Kansas City, MO

When the Monarchs first formed and started playing in 1920 at this park, one of the guys who used to work on the grounds crew was Newt Allen. In return for his labor, he was given a few baseballs. It was a good move for the Monarchs, as Allen went on to play left field and first base for the team from 1922 to 1944.

George Tebeau, owner of the park, restricted blacks to the top 14 rows, even with the Monarchs playing. This was a single-decked wooden stadium with a 30 foot screen in right field. Tebeau and George Muehlebach, owner of the white minor league Blues, got into a disagreement. The sentiment around town was that this would be a good thing, the Blues could play at a new ballpark and the Monarchs would extend their lease and keep Association Park II as their own. This half worked out. Muehlebach built Municipal Stadium for the Blues, but J. Leslie Wilkinson, owner of the Monarchs, could not foot the full lease with Tebeau and worked out one with Muehlebach, continuing the same set up as before.

© 2006-17 Paul Healey.