All Starr Sports Zone- Nicknames, History & Trivia

At the time when Kansas City had the Scouts NHL team (1974-1976), Kings NBA team, Royals MLB team and Chiefs NFL team, they were ONE of ONLY EIGHT cities in the United States with FOUR MAJOR SPORTS TEAMS for the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL.

JACKIE ROBINSON
In 1945, Major League Baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Negro League shortstop Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs. Robinson would be recognized as the first African-American in the modern era to play on a white professional team. On Oct. 23, 1945, Jackie Robinson, a shortstop for the Kansas City Monarch's was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers to play at their farm club, the Montreal Royals. He hit .387 for the KC Monarchs in the 1945 season. Jackie played with Satchel Paige and other Monarchs in the 1945 California Winter League, on team called the "Kansas City Royals".  He lead the team batting .429, while the Royals won the league championship.  Jackie was the first UCLA athlete to earn letters in four different sports: track, basketball, football and baseball, which he liked the least. In 1944, he left the Army to join the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team at $400 a month.

 

 

 

 

WILD BILL HICKOK
Wild Bill Hickok once he umpired a baseball game between the Kansas City Antelopes and the archrival Pomeroys of Atchison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

KANSAS CITY COWBOYS
Kansas City Cowboys Baseball Team Stars: Hall of Famer, Billy Hamilton, who batted .344 over fourteen seasons. Henry Porter who threw a no-hitter on 6/6/1888. Sam Barkley hit for the cycle on 6/13/1888.

LAWN TENNIS
In 1887 the Lawn Tennis Club of Kansas City is the first organized black athletic team in Kansas City.

ROYAL DRAFT CHOICES
Players in the National Football League, who have been drafted by the Kansas City Royals baseball team:  John Elway, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson (Bo DID play for the Royals Baseball Team AND Oakland Raiders Football Team), Dan Marino, Russ Francis, Archie Manning, Steve Bartowski. The Royals drafted John Elway in the 18th round of the 1979 draft, the same year they chose Dan Marino in the 4th round!

CHIEFS DRAFT CHOICE
In 1965, the Kansas City Chiefs made Gale Sayers their #1 draft choice, but lost him in a bidding war to the Chicago Bears.

LAMAR HUNT
In 1963, owner Lamar Hunt, moved the Dallas Texans to Kansas City. The teams name was changed to the Kansas City Chiefs, after Kansas City mayor, H. Roe Bartle, whose nickname was 'Chief'. Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt, organized and developed the American Football League in 1959. The AFC Championship Trophy bears the name of the Lamar Hunt Trophy today.

PAINTED END ZONES
In 1963, the Kansas City Chiefs were the FIRST professional football team to decorate the playing field, with painted grass (the end zones)

CHIEFS CHRISTMAS GAMES
On Christmas Day in 1971, the Chiefs played the last game in Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, which against the Miami Dolphins. That game stands today, as the longest game in NFL history, (82:40) lasting into double overtime, as the Dolphins outlasted the Chiefs 27-24. This game was the ONLY Post Season game played at KC's Municipal Stadium.
On Christmas Day in 2004, the Chiefs played the only Christmas game at Arrowhead Stadium, beating the Oakland Raiders 31-30 with Chiefs kicker, Lawrence Tynes kicking a field goal to win the game with only 22 seconds remaining on the clock.

KC WOLF
You've seen Kansas City Chiefs mascot, called K.C. Wolf. Do you know how the "Wolfpack" got started? The term was invented in the 60's in an effort to sell season tickets. Lamar Hunt - "Well at some point in the mid 60's fans who were set up in the bleachers in the left field, right behind the Chiefs bench, would do a lot of howling and somehow the term, they howled like wolves attached to them and the Chiefs glommed on to this with a marketing strategy and said 'Join the Wolfpack and buy a season ticket." By the end of the 60's the team sold out home games easily and then capped off the decade with a Super Bowl win in January of 1970.

FIRST ROYAL IN COOPERSTOWN
George Brett became the first member of the Kansas City Royals to become a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, on July 25, 1999.

