The Kansas City Royal Giants were a professional

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 ...

baseball team, 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 ...

. From 1910 to 1912, the Kansas City Royal Giants played as a member of the Western Independent Clubs, along with their local rival, the

Kansas City Giants The Kansas City Giants were a professional Negro leagues baseball team, based in Kansas City, Kansas. From 1909 to 1911, the Kansas City Giants played as a member of the Western Independent Clubs. The Kansas City Giants played home games at Riversi ...

. The Kansas City Royal Giants played home games at Shelley Park.

History

Negro leagues baseball first began in 1909 in the Kansas City area. 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

preceded the Kansas City Royal Giants by one season, playing their home games at Riverside Park. The two teams would become entwined as local rivals, with numerous players joining the rosters of both teams. Early negro leagues teams weren't formed together into exclusive leagues, where teams only play against other teams within their league. It was common in the era for teams to " barnstorm" on long road trips against a variety of teams or host games against semi–pro or other local teams, so, statistics and records for teams can vary. The 1909 Kansas City Giants were noted to have played as members of the Western Independent Clubs, with the Kansas City Royal Giants following one season later. When the Giants turned fully professional, 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 teams. Kansas City Giants player/manager "Topeka Jack" Johnson was a former professional boxer, known to have been a boxing sparring partner of heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. In the winter of 1909, Johnson helped form the Kansas City "Royal Giants" negro leagues team to be based in Kansas City, Missouri. 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, 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 In beginning play, the Royal Giants ran an advertisement for local teams to play against. The address of 1005 McGee Street, Kansas City, Missouri was listed as the team business address. The Kansas City Royal Giants began play in 1910, hosting home games at Shelley Park. In July, the Royal Giants won two against the Kansas City Giants in front of 6,00 fans at Shelley Park. Playing at Riverside Park, the Giants defeated the Royal Giants 5–2 and in September the Royal Giants lost three more games to the Kansas City Giants. The Giants were reported to have defeated the Royal Giants by scores of 8–3 and 6–0 in a doubleheader in October, 1910 at Riverside Park. "Norman" and "

Sunny Jim "Sunny Jim" is the name of two completely unconnected characters used in advertising and product branding: (1) a cartoon character created to promote ''Force'' cereal, the first commercially successful wheat flake; (2) the name of a brand of pean ...

" were the noted pitchers for the Royal Giants. The final game between the two teams in 1910 was played at Association Park, a 5–2 Giants victory, with the Giants winning $200 and half of the gate receipts. The Royal Giants' record among Western Independent Clubs was reported to have been 4–2 and placed the team 2nd among the teams, while playing under manager Topeka Jack Johnson. The Kansas City Royal Giants were reported to have compiled a 5–9 record against their new rival, the Kansas City Giants. In 1910, the Kansas City Giants released three players who attempted to play for the rival Kansas City Royal Giants in a morning game and then travel across the city to play for their own club. The players were said to have played the morning Royal Giants game and then arrived late for the second game and were released by the Giants. After the 1910 season, friction between Jack Johnson and owner George Washington Walden led to Johnson returning to manage the rival Kansas City Royal Giants. In 1911, the Royal Giants played under manager Robert Boone and placed 11th with a 3–9 record among Western Independent Clubs. In June 1911, the Kansas City Royal Giants played a three–game series against the Kansas City Giants. The Giants were noted have swept the series, defeating the Royal Giants by the scores of 11–2, 4–1 and 8–7. On May 13, 1911, it was reported Royal Giants player John Merida died of a heart attack. In June 1911, Royal Giants' owner Fortune Weaver wrote to the

Indianapolis Freeman The ''Indianapolis Freeman'' (1884–1926) was the first illustrated black newspaper in the United States. Founder and owner Louis Howland, who was soon replaced by Edward Elder Cooper, published its first print edition on November 20, 1884. H ...

