Galesburg has hosted many great sporting events thru the years- some historic encounters.
1907- Knox College baseball team took on the World Champion Chicago White Sox at Willard Field on the Knox Campus.
1926- City rivals, Lombard College and Knox College squared off in an historic basketball game at the Galesburg Armory. In front of a packed house, the game helped change basketball forever.
1935- Defending State Basketball Champs, Springfield came to Galesburg to play the first game of the brand new Steele Gym. The Streaks pulled off he upset.
1956- At Lombard Field, the Kimbroughs and the Streaks played Limestone in the last game of the season, going for a perfect undefeated football season. They won 51-0.
1976- Streaks basketball hosted the #1 ranked Richwoods Knights for the Regional championship at Thiel Gym. Campbell and Kelley led the Streaks to a huge overtime upset win.
All of these games were games that Galesburg fans eagerly anticipated. And there have been many other “great games” in Galesburg sports history. Perhaps the biggest sporting event in Galesburg history was when the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team came to Galesburg to play the Galesburg Indees on Sunday, September 7, 1930.
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| 1924 Kansas City Monarchs- NBL Champions |
The Kansas City Monarchs played in the Negro Baseball League. They were considered the premier team in the NBL. Jackie Robinson did not play crack the Major League Baseball’s color barrier until 1947. Although there were many very talented Black American baseball players, they were not given the opportunity to play in the MLB.
Thru the years the Negro Baseball League included teams in cities like Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, Newark, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, Birmingham, Memphis, and other cities. Some of the famous players of the Negro Baseball League included…
Kansas City- Jackie Robinson, Satchel Page, Ernie Banks, Willard Brown, George Altman.
Newark Eagles- Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Don Newcomb.
Indy Clowns- Hank Aaron.
Birmingham Black Barons- Willie Mays.
Baltimore Elite Giants- Roy Campanella.
New York Cubans- Minnie Minoso.
Atlanta- Donn Clendenon.
Raleigh Tigers- Blue Moon Odom, Maury Wills.
When the Monarchs came to Galesburg in 1930, they featured “Bullet” Joe Rogan. As a pitcher, Rogan was compared by baseball experts to be the equal of Christy Matthewson, Grover Alexander, and Walter Johnson, who were the premier MLB pitchers of the time. In a pre-game preview, the Galesburg paper claimed that in the last ten years when playing exhibition games, Rogan was undefeated as a pitcher.
Rogan also serves as the Monarch’s manager and was a power hitting outfield when not pitching. He was one of the primary “entertainers” when the Monarch’s played exhibition games, performing baseball tricks and humorous stunts.
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| Frank Duncan |
Frank Duncan was the starting catcher for the Monarch’s. A MLB scout was reported have said, “If he were eligible (for MLB), my club would gladly give $50K for him. He is the best fielding catcher have ever seen.” It is important to understand that in 1930 Babe Ruth signed a contract paying $80k per year, which was considerably more than any other player of the time.
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| Halley Harding |
A special attraction for Galesburg fans was the lead off hitter and shortstop of the Monarchs, Halley Harding. Harding had attended Knox College.
The Galesburg newspaper commented, “…the world’s best colored stars are expected to make this the Mecca of baseball fans.” Since the league ws founded in 1920, the Monarchs had won 5 pennants and 3 championships. The local paper reported that the Monarchs were to the Negro Baseball League what the Yankees were to MLB.
For fans, the thought of getting to see the legendary Monarchs was exciting. They were going to play the Galesburg Indees, which were having an outstanding season. The paper reported that they expected the Indees to give the Monarchs a battle.
While the Galesburg Indees may have felt they could give the Monarchs a game, they went out and got the two best players from Peoria to join the Indees team.
There was certainly a buzz about the game. The game was to be played on Sunday, September 7 at 8:30pm at the Lincoln Park Field. The Lincoln Park Field was Galesburg’s newest and best field at this time. It was claimed to be able to seat 3,500 fans.
The Galesburg paper started running previews of the Sunday game on Wednesday, and continued to run a story about the game and the teams daily leading up to the Sunday game.
One of the factors that excited people was that it would be Galesburg’s first night game. As the Monarchs traveled to play exhibition games, they brought their light system and their own electric generators to run the light system. It took them two hours to install the light system which they claimed would make the game seem like it was being played in the daytime.
Galesburg came out for the game. It was estimated that there over 4,000 fans in attendance.
Despite the Galesburg Indees strong record and the addition of two ringers from Peoria, the game did not go as Galesburg had hoped. The Monarchs blitzed Galesburg 21-3 with four home runs and 22 hits.
The traveling Monarchs baseball talent and comical stunts provided a great night of entertainment, and perhaps opened some eyes among Galesburg residents.
The Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City would be a great educational experience for baseball fans and students of U.S. history. If you are unable to go to Kansas City, check out their website. There are a variety of education opportunities on their website.
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