SATCHELL PAIGE- a Monarch Legend
In a publicity stunt, Satchel Paige who stared 25 years earlier with the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs starts one game for the Kansas City Athletics. In his one appearance old Satchel goes 3 innings allowing 1 hit (to Carl Yazstremski), and no runs. The oldest baseball player in history is Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (1906-1982) who pitched for the Kansas City A's at 59 years 80 days on September 25th, 1965. He had 4 different wind ups, one a hesitation or hiccup delivery, which was banned by Major League Baseball. His hiccup or hesitation pitch in which his arm came around long after his left foot hit the mound. Other pitches he had were the "bat dodger" (a slider) "trouble ball", "bee ball" (it be where I want it to be", "Long Tom" (super fastball) and "Little Tom" (slow fastball) Satchel was the first player from the Negro Leagues elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Satchel Paige, pitcher from the Kansas City Monarchs, became the first black man to pitch in the World Series, in 1948 with the Cleveland Indians. On Aug. 20, 1948, Paige threw the largest night crowd for a regular season game, in Cleveland history, when 78,342 fans watched him whitewash the White Sox, 1-0. The Indians purchased his contract from the Kansas City Monarchs for $15,000. Paige joined the Harlem Globetrotters Baseball team in 1954. In 1959, he starred as a calvary sergeant in the MGM production of The Wonderful Country, starring Robert Mitchum.

BUCK O'NEILL
On July 18, 2006, Buck O'Neill (former Negro Leagues Baseball player for the Kansas City Monarch's) at 94 years old became the oldest player to step into the batter's box in a professional game. Buck signed a one-day contract with the Kansas City T-Bones Baseball Team. But before the first pitch, Buck was traded to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. O'Neill ended up walking. Buck became the FIRST African American coach in Major League Baseball, for the Chicago Cubs in 1962. Buck O'Neil was posthumously awarded the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, the nation's highest civilian honor from the White House in December 2006.

ROYAL BO
Bo Jackson as a member of the Kansas City Royals, is believed to be the only athlete selected to the All-Star game in two professional sports. He was the MVP of the 1989 baseball classic and was selected for the 1990 NFL Pro Bowl. Bo was drafted by the Tampa Bay Bucaneers as the first pick in 1986, but chose to play with the KC Royals. The New York Yankees drafted Bo four years earlier as a higher school player, but he chose to go to college. Bo slammed the LONGEST HOME RUN in ROYALS STADIUM HISTORY, a 475 foot blast off Seattle's Mike Moore in 1987. Typical of Bo's dramatic moments, it was his also his FIRST major league homer! In 1989 one of the memorable moments in KC sports history, Kansas City Royal's Bo Jackson runs into the left-field corner of Seattle's Kingdome, fields Scott Bradley's liner cleanly, turns and fires a strike to catcher Bob Boone that nails Harold Reynolds at home plate.
On 8/26/1990, powerful two-sport star Bo Jackson of the Kansas City Royals returns from a six-week stay on the disabled list for a separated shoulder by unleashing a 450-foot homer on the first pitch he sees from Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners. Added to the three in a row he hit before being injured at Yankee Stadium on July 17, the prodigious clout gives Jackson an MLB record-tying four homers in four at bats. The 1985 Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn also has a double and a single in four at bats as K.C. rips Seattle, 8–2.

FIRST NIGHT BASEBALL GAMES
In 1930, it was the Kansas City Monarchs who FIRST introduced night baseball to the world when they innovated a portable lighting system. A fleet of specially fitted flatbed trucks made night games possible for the Monarchs. Each truck doubled as the base for telescoping, fifty-foot poles that held batteries of lights, powered by a noisy generator set up in center field. It was five years later that the majors installed a system of lights for night games. The Monarchs had night baseball six years before the major leagues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kansas City Beer and Baseball
While beer plays a big part of some Major League Baseball Teams like Budweiser for the St. Louis Cardinals and Miller beer of the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City has it's beer and baseball combination. Former owner of the Kansas City Blues baseball team was George Muehlebach, who also owned the Muehlebach Brewing Company. Brewed in Kansas City was Muehlebach Pilsener Beer and Boulevard Pilsener by the Muehlebach Brewing Company from 1868 to 1956 when it was acquired by Schlitz Beer (sponsors of the Kansas City Athletics!) and the KC brewery was shut down in 1973. The baseball field was named after the owner, Muehlebach Field, home of the Blues and Monarchs.

