Kansas City Call's Coverage of the Black Yankees, 1937-1955
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2008-12-05 Monarch Cheers, Integration Whimpers, and a Loyalty Conflict: Kansas City Call's Coverage of the Black Yankees, 1937-1955 Eric M. Eames Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Eames, Eric M., "Monarch Cheers, Integration Whimpers, and a Loyalty Conflict: Kansas City Call's Coverage of the Black Yankees, 1937-1955" (2008). Theses and Dissertations. 1929. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1929 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Monarch Cheers, Integration Whimpers, and Loyalty Conflicts: Coverage of the Black Yankees in Black and White Kansas City, 1937-1957 by Eric M. Eames A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication Department of Communications Brigham Young University December 2008 i Copyright 2008 Eric M. Eames All Rights Reserved ii BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Eric M. Eames This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. Date Ed Adams, Chair Date Kevin Stoker Date Dale Cressman iii BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY As chair of the candidate‟s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Eric M. Eames in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library. Date Ed Adams Chair, Graduate Committee Accepted for the Department Date Kevin Stoker Graduate Coordinator Accepted for the College Date Rory Scanlon Associate Dean, College of Fine Arts & Communications iv ABSTRACT Monarch Cheers, Integration Whimpers, and Loyalty Conflicts: Coverage of the Black Yankees in Black and White Kansas City, 1937-1957 Eric M. Eames Department of Communications Master of Arts Already regarded as one of the top teams in Negro League baseball, the Kansas City Monarchs became known as a powerhouse unit in the 1930s and 40s. They rolled into towns with lights, amazing athletes, and competitive play. They won championship after championship during these years as Kansas City baseball fans strongly supported them. As they became an integral part of the city, the Monarchs‟ success, open-seating policy, and jazzy home openers fostered a large following of mixed-race fans. The local black newspaper, the Kansas City Call, held them up on a pedestal, while sportswriters for the mainstream Kansas City Star/Times downplayed the Monarchs‟ accomplishments and influence in the community. This thesis focuses on the relationship the Call had with the best team in black baseball through the context of its treatment of games, players, league officials, and team owners, as well as other patterns and tactics. Analysis of the Star/Times coverage is also considered to show variances in coverage between one city‟s race-divided newspapers. Negro League baseball and the African American newspapers that covered the teams v grew out of and illustrated the segregation laws and prejudices feelings that existed in the United States during most of the twentieth century. Over time, especially when the sports world moved into the post-integration period, the Call’s bolstering of the Monarchs deteriorated as the paper‟s promotion of democracy steered its sportswriters away from a baseball organization that symbolized segregation. The different types of coverage by the Call throughout the twenty-year study can be described as all-out promotion, balance, and abandonment. In the 1950s nostalgia and conflict existed, as the Call’s sportswriters became torn on how to cover a team that was once the pride of the black community, but now represented inequality. In an attempt to remedy this torment, the Call tried to convince black baseball officials to remove the “Negro League” stigma by signing players of all races in order to mirror the more democratic Major Leagues. The white press, meanwhile, ignored the bigger issues of black baseball as one Negro League team after another died in the 1950s. The Star/Times peripheral coverage of the Monarchs provides context to the social issues and discriminatory practices at play in Missouri. As this thesis outlines the coverage of the Monarchs through the Black and White newspapers of Kansas City, previous research is substantiated and challenged to provide a fuller account of Jim Crow‟s effects. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I must acknowledge the hand of God in this project. He opened up doors and opportunities to obtain the information needed to complete the research. He then provided strength at earlier morning and late night hours so I could focus, despite the many piles of papers and books surrounding my desk. Secondly, there is no combination of English words that can adequately express the amazing encouragement and support provided by my beautiful bride, Jodi. She stood ready to hug me when I peeled myself away from the computer after a full day of writing, knowing that I had just experienced more cramps and strains than I ever experienced during my high school athletic career. In the midst of discouragement, disappointment, and tears, she became my rock and motivation. I can‟t thank her enough and must thank her for experiencing with me an elixir of weathered emotions—from blizzards and rainy days to sunsets at the beach. Without her partnership I might have failed. I am also grateful to the rest of my lovely family for their constant prayers and love, and especially for my mother who taught a young boy to find joy in hard work. She also provided me with the imagination and desire to reach for the stars. Her weekly conversations helped to keep things in perspective and helped me to realize the importance of making time for family. The goal-setting attitude of my thesis committee also provided motivation and helped me to stay on track to finishing the project and getting the facts right. I am forever grateful for their direction and passionate opinions. Their love for historical research, both collectively and individually, also rubbed off on me. I must specifically thank Dr. Ed Adams for helping me to realize the importance and significance of my research. He vii also made me feel capable, confident, and talented enough to tackle this project from beginning to end. Thanks must also be extended to Ernest Perry at the University of Missouri. Dr. Perry willingly and unselfishly provided me with advice to solidify my project when I shyly approached him at a conference for the American Journalism Historians Association. Much is owed and can never be repaid to the Woodward family of Independence, Missouri, who allowed a stranger to sleep and shower in their home for a week while I performed research at the downtown Kansas City Public Library. Besides the Kansas City Public Library, the project is greatly indebted to Brigham Young University‟s interlibrary loan system, which responded to my many requests and made sure I received the exact rolls of film needed. Finally, I must thank Byron Johnson (and his daughter Jacquelyn Benton), who allowed an acne-riddled college student to conduct a two-hour long interview. The moment Johnson relayed his story of playing for the great Kansas City Monarchs I was enthralled. I left his apartment in Denver salivating for more. When the time came to choose a topic, Johnson‟s story replayed in my head and I knew that the Negro Leagues and specifically the Monarchs would become a part of my thesis. May Johnson rest in peace. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... ix Introduction: Monarchs‟ Baseball, The Well-Dressed Social Gathering ........................... 1 Chapter One: Historians Shed Light on Negro Leagues ..................................................... 5 Review of Literature ....................................................................................................... 5 The Black Press: Fighting and Promoting .................................................................... 12 Kansas City Call: A Booker T. Newspaper .................................................................. 15 Kansas City Star/Times: A Midwest Empire ................................................................ 18 Chapter Two: Twenty Years of Change ........................................................................... 22 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 22 Negro Leagues: A Cultural Institution .......................................................................... 23 Chapter Three: Monarchs Rekindled, 1937-1941 ............................................................. 26 The Pomp of Opening Day ..........................................................................................