New Kansas City Monarchs team to debut this spring
Fred Jeter | 2/25/2021, 6 p.m.
Remember the Kansas City Monarchs, the long-ago powerhouse in Negro Leagues baseball?
They’re back!
Well, sort of.
A 21st century facsimile of the K.C. Monarchs is set to debut this spring as a member of the American Association of Baseball, an independent league partnered with Major League Baseball.
The team formerly was known as the Kansas City T-Bones and plays home games at the Field of Legends. Its color scheme of navy blue, red and cream is similar to that of the original team.
The new Monarchs also will partner with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
A Monarchs’ coach is Frank White, 70, a five-time, major league All-Star with the Kansas City Royals from 1973 to 1990.
An active player is infielder Darnell Sweeney, 29, a former player with Philadelphia and Toronto.
This independent squad is not to be confused with the original Monarchs, who competed in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1961. The original Monarchs won 12 Negro Leagues divisional titles and Negro World Series crowns in 1924 and 1942.
Among the Kansas City Monarchs standouts now in the Baseball Hall of Fame are Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Cool Papa Bell, Buck O’Neil, Satchel Paige, Elston Howard and many others.
