0104 - Phil S. Dixon
Phil S. Dixon is an author, public speaker, researcher and historian, focusing on the Negro Leagues for the past 40 years. During our conversation, he referenced a handful of things and people upon which you may want to do more research. Consider this page to be your “liner notes” for the episode so you can follow along.
Phil S. Dixon, John Donaldson historian Pete Gorton, and me at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Eddie Dwight
Eddie Dwight played professional baseball from 1925-1937, including two stints with the Kansas City Monarchs.
September 28, 1990
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum files for incorporation.
Signing the incorporation papers (L to R):
Alfred “Slick” Surratt (board member), Larry Lester (treasurer), and John “Buck” O’Neil (chairman of the board)
Carroll Ray Mothell
A 15-year veteran of the Negro Leagues, Mothell was known for his versatility. He could play every position, and it was said you could use him “most any place, any time.”
The Kansas City Call
The Call is an African-American weekly newspaper founded in 1919 by Chester A. Franklin.
It serves the black community of Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.
Kevin Harlan
Kevin graduated from the University of Kansas in 1982 before becoming a voice regularly heard in households nationwide.
Buck O’Neil
Buck O’Neil was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs.
After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and eventually became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball history.
SABR Bio by Bob LeMoine
Jesse Williams
Jesse was a shortstop from 1939-1954, mainly with the Kansas City Monarchs, Indianapolis Clowns, and in Cuba and Mexico.
He was a member of the 1939, 1941, and 1942 Negro League champion Monarchs teams.
Maurice “Doolittle” Young
Maurice was a pitcher for the 1927 Kansas City Monarchs. For the year 1927, Maurice pitched while his brother, Tom, did the catching.
Horace Peterson
Horace Michael “Pete” Peterson, III was a historian who captured the oral histories that helped shaped the Midwest.
He founded the Black Archives of Mid-America.
Charles A. Hazley
Hazley served on the Kansas City Council from 1971 to 1991. But he was also known for his fierce advocacy for inner-city residents.
Emanuel Cleaver II
Emanuel Cleaver II is a United Methodist pastor and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Cleaver represents Missouri's 5th congressional district, elected in 2005.
The Ultimate Kansas City Baseball Trivia Quiz Book
Written by Phil S. Dixon and released in 1992
Buy it HERE
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The timeline that guides you through the first few exhibits at the NLBM is truly powerful.
Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States.
Ralph Abernathy
Ralph Abernathy (center, smiling) on a march during the Civil Rights movement.
Elisha Scott, Sr.
Elisha Scott, Sr. argued many civil rights and school segregation cases throughout Kansas and the Midwest. He gained a reputation in Kansas as taking the most impossible cases, and winning them.
Robert Gilkerson
Owned and operated by Robert Gilkerson, the Lost Island Giants were a predecessor to Gilkerson’s Union Giants, a team that would be a staple of the Midwestern barnstorming circuit well into the 1930s.
Wayne Terwilliger
Wayne Terwilliger spent more than 60 years in a baseball uniform, either as a player, coach, or manager. He is the only person other than Connie Mack to have managed a team after his 80th birthday.
SABR Bio by C. Paul Rogers III
Elrod Hendricks
Elrod Hendricks spent 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles teams that won three consecutive pennants from 1969-1971, including the 1970 World Series.
SABR Bio by Rory Costello
Frank Robinson
The only player in MLB history to win the MVP Award in both the American League and National League. Robinson also went on to become the first African American manager in MLB history.
SABR Bio by Maxwell Kates
Rube Foster
Known as the “Father of Negro League Baseball,” Foster developed some of the greatest athletes in the history of the game. In the 1905 season, Foster won 51 games as a pitcher, including a stretch of 44 consecutive victories.
SABR Bio by Tim Odzer
Ernie Banks
Before he went on to hit 512 home runs in the Major Leagues, Ernie Banks played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues.
SABR Bio by Joseph Wancho
Hank Aaron
Before he went on to hit 755 home runs in the Major Leagues, Hank Aaron played for the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues.
SABR Bio by Bill Johnson
Satchel Paige’s Tombstone
A legend in life. An immortal in death.
See the other side HERE
Larry Fritsch Card Set
This set, produced in 1986, featured 119 cards of Negro League Baseball Stars.
Jud Wilson
The Jud Wilson card from the Ted Williams baseball card set which Phil S. Dixon compiled.
SABR Bio by Joseph Gerard
Other players Phil mentioned, who were part of this set:
- Buck O’Neil
- Josh Gibson
- Webster McDonald
- Vic Harris
- Toni Stone
- Ted Radcliffe
- Leon Day
Dixon’s Negro League Greats
This card of Cool Papa Bell is one of 45 cards in the set put out by Phil S. Dixon in 1987.
The set broke historical ground by becoming the first U.S. baseball card set produced by an African-American.
Buy it HERE
Carroll Ray “Dink” Mothell
Phil mentioned him earlier in the interview, too, but this is the card of Mothell that Phil put in his 1987 card set.
In 1927, Mothell was selected as the Negro National League’s most outstanding second baseman.
1924 Negro League World Series panoramic photo
The Negro Baseball Leagues: A Photographic History
This book earned Phil the 1992 Casey Award for the year’s best baseball book.