newspaper in regard to unstable teams and the need for an organized negro league. Weaver wrote: "Without a league Negro baseball is bound to go down. There are too many would-be managers and too many unreliable players." Weaver cited a Pekin Tigers of Cleveland team that had folded and did not play a scheduled series in Kansas City and the

French Lick Plutos The French Lick Plutos were an early independent Negro league baseball club, which was based in French Lick, Indiana, from 1912 to 1914. They were alternately known as the Red Devils. Founding The Plutos were based in French Lick, Indiana, at ...

from

French Lick, Indiana French Lick is a town in French Lick Township, Orange County, Indiana. The population was 1,807 at the time of the 2010 census. In November 2006, the French Lick Resort Casino, the state's tenth casino in the modern legalized era, opened, drawing ...

, who also did not show for their series in Kansas City. "Now, this kind of business is killing Negro baseball." Weaver concluded. "I am informed that other team managers are having the same trouble with teams they have booked. I tell you, boys, there is only one remedy for these troubles, and that is the Negro League." It was noted that in 1911, the Royal Giants picked up players who jumped from the Pensacola Giants team while they were in Kansas City, which led the Pensacola club to disband. 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 George Washington Walden resolving their differences. The Kansas City Royal Giants played their final season in 1912, continuing as a member of the Western Independent Clubs. Playing again under Jack Johnson, the Royal Giants finished with a 3–2 record, placing 2nd among Western Independent Clubs. Following the 1912 season, a Kansas City Royal Giants team played in 1916 thorough the 1920s as a semi–professional negro leagues team. In 2016, it was reported that 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) dedicated a new grave marker for "Topeka Jack" Johnson at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas.

The ballpark

The Kansas City Royal Giants teams from 1910 to 1912 hosted home games at Shelley Park. Shelley Park was located at Oak Street (west); Missouri Avenue (north); Locust Lane (east); Independence Avenue (south) in the

River Market The River Market (formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City. It stretches north of the downto ...

Neighborhood, Kansas City, Missouri. The site had previously served as a city graveyard beginning in the 1840s, before namesake mayor George M. Shelley and the city park board had the graveyard condemned, moved and the site turned into a park. Today, the ballpark location is home to a fire station and the

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

& Hwy 9 interchange. City Market Kansas City MO

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

* Otto Bolden (1912) * Robert Boone (1911, MGR) * Andrew Campbell (1910) *

Red Foster Red Foster may refer to: *Red Foster (baseball), American baseball player *Red Foster (humanitarian) (1905–1985), Canadian humanitarian *Red Dawn Foster, American politician See also

*Reddy Foster (1864–1908), American baseball player {{h ...

(1911) *

Willie Green Willie Julius Green (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally in the NBA with the ...

(1911) * Sunny Jim Hamilton (1911) * Chick Harper (1912) * Son Hatten (1911) * Ashes Jackson (1912) *

Guy Jackson Guy Rolf Jackson (23 June 1896 – 21 February 1966) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1919 and 1936, being captain for nine years. Jackson was born at Ankerbold, Tupton, Derbyshire, the son of Brig ...

(1911–1912) * "Topeka Jack" Johnson (1910, 1912 MGR) *

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 ...

(1912) * John Merida (1911) *

Eugene Milliner Eugene J. "Gabbie" Milliner (November 27, 1878 – January 15, 1921) was a Negro leagues outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders a ...

(1910, 1912) * Johnny Pugh (1911) *

Tom Stirman Thomas Stirman (born August 22, 1879) was a Negro leagues outfielder and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He began playing semi-pro baseball in Kansas City, for the Jenkins Piano Company team, a ...

(1910–1912) * Arthur Tiller (1911) *

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 ...

(1910) * Jess Turner (1911–1912) * Rube Washington (1911) * Dee Williams (1910)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Team History
Baseball teams in Missouri Baseball teams established in 1910 Baseball teams disestablished in 1912 Defunct baseball teams in Missouri Professional baseball teams in Missouri Negro league baseball teams Sports in the Kansas City metropolitan area Sports teams in Kansas City, Missouri