Kansas City Monarchs All Star Embroidered Baseball Cap
A stylish and iconic baseball cap featuring an original design worn by the Kansas City Monarchs when they played at home and during all-star games.
Made out of 100% cotton. All designs are embroidered and not printed. Hand wash only. Adjustable. Velcro back.
The Kansas City Monarchs were an extremely successful and popular team in the Negro Leagues. They won 10 league pennants, more than any other team, and were the first “world champions” of the Negro Leagues.
J.L. Wilkinson created the Monarchs in 1920 from his All Nations barnstorming team. Barnstorming became a vital part of the club continuing to operate after the original Negro National League surrendered at the end of that decade. In 1930, Wilkinson took out a mortgage on everything he owned to buy a portable lighting system that introduced night games into professional baseball for the initial time. Those evening games not only assisted the Monarchs but some competitor clubs as well (who borrowed the lighting system) to survive through The Great Depression’s toughest years.
The Kansas City Monarchs were charter members of the Negro American League in 1937, and they quickly became one of the most successful teams in the league. The team frequently toured the Midwest, West, and even Canada, which helped to spread their notoriety far and wide. Kansas City got superstar pitcher Satchel Paige at the start of this run, who then became the Monarchs’ number-one attraction in the early 1940s.
More future Major League stars — including Jackie Robinson and Ernie Banks — came from Kansas City’s Negro League club than any other, while also showcasing huge stars like Paige, Hilton Smith, and Bullet Rogan during a time when Black players were excluded from the all-white Majors. First baseman and manager Buck O’Neil became the first Black coach in the big leagues as well, but he also served as a scout and ambassador for many years.