Royals, Cards to play ‘Salute to the Negro Leagues’ game in KC

The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals will help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues with a ‘Salute to the Negro Leagues’ game Sept. 22 in Kansas City.

“This is a day for celebration of the Negro Leagues, treasured not only for its role in Kansas City’s heritage, but for all of baseball in America,” said John Sherman, Royals chairman and CEO. “This sport has created positive change that still hasn’t reached its finish line. … These 100 years later, we stand in awe of the Negro Leagues, and of the brave examples of people like Rube Foster, J.L. Wilkinson, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, our own Buck O’Neil, Satchel Paige and so many others. Their efforts truly transcended the game of baseball.”

Kansas City and St. Louis share a baseball history that goes back to the Negro Leagues.

“Long before the vaunted 1985 I-70 series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals, the St. Louis Stars and Kansas City Monarchs clashed in an epic seven-game playoff series to determine which team would advance to face the Hilldale Daisies in the 1925 Negro League World Series,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “The heated series featured four future Hall of Famers, James ‘Cool Papa’ Bell and Willie Wells for the Stars and Wilbur ‘Bullet’ Rogan and Jose Mendez for the Monarchs. The Monarchs’ 4-3 series win fueled a baseball rivalry between the two stoic franchises.”

The Royals will wear the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs home uniform, while the Cardinals will wear the 1930 St. Louis Stars away uniform.

“The Cardinals are honored to take part in this year’s ‘Salute to the Negro Leagues. game with the Royals,” said Bill DeWitt III, Cardinals team president. “This year’s centennial celebration of the founding of the Negro Leagues is a notable milestone, and it also reminds us that we need to continue to prioritize issues of diversity, equality and inclusion in MLB.”