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6. The First Half: April–July 1932
- The University of Alabama Press
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6 The First Half april–July 1932 The negro southern league began its regular season on easter weekend, and with it came a hope that matched the holiday. as children across the country waited impatiently for the easter bunny to arrive, southern league teams reported healthy ticket sales and appeared confident. They were setting out in an economy that had hidden many eggs, but owners were confident they could find them. “reports from the different camps of the southern league are that all clubs have just about whipped themselves into shape,” reported the Louisiana Weekly. “[monroe] is considered by some of the baseball experts as the dark horse.”1 monroe’s dark horse season began at little rock’s Crump Park, where they swept the hometown Greys.2 The following weekend, the team traveled to memphis , splitting a four-game series with the red sox, and as the road trip came to a close, monarchs manager frank Johnson reported to the media that he and management hoped to secure the pitching services of robert “black Diamond” Pipkin, then pitching for the new orleans black Pelicans. Though the deal fell through, the attempt indicates an early concern about the constitution of the pitching staff. still, it was impossible to see the road trip as anything but a success , and it was hoped that the home opener would serve to erase any lingering doubts. if all went well, the monarchs’ first Casino Park game would demonstrate little cause for concern.3 The league gave official recognition to the team with the largest openingday attendance, and though monroe was by far its smallest market, the club announced it would try to win the prize during its first home game on friday, may 6, against the Cleveland Cubs, a team it had already beaten as the rube foster memorial Giants.4 league president reuben Jackson accepted stovall’s invitation to attend, and his presence only added to the gravity that the black monroe com- The first half / 67 munity attached to the afternoon, the weekend, the season. businesses in the “booker T. Washington” district of monroe closed for the day. a parade preceded the 3:30 game, traveling from monroe Colored high school to the stadium at noon, and, as it ended, the m.m. Club (a group of local monarchs boosters) received a prize for the most elaborately decorated float.5 The Monroe Morning World reported that two “negro orchestras” marched in the parade, and the Community Glee Club provided further musical accompaniment. again, a section of seats was reserved for white fans. Grandstand tickets sold for fifty cents, and box seats for seventy-five.6 after the parade had passed and the music died down, the monarchs experienced a comfortable 6 to 0 victory. They won two more games before the final game of the series, the second of a sunday doubleheader.7 barney morris, the team’s principal holdover from years past, pitched seven innings in that final game without allowing a hit. his teammates stole five bases and scored four runs in those seven innings, and when the game stopped for darkness, the monarchs had the first no-hitter of the brief negro southern league season. “fans in this section of the country are noticing the monarchs with interest,” noted the Shreveport Sun, “as they are looking forward to the pennant being won by the famous louisiana nine.”8 but as monroe demonstrated early success, league trouble continued to loom. in late april, just as the season began, pitcher/outfielder herman “Jabo” andrews left the indianapolis abCs for territory he presumed more hospitable in the east–West league, joining Posey’s homestead Grays. Jim Taylor, manager of the abCs, filed an official request with the southern league that andrews be forced to return. Jackson sent the request, but Posey failed to comply. Posey, in fact, claimed not to know that andrews had joined his own team.9 and so, Jackson announced, all games would be cancelled between the east–West and southern if andrews was not returned. it was possible that the early-may series between Detroit and Chicago would not take place. The Defender described the controversy as “rivaling the one appearing in the days of andrew rube foster. . . . The trouble, similar in every way with the famous skirmish of 10 years ago.”10 The paper was describing the creation of the eastern Colored league (eCl), an eastern version of rube foster’s negro national league, in 1922. eCl...