Sporting Kansas City has it's official beer starting in 2012 as Kansas City's own Boulevard Beer

GOALIE SCORES
The first professional hockey goalie to score a goal was Michel Plasse of the Kansas City Blues (Central Hockey League) on February 21, 1971.

TINY KING
In the 1972-73 season, Kansas City King's point guard, Nate "Tiny" Archibald becomes the only player to lead the NBA in both scoring (34.0 points) and assists (11.4) in the same season. Nate Archibald became the only KC King to be in the NBA Hall of Fame.

RETIRED KING NUMBERS
Kansas City Kings: Retired numbers of Kansas City Kings are Nate Archibald, #1 and Sam Lacey, #44. NBA Rookie of the Year; KC King, Phil Ford in 1979.

KANSAS CITY ATHLETES
Famous Athletes with ties to Kansas City: Marcus Allen (Chiefs football), Nate "Tiny" Archibald (Kings basketball), George Brett (Royals baseball), Len Dawson (Chiefs football), Catherine Fox (Olympic swimmer), Maurice Green (olympic track and field), Willie Lanier (Chiefs football), Satchel Paige (Monarch's baseball), Derrick Thomas (Chiefs football), "Handsome" Harley Race (wrestling), Tom Watson (golf), Lynette Woodard (basketball). Masten Gregory (aka: "The Kansas City Flash" or the original "Kansas Comet"). He was a Formula One/sports car driver from Kansas City who won Le Mans in 1965 and also was the first American to ever score a podium finish (top three) in a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix.

PLAY NINE POSITIONS
Kansas City Athletics shortstop Bert Campanaris became the first player in modern times to play all 9 positions in one game there on September 8, 1965 in a 5-3 loss to the California Angels, the same season the A's fell to an all time low of 690 fans in attendance at one afternoon game. Bert also had 649 career stolen bases.

BAD A'S DAY
At KC's Municipal Stadium, the Kansas City A's lost to the Chicago White Sox on April 22, 1959 where the White Sox scored 11 runs in ONE INNING, on just ONE HIT. The Sox fall behind 6-1 before roaring back and taking an 8-6 lead after six innings. The came the big 11-run inning. The A's make three errors, give a near-record 10 walks and hit a batter. The A's loose 20-6.

MAE ARBAUGH
Kansas City native Mae Arbaugh, a professional softball player in the first 30 years of the 20th century, surpassed Lou Gehrig’s achievement of 2,130 career games played—hers numbered 6,486.

TONI STONE
Toni Stone played Second basewoman for the Kansas City Monarch's in 1954. She was the first woman in the Negro Leagues and signed with the Monarchs for $400 a month. They hired her to be a drawing card and wanted her to wear shorts at the games, but she said "no, I came to play ball!" She batted .243 in the Negro Leagues. Toni was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. Toni was one of 3 women that played in the Negro Leagues Baseball, including Mamie "Peanut" Johnson and Connie Morgan, both of which played for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1954-55. Mamie "Peanut" Johnsn was the only woman pitcher to ever play in the Negro Leagues, compiling a 33-8 record in 3 years with the Clowns.

MAJOR MONARCHS
The Kansas City Monarchs sent the most players into Major League Baseball after the color barrier was broken. Some players from this elite group were Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Hank Thompson and Willard "Home Run" Brown.

ATHLETICS FAREWELL GAME
The Last Kansas City A's Game. The A's lost to the Yankees in New York on October 1, 1967. Mel Stottlemyre out-dueled Catfish Hunter 4-3. In 1968 the A's left Kansas City and headed west to Oakland.

NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum opens in Kansas City on Sept. 5, 1997 in the 18th & Vine District. In July 2006, Congress grants the museum status as "America's National Negro Leagues Museum".

Baseball Pioneer
J.L. Wilkinson, owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, invented Ladies Day to encourage female to attend games and to discourage males from using profanity. He also invented "Knothole" Day for children, beauty contests and night baseball. He incorporated his franchise, on May 22, 1920, naming it the "Kansas City Monarchs Baseball and Amusement Company", and issued 200 shares of stock.

KC NASCAR
NASCAR racing comes to Kansas City on Oct. 1, 2001 to the new Kansas Speedway, drawing 100,000 fans.

