The York Base Ball Club, nicknamed the Monarchs or Colored Monarchs, were a minor league baseball team that represented

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

, in the 1890

Eastern Interstate League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

. The team's roster was composed entirely of African Americans, hired from the two premier black professional clubs of the time, the

Cuban Giants The Cuban Giants were the first fully salaried African-American professional baseball club. The team was originally formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel, a summer resort in Babylon, New York. Initially an independent barnstorming team, they played ...

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.New York Gorhams The New York Gorhams were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1886 to 1892. During their short existence the Gorhams grew to be one of the most successful black professional clubs in the country and challenged the supremacy of the Cuban ...

. The Monarchs were in first place with a 39–16 record when the league disbanded in July 1890. The team was sometimes referred to as the former or "original Cuban Giants", although the Monarchs' management was entirely different from that of the Cuban Giants, and the actual Cuban Giants continued to operate in 1890. The team's captain, third baseman / first baseman George Williams, led the league in both batting average (.386) and slugging percentage (.582), and finished second in stolen bases with 29. Second baseman

Sol White King Solomon "Sol" White (June 12, 1868 – August 26, 1955) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, he wrote the first definit ...

finished third in the batting race with a .350 average. Catcher Arthur Thomas hit .333, led the league in doubles and triples, and had the second-highest slugging percentage (.567). Pitcher / outfielder

William Selden William Selden (January 31, 1791 – April 7, 1874) served as Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as custodian and trustee of the fede ...

led the team with 15 wins and a 2.62 earned run average while batting .330. While the players were black, the ownership group and the team's business manager, J. Monroe Kreiter, were white men from

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. When the Eastern Interstate League collapsed, they moved the team's base of operations to Harrisburg (while retaining the York name), and the Monarchs finished the season as an independent club. According to Sol White, in 1891 the

New York Gorhams The New York Gorhams were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1886 to 1892. During their short existence the Gorhams grew to be one of the most successful black professional clubs in the country and challenged the supremacy of the Cuban ...

"signed every man of the York Monarchs", and the club ceased to exist.White 1995, p. 20.

Notes

References

* * * Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Negro league baseball teams Sports in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Baseball teams established in 1902 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1911 {{Negro-league-baseball-team-stub