following the game, and it is one of Blackball's legends that Santop never recovered from the humiliation of Warfield's tirade.

Game Nine

October 19, 1924, at Schorling Park in Chicago ::Starting and completing his fourth game of the series, Nip Winters won for the third time to tie the series. William Bell started for Kansas City, but was shelled with none out in the fifth inning when Hilldale tied the score 2-2. Drake pitched creditably until tiring in the ninth, when Hilldale scored two to win. The Series was now tied for the third time.

Game Ten

October 20, 1924, at Schorling Park in Chicago ::Although still weak from surgery before the series and advised by a doctor not to exert himself, Méndez had already pitched 10 innings of relief in the first nine games, and upon the advice of Rube Foster named himself to start the final game. Game Ten became part of his legend. He matched Hilldale starter Scrip Lee zero for zero for seven full innings until Lee tired in the bottom of the eighth. Lee changed from his normal submarine delivery to an overhand style in that inning, and the Monarchs scored five runs off of him, including one by Méndez himself. When Hilldale went out in the ninth, the Monarchs had won the first Colored World Series. ::Lee, the losing pitcher in the Series finale, later umpired the opening game of the

Sources

* Books ** ** * Newspapers ** Baltimore ''Afro-American'', October 1924 ** Chicago ''Defender'', October 1924 ** Kansas City ''Call'', October 1924 ** Pittsburgh ''Courier'', October 1924