Monographs
 
Download

Download Full Text (1.5 MB)

Date

2025

Abstract

Bert Wakefield was a lifelong resident of Troy, Kansas, where he was an active member of the community—business owner, member of social organizations, and musician. Wakefield was also an African American who played on several integrated and Black baseball teams through the 1890s and early 1900s, including the Chicago Unions, Chicago Union Giants, Algona (Iowa) Brownies, Renville (Minnesota) All-Stars, and the original Kansas City Monarchs. In addition, Wakefield served as the captain of the predominantly white Troy minor league team in the Kansas State League in 1895. In this role, he joined Bud Fowler as the only Black players to captain minor league teams during this era. Wakefield also umpired at least one ballgame between two white teams. This biography recounts Bert Wakefield’s varied experiences in baseball. This essay was originally published in 2018 and has undergone revisions and corrections for its release in 2025 as part of the five-volume anthology Peeking through the Knothole. The open-access, digital version of this essay is available through the “Download” button on this webpage. The print-on-demand version is available through the “Buy this Book” button for volume two of the anthology (Baseball Biographies with Kansas Connections).

Keywords

Bert Wakefield, Bert Jones, Yellow Kid Jones, Yellow Jones, Monroe Ingram, Dummy Ingram, Gaitha Page, George Richardson, Cap Anson, J.L. Wilkinson, Kansas State League, Algona Brownies, Chicago Unions, Chicago Union Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, Renville All-Stars

Rights

© The Author (s)

Comments

For questions contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu

Originally Published 2018

Revised Edition 2025

Bert Wakefield and the End of Integrated Minor League Baseball in Kansas, Revised

Included in

History Commons

Share

Book Location

 
COinS