Buy it HERE
Chet Brewer
In 1929, Chet Brewer pitched 31 consecutive scoreless innings. He won 30 games in 1930, then in 1931 defeated a Major League All-Star team of Joe Kuhel and brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner. He threw a no-hitter against the Detroit Lakes team in 1931, won 34 games in 1933, and 33 more in 1934.
1926 Chicago American Giants Road Uniform
This is a replica of the uniform William “Steel Arm” Tyler wore as a member of the 1926 Chicago American Giants.
Buy it HERE
Clarence “Jack” Matchett
Seen here reclining on the ground near his teammates, Jack Matchett was a pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs in the 1940s.
Jay McShann
Jay McShann was a jazz pianist and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Ben Webster, and Walter Brown.
Newt Joseph
Walter Lee “Newt” Joseph was the starting third baseman for the Kansas City Monarchs and hit the first home run of the 1924 Negro World Series.
He hit for the cycle on Christmas Eve during the 1928 Cuban Winter League season.
1946 KC Monarchs Team Signed Ball
See the other panels HERE
Hank Aaron Rookie Card
While the prices of Hank’s 1954 Topps rookie card have steadily climbed over the years, the prices that high-end graded copies realize pale in comparison to that of a Mickey Mantle rookie card.
Verdell Mathis
Verdell Mathis was one of the great left-handed pitchers of the 1940s, but since he played for the Memphis Red Sox, he never got the credit he deserved.
Floyd Boldridge
Floyd Boldridge was born in 1898 in Lexington, Missouri. He was the owner and an employee of the GEM barbershop located at 111 South 11 Street in the Courthouse Square well into his 80s.
Dave Malarcher
David "Gentleman Dave" Julius Malarcher - who died in Chicago in 1982 at the age of 81 - was a sort of Renaissance man in the annals of Negro League baseball. He was a college graduate, a World War I veteran, a scholar, a poet, an activist, a slick-fielding third baseman, and a championship-winning manager.
Hear him speak HERE
Only The Ball Was White
Robert W. Peterson’s 1992 book
Buy it HERE
1931 Homestead Grays
Phil S. Dixon’s 2009 book
Buy it HERE
Satchel Paige
Paige pitched whenever he could. Wherever he could. For whoever he could. He was in no way a common man.
The Dizzy And Daffy Dean Barnstorming Tour
Phil S. Dixon’s 2019 book
Buy it HERE
The Brothers Dean
Dizzy Dean and Daffy Dean were at the top of the pitching world in 1934.
Andrew “Rube” Foster: A Harvest On Freedom’s Fields
Phil S. Dixon’s 2009 book
Buy it HERE
Dizzy and Satch
Satchel Paige became the first black player to play at Wrigley Field.
Frank Duncan
Frank “Dunk” Duncan was a member of the 1923, ‘24, ‘25, and ‘29 Kansas City Monarchs pennant-winning teams. He possessed one of the most accurate throwing arms in baseball history.
Satchel: The Life And Times of an American Legend
Larry Tye’s 2010 book
Buy it HERE
Lou Johnson
When the Kansas City A's began play in 1955, the Monarchs found themselves paying increasingly exorbitant rent and fees for use of Municipal Stadium. As a result, the team played most of its games on the road that year, and began selling its players to other clubs, both in the Negro Leagues and the Major Leagues.
1934 Kansas City Monarchs
This team barnstormed all over the country, and played the Belleville, Illinois Stags a number of times.
1935 Claybrook Tigers
Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe would join the Claybrook Tigers in 1936, acting as a player/manager for the team.
Barnstorming in Canada
This advertisement from the Winnipeg Tribune on June 6, 1935 promotes a game between the Kansas City Monarchs and the House of David.
Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities
Founded in 1989, RBI’s goal is to provide young people from underserved and diverse communities the opportunity to play baseball and softball.
John Mitchell
In 1971, John Mitchell became the first black player in the history of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program.
Darrell Stuckey
Stuckey was drafted by the Chargers in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2014, and was a team captain for four years.
Buck O’Neil at the NLBM
Buck O’Neil played a huge role in the founding of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
Listen to him talk HERE
John Donaldson
Pete Gorton has been carrying the torch for John Donaldson and his legacy.
Grant “Home Run” Johnson
Johnson earned his nickname by hitting 60 home runs in 1894. He played professionally for 30 years, until he was 51 years old. He played with lesser teams until 1932, when he finally retired at age 58.
Bill Monroe
Monroe played for 19 years before dying prematurely of tuberculosis at the age of 38. In his obituary, it was reported that Hall of Fame manager John McGraw had once said "Monroe was the greatest infielder he had ever seen."
SABR Bio by Phil Williams
Follow Phil Online
Shoeless Joe at the Shipyards
Some other websites I accessed while doing research for this interview with Phil S. Dixon:
https://kckps.org/about-us/reasons-to-believe/previous-reasons-to-believe-honorees/phil-s-dixon/
https://web.archive.org/web/20120401010043/http://www.wolfmanproductions.com/dixon.html
https://www.kansascitymag.com/the-tenacity-of-phil-dixon/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/868224.Phil_S_Dixon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reviving_Baseball_in_Inner_Cities
https://tscpl.org/sports/at-bat-with-phil-s-dixon
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2008-06-29-0806290029-story.html