On Sunday, June 21, 1925, 5,000 fans streamed into the Wichita Monrovians’ Island Park stadium in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A. The all-wooden stadium was perched on Ackerman Island, a section of the Arkansas River that borders Wichita (well, island is a strong word––it’s more like a sandbar). The 102° Fahrenheit (39° Celsius) temperature didn’t do much to dissuade people from crossing the Douglas Street Bridge to watch the game. No, today’s matchup was too exciting to miss.

Rube Foster (front row, third from left) at the January 28, 1922 meeting of the Negro National League in Chicago, Illinois

See, the Monrovians were a semi-pro member of the Negro Leagues, an all-black Baseball league founded in 1920 by Andrew “Rube” Foster after Major League Baseball refused to allow Black players in their league. But that’s not the focus of today’s story––let’s get back to Kansas.

The Wichita Monrovians joined the Colored Western League in June of 1922, finishing the season with an impressive 52-8 record. Post-1923 the Monrovians “barnstormed,” meaning they played a series of exhibition games in various spots (usually small towns) to showcase their skills at “America’s favorite pastime.” The team often had a home field advantage, as they were one of the only all-Black organizations to have their own stadium (thanks to their Black-owned business sponsor, the Monrovian Park Association).

In spring 1925, the Monrovians advertised in local newspapers that “We’ll play anybody, it doesn’t matter, we’ll play white teams, Hispanic teams, Asian teams, Catholic teams, [or] Muslim teams.” It was not entirely unusual for barnstorming Negro Leagues teams to play all-white competitors. Although, these matchups seldom occurred on the Black team’s home field, in big Northern cities (like Boston/Chicago/New York), or anywhere in the South. Playing in front of majority-white audiences was similarly uncommon.

Advertisement from a November 17, 1926 issue of *The Hutchinson News* (Hutchinson, Kansas)

The Monrovians’ open call for opponents isn’t to say that racial tensions didn’t run high in 1925 Kansas. In the 1920s the Klu Klux Klan (also KKK or Klan) was on its second rise, determined to form an “Invisible Empire” of Protestant, moral, and patriotic citizens. Though the state of Kansas legally outlawed the racist and prejudiced group in 1925, the organization still had deep, visible ties in the area. Its existence was heavily debated in the press, especially during the 1924 gubernatorial race, since leading anti-Klan newspaperman William Allen White was in the running.

Within these circumstances, a Wichita KKK chapter wanted to counter the anti-Klan narrative being pushed by the papers by organizing an event “for everybody in the community.” Their interest was piqued by the Monrovians’ call to “play anybody.”

June 21, 1925 article in the *Wichita Beacon*
Photo taken of panel by author at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (Kansas City, Missouri) in October 2015

And so we’re back: it’s June 21, 1925 at Island Park Stadium. According to the Wichita Beacon, as those 5,000 fans entered the ballpark, officials carefully searched their bags and pockets for “strangle bolds, razors, horsewhips, and other violent Implements of argument.” Not exactly what you’d usually bring to a baseball game, but then again, this wasn’t your usual game.

As you might have guessed by now, Wichita Klan No. 6 was a semi-professional baseball team made up of Klu Klux Klan members. And the notoriously racist organization was set to play an all-Black team. You can see how security might have to be tighter, can’t you? Oh, and a special rule was in place: anyone who stepped up to the plate with a cross and not a bat would be thrown out.

But regardless of apprehension, the game got off to a solid start. Umpires W.W. “Irish” Gerrity and Dan Dwyer were selected because they were white and Catholic (another group the KKK historically disliked). A pre-game publication on June 21 by the Wichita Beacon noted that these “well known amateur umpires” were chosen “to get away from all possible favoritism.” The first five innings were a pitcher’s duel with a score of 1-1 (meaning the pitching was so good that batters were having a tough time making contact and therefore scoring). The last four innings produced a flurry of runs, with the Wichita Monrovians beating their Klan No. 6 challengers 10-8.

Newt Joseph at the 1924 Colored World Series

Now, I can’t tell you what was going through the players’ minds, especially since the roster is largely lost to history. We do, however, know that Lascelle Dortch managed the Monrovians, and his lineup featured Thomas Jefferson “T Baby” Young and Walter Lee “Newt” Joseph, both of whom would go on to have careers with the famed Negro Leagues team the Kansas City Monarchs. But, most likely, the Monrovians were thrilled to have proved their superiority on the field. And, I can only imagine they hoped to change some Klansmen’s minds about Black Americans. The fact that I have few historical records to share with you about the game suggests that the matchup was restricted to the diamond––no serious brawls broke out off the field.

You might be thinking, so what?––a Negro Leagues team beats a Klu Klux Klan team. This game demonstrates more than the fact that the Wichita Monrovians were a better baseball team than the KKK players. The team’s name of Wichita Klan No. 6 implies that the organization was popular enough in Wichita to have six chapters. And, members did not need to hide their identity behind those white cone-shaped hoods––they played a public baseball game as Klansmen.

Racial tensions of 1925 Wichita, Kansas were transposed onto Island Park Stadium on June 21. But, perhaps shockingly to a twenty-first-century audience, no violence broke out. The two teams––and their fanbases––respected each other enough to compete in a game that didn’t bleed off the field. In fact, newspaper coverage of the “best attended and most interesting game in Wichita” is overwhelmingly positive, even if it is minimal. We know that the Wichita Beacon, Wichita Eagle, and Negro Star rarely covered baseball games, so, we can assume the June 21 game was of enough significance to the local community to deserve space in the papers. And, by that token, it’s significant to us in the twenty-first century for similar reasons.

The June 21, 1925 matchup between the Wichita Monrovians and Klan No. 6 reveals that race relations in 1920s Kansas were more complex than the traditional historical narrative would suggest; not all interactions between the KKK and their carefully outlined foes were violent. Perhaps baseball––America’s favorite pastime––has the potential to unite us all.

The Negro Leagues’ Own Wichita Monrovians vs. Wichita Klan No. 6

Further Reading, Listening, and Watching:

The Negro Leagues’ Own Wichita Monrovians vs. Wichita Klan No. 6

Further Reading, Listening, and Watching:

About the Author