Monroe Monarchs

The Monroe Monarchs were a professional baseball team based in Monroe, Louisiana, which played in the Negro Leagues from the late 1920s to 1935. The team was created by Fred Stovall, a Texan oil drilling millionaire, who later financed the Negro Southern League. In the 1930s, a time of acute segregation, the team's games were watched by crowds of black and white people, alike. The most famous player with the team was Hall of Famer Hilton Smith.

History

When the team first formed it played in the semi-pro Dixie League until Stovall formed the Negro Southern League with four other teams in 1932. The Monarchs won that first season and lost to the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the Negro League World Series. Despite this success the team was excluded from the Negro Southern League when it was reorganized in the following season.

The team played in Casino Park in Monroe, at what became 29th and Hope. It was 360 feet (110 metres) in left, 450 feet (138 metres) in center and 330 feet (102 metres) in right.^[1] Built on Stovall's plantation, the park and its associated recreational facilities (including a swimming pool and a dance pavilion^[2]) were considered some of the finest in the league.^[3]

Stovall accommodated the players in houses on his plantation, provided a cook to prepare their meals, and bought three brand-new Ford cars in 1932 for the team's travel.^[4]

The team disbanded soon after 1935^[5] and in 1937 Casino Park was leased to a local white team—Monroe Twins who became the Monroe White Sox in 1938—who played in the Cotton States League.^[6]

Historical foundation

The Monroe Monarchs Historical Foundation began in 2005 by Scott Greer and Jeffrey Newman. The charter for the newly-formed Foundation was "to advance the education of urban Monroe, LA, by seeking financial and resourceful support for coordinating the erection and formal dedication of a historical marker for the Monroe Monarchs." Funding for this project made possible through a grant from JPMorgan Chase administered by the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, as well as CenturyLink. With the necessary funds raised to obtain a marker, the Foundation worked with the City of Monroe from 2005-2006 to plan the development of a recreational area where a historical marker could be dedicated and presented for everyday viewing, preserving the legacy of the team. The location of the former Casino Park could not be used for placement of the marker, but less than a mile away were two public locations that could be used for presenting the marker for public display. One, Lillie Maddox Marbles Community Center, and two, Carroll High School. The City of Monroe developed an idea for building new ballparks, named after the most well-known Monarchs players, at Lillie Maddox Marbles Community Center, along with a walking trail that would have the Foundation's marker as the centerpiece. However, hurricane Katrina fallout and the subsequent economic climate delayed movement on this idea for several years.

During the downtime, with the assistance of Honorary Members, Paul Letlow and Thomas Aeillo, a website, a Myspace and Facebook Page were created (as technology opportunities became available) to give updates on the organization's efforts and open discussion for those interested in the rich history of this team. Greer and Newman also worked during this time with the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2006 effort to consider 39 former Negro League players for induction. The Foundation communicated and petitioned with the committee that had been established, for two other players from the Monroe Monarchs to be chosen, with former Monarch, Willard Brown, being inducted as a result. Honorary founder, Thomas Aeillo also published a historical journal called, "The Composition of Kings: The Monroe Monarchs and the Negro Southern League of 1932," with plans to eventually publish a book on the team.

In 2009, activity began again on the placement of the permanent historical marker, albeit with a slightly revised purpose. Carroll High School, across the street from Lillie Maddox Marbles Community Center, had no permanent baseball field. Instead of building multiple parks named after players, the City of Monroe worked hard to obtain funding to erect a larger, high school-quality baseball park in the same location originally planned for the multiple parks and walking trail. This new idea would allow for Carroll High School to have the new field they needed, named Monroe Monarchs Field, whose centerpiece would be the historical marker. The final activity of the Foundation was participation in the formal opening of the Monroe Monarchs Field, which opened in the summer of 2010, and the permanent installation of the historical marker. The first official game will be in spring, 2011.

The foundation no longer operates an Internet presence, organization and has been dissolved as their charter was fulfilled. The impact made by the foundation continues as had been hoped, with the Ouachita Parish Public Library having just completed a 5 week exhibition called "Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience, A Traveling Exhibition." This exhibit was organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the American Library Association Public Programs Office in Chicago. Major funding came from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Ouachita Parish Library was one of 25 libraries across the country and the only library in Louisiana to have the exhibit. At a ribbon cutting ceremony, Mayor Jamie Mayo signed a proclamation naming Sept. 13 Negro Leagues Day, which will be celebrated in the library branches each year. Other special guests included Hall of Fame player Wilbert Ellis and former Houston Astros James Cooper of Grambling, Monroe Parks and Recreation staff and the Color Guard from Neville High School under the direction of Keith Arceneaux.^[7] The founders of the Monroe Monarchs Historical Foundation, Scott Greer and Jeffrey Newman, chartered the nonprofit organization for the expressed purpose of erecting the marker and bringing about awareness of this "missing" piece of Monroe history that the local community could inherit and continue once the charter was complete.

• 

  Monroe Monarchs Marker

Notable players

• Chuffie Alexander
• Willard "Home Run" Brown
• "Blue Goose" Curry
• Porter "Big Boy" Dallas
• Sugar Dallas
• Ducky Davenport
• Harry Else
• Sam Harris
• John Matthew Markham
• "Smilin" Dick Matthews
• Leroy Morney
• Barney "Big" Morris
• Hal Morris
• Red Parnell
• Augustus Saunders
• Hilton Lee Smith
• W.C Walker
• Elbert Williams

Notes

1. ^ Lowry
2. ^ Peterson, p. 122
3. ^ Letlow
4. ^ Black Ball News 1993
5. ^ Deduction from lack of references after 1935
6. ^ Peterson, p. 122
7. ^ http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20101107/LIFESTYLE/11050341/Negro-Baseball-Leagues-exhibit-a-success

References

• 'Interview with Marlin Carter', Black Ball News (1993) cited at 'Team History', Monroe Monarchs Historical Foundation (2005). Retrieved July 24, 2005.
• Letlow, Paul J. cited at 'Ballparks', Negro League Baseball Players Association Retrieved July 24, 2005.
• Loverro, Thom; Fields, Wilmer. Encyclopedia of Negro League Baseball
• Lowry, Philip J. Green Cathedrals
• O'Neil, John. Catching Dream: My Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues
• Peterson, Robert W. Only The Ball Was White, (New York: Prentice-Hall Englewood-Cliffs, 1970)

External links