KANSAS CITY COLORED SHOES
From the all-leather baseball shoe in the 1880s, baseball shoes remained black or dark brown through the mid-1960s. The Kansas City A’s broke this long standing tradition in 1967 when they introduced white shoes to their already revolutionary kelly green and gold uniforms. Though club members were derided by opposing players for the new look, the A’s have worn white shoes ever since. Clubs began adopting shoes of other colors starting in the late 1960s, with solid red and solid blue being the favored hues. The team experimented with a variety of color changes between pants, jerseys and hats, between green, yellow and white. With the popularity of color televisions coming into households in the 1960's, other teams followed the A's wild splash of colors!

KC SPORTS CITY
The National Association of Collegiate Atheletes annual men's basketball tournament has roots in Kansas City, MO, going back to 1938. The N.A.I.A. headquarters is also located in the greater Kansas City area in Olathe, KS.

WORLD SERIES NIGHT GAMES
1985 World Series- Royals vs. Cardinals.
The FIRST World Series in which ALL games were played at night was in 1985. This was also the first year the American League Championship series (Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays) had gone from the best of five to the best of seven games. This series was also called the I-70 series since that interstate connected the two Missouri cities.

THREE STRIKE OUT INNING
9 Pitches, 3 Strike Outs, 1 Inning-
Jeff Montgomery is the only member of the Royals to have pitched a nine pitch, three strike-out inning.

AMOS OTIS
Amos Otis became the first Kansas City Royal to appear in an All Star Game. A.O. made a rare accomlishment by homering in his first World Series at bat when the Royals played in the 1980 Series against the Phillies. He wore #26. In the 1970 mid summer's classic, A.O. became the answer to the trivia question: Who made the throw which was part of that famous collision between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse? A.O.

ROYAL STADIUM DEBUT
Opening day for the Kansas City Royals, to play at their new stadium, Royals Stadium was on April 10, 1973. The Royals had played since their start in the old Kansas City Municipal Stadium before the new stadium was built at the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex. Before a crowd of 39,464 with an ice fishing temperature of 39 degrees, the hot Royals bats battered the Texas Rangers 12-1. Paul Splitorff was the starting and winning pitcher for the Royals. The Royals first home was Kansas City Municipal Stadium, with real grass. Royals Stadium was the FIRST stadium in the American League with all artificial turf field. The Royals players had not even practiced on artificial turf before their first home game on the unique new turf. Hometown Kansas Citian, Frank White who would in later years make the Royals team, worked with the construction crew that built Royals Stadium. Royals firstbaseman, John Mayberry hit the FINAL home run at Municipal Stadium hit the FIRST home run at the new Royals Stadium. The Royalettes dancing troupe performed in a pregame ceremony.

ROYALS STADIUM WATER FOUNTAIN SWIM
When Royals Stadium first opened, Kansas City Royals secondbaseman, Cookie Rojas and shortstop Freddie Patek promised they'd jump into the Royals Stadium water fountains when the Royals won a pennant. Then, when the Royals won their first pennant in 1976, they enjoyed their once in a lifetime pennant swim. The water fountains had lights in the water to show the spectacular water displays. Electricity had to be turned off quickly before Cookie and Freddie jumped in to water full of volts. Freddie even carried a little umbrella for his teammates amuseument.

BUCK O'NEILL BASEBALL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Kansas City Monarchs Negro League baseball veteran Buck O'Neil was posthumously honored on Oct. 25, 2007 by the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award named in his memory. Buck will be the first receipant of the award. Buck was the first black coach in MLB history, when he coached the Chicago Cubs from 1962-65. A statue of Buck was erected inside the museum in Cooperstown, New York on July 26, 2008, and the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to a worthy recipient no more than every three years.

KANSAS CITY HAMMER
Fred Williamson played defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs 1965-67. His nickname came from the karate style blows he gave to opposing team receivers. After his football career, he went into acting and starred in several movies and TV shows. Fred acted parts in M.A.S.H., Black Caesar, Hammer, an episode of Star Trek, Bronx Warriors, Starsky & Hutch, and more.

NEW ROYAL SCOREBOARD, April 8, 2008.
The Royals usher in a new era of Royals baseball at Kauffman Stadium with the debut of CrownVision - a high definition video board that is 84 feet by 105 feet. CrownVision is the largest HD videoboard in the world!

ROYALS TRADE A HALL OF FAMER
The Kansas City Royals make their very first trade on December 12, 1968 by sending Hoyt Wilhelm (future MLB Hall of Famer) to the California Angels for Ed Kirkpatrick and Dennis Paepke.

ROYALS PINE TAR GAME
On July 24, 1983, with the Kansas City Royals playing the New York Yankees, George Brett hit a ninth-inning, two-out, two-run homer off Goose Gossage that gave the Royals a 5-4 lead. Yankees manager Billy Martin came out to talk to umpire Tim McClelland. As they examined Brett's bat, McClelland ruled that Brett used excessive pine tar and called him out. An enraged Brett stormed out of the dugout to argue. The Yankees ended up winning the game 4-3. The Royals did protest, and the game was replayed on August 18, 1983, from the point of Brett's home run. There were only about 1,200 fans in attendance. Billy Martin protested by having Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry play center field and first baseman Don Mattingly play second base. Billy Martin was ejected from the game after arguing. The Royals ended up winning the Pine Tar Game 5 to 4.

ROYAL BUCKS
In 1990, the Royals $23.6 milllion payroll is the highest in baseball! George Brett's $2.2 million salary was the highest on the team, followed by Mark Davis $2.1M, Mark Gubicza $2M, and Bob Boone with $1.9M. 

TWO KC BASEBALL TEAMS
Kansas City had two pro baseball teams from 1902-1903, the Blue Stockings and Blues, and from 1913-1915 the Packers and Blues.

MONARCHS OF BASEBALL
The Kansas City Monarchs had a record of 62-17 in 1929. The .785 winning percentage that year is the highest of any Negro Leagues Baseball Team! In 1924, the first Negro World Series was played between the Kansas City Monarchs and Hilldales of Philadelphia, with the Monarchs winning in ten games. The Monarchs won league titles in: 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1950, 1953 and 1955. The won Negro World Series in 1924 and 1942.

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ATHLETICS PROMOTIONS
In an effort to increase ticket sales, the Kansas City A's owner, Charlie Finley had special promotions called "Farmers Night" and "Hot Pants Night" at KC A's games.

MONARCHS PROMOTIONS
To increase ticket sales, the KC Monarchs has promotions called "Kids Day" or "Knothole Day" (free admission for kids under 15) and "Ladies Day" or "Fannettes Day" (free admission for all ladies)

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ROYALS PROMOTIONS
In the 1970's the Kansas City Royals had "Halter Top Night".

BASEBALL CONCESSIONS AND SOUVENIRS
Kansas City Cowboys Concession Stand Favorites
In 1886, the favorite items at the concession stands at a Cowboys baseball game was pink lemonade and Hokey-Pokey's (small, flat cakes of ice cream that sold for a nickel)

Kansas City Athletics

Some of the A's concessions for the year 1956 were a frostie root beer for 15 cents, Schlitz beer or Muehlebach beer for 35 cents, Foremost Eskimo pie for 15 cents, Guy's potato chips for 15 cents, White Owl cigars for 10 cents, cushions for 15 cents, Coca Cola for 15 cents, and a Rodeo Red Hots on Butternut bun for 25 cents. 

Some of the A's souvenirs for 1957 were baseball ashtray for 75 cents, autographed baseball $3.00, autographed bat $1.00, official Athletics cap $1.00, jackets $8.50, bow ties $1.50, scarfs $1.50,  and year books 50 cents.  A season ticket for the upper stand box seat cost $194.00 for the KC A's in 1961. 

RECORD NUMBER OF PLAYERS IN A GAME
The Kansas City Royals used a Major League Record 27 players in one game on Sept. 23, 1969 in a game against the Minnesota Twins.

BASEBALL ALL STAR GAMES PLAYED IN KANSAS CITY
The 28th Major League All Star game was played in Kansas City in Municipal Stadium, on July 11, 1960, with 100 degree heat, 30,619 in attendance, with the National League winning 5 to 3. The 44th Major League All Star game was played in Kansas City in Royals Stadium, on July 24, 1973, with 40,849 in attendance, the National League won 7 to 1. The All Star Game will be played at Kauffman Stadium on July 10, 2012.

1968- NO BASEBALL IN KANSAS CITY :(
In 1968, the year after the Athletics left Kansas City to