John Thomas "Topeka Jack" Johnson (April 25, 1883 – January 29, 1940) was a

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

second baseman and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He was also a professional boxer and trainer, and his nickname may have resulted from the need to distinguish him from the heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.

Baseball career

Johnson was an alumnus of

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 u ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

. His boxing career spanned into the 1920's and he fought against Jack Johnson,

Joe Jeanette Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

(knockout of Johnson Dec 21, 1911) and

Sam Langford Samuel Edgar Langford (March 4, 1886 – January 12, 1956), known as the Boston Tar Baby, Boston Terror and Boston Bonecrusher, was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Know ...

, whom he fought to a draw on August 19, 1921. In baseball, Johnson's fielding was described as "swift" and "above Criticism." Johnson played for the

Chicago Union Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...

from 1903 to 1905 and again in 1907, his teammates including George Hopkins,

Albert Toney Albert Toney (March 3, 1879 – October 26, 1931) was an American baseball shortstop in the pre-Negro leagues. He played most seasons for Chicago teams such as Chicago Union Giants, Leland Giants, and Chicago Giants. Toney played with many ...

, and Joe Green. He founded and managed the Topeka Giants in 1906, taking them on a tour of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. When the

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

based Kansas City Giants turned fully professional in 1909, the Kansas City Giants owner Tobe Smith signed numerous local players who had played for the Jenkins and Sons and a Kansas City Monarchs semi-pro team and hired "Topeka Jack" Johnson to be the Kansas City Giants player/manager. In the winter of 1909, Johnson helped form the Kansas City Royal Giants negro leagues team to be based in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. The Kansas City Royal Giants began play in the 1910 season, immediately becoming a local rival of the Kansas City Giants. The Kansas Royal Giants were owned by Kansas City businessmen M.B. Garrett and George Washington Walden, with Jack Johnson hired to manage the ballclub. Fortune J. Weaver was also an owner of the KC Royal Giants and was president of the Afro-American Realty and Investment Company. Just before the start of the 1910 season, Topeka Jack Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to start a Negro National League, writing articles that appeared in newspapers in Chicago and other major cities. Johnson wrote: "It certainly has been proven from the big leagues on down to the minors, that there is nothing in the world that beats organized baseball and harmony..."https://scholars.fhsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=all_monographs Johnson left the Kansas City Royal Giants after the 1910 season and returned to manage the Kansas City Giants in 1911. After the 1911 season, Kansas City Giants player and former Royal Giants player Dee Williams was shot to death in Kansas City and the Kansas City Giants continued play, but as a semi–pro barnstorming level team with a depleted roster. Topeka Jack Johnson then returned to the Kansas City Royal Giants in 1912, with Johnson and owner George Washington Walden resolving their differences. Playing for and managing the Kansas City Giants in 1909 and 1911, and the Kansas City Royal Giants in 1910 and 1912, Johnson worked with players like

Tullie McAdoo Tullie McAdoo (November 24, 1884 – June 16, 1961) was an American baseball first baseman in the Negro leagues. He played from 1908 to 1924 with several teams, playing mostly with the St. Louis Giants. McAdoo played the first part of the 1910 sea ...

Bill Pettus William Thomas Pettus (August 13, 1884 – August 22, 1924) was an American baseball first baseman in the Cuban League and Negro leagues. He played from 1902 to 1921 with several teams. Career Pettus began playing baseball in 1902 for the Albuque ...

, a young 18-year-old

Bill Lindsay William Hamilton Lindsay (born May 17, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and t ...

Bingo DeMoss Elwood "Bingo" DeMoss (September 5, 1889 – January 26, 1965) was a baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues from 1905 to 1943. Early life DeMoss was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1889 and began his playing career in 1905 with the Topeka ...

, and

Hurley McNair Hurley Allen McNair (October 28, 1888 - December 2, 1948) was a baseball player in the Negro leagues and the pre-Negro leagues. At the age of 21, he was pitching for the Minneapolis Keystones. He left the Keystones halfway through the 1911 season ...

. In 1917 Johnson managed "Jack Johnson's Topeka Giants," a team that played at least one game against the

All Nations All Nations was a Barnstorm (athletics), barnstorming professional baseball team that toured the Midwest from 1912 to 1918, and again in 1920 and 1921, and from 1923 to 1925. It derived its name from the fact that its team included players of seve ...

base ball club. In 2016, the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

(SABR) held a ceremony, dedicating a new grave marker for "Topeka Jack" Johnson at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jack Leland Giants players Minneapolis Keystones players Negro league baseball managers 1883 births 1940 deaths 20th-century African-American people Kansas City Giants players Kansas City Royal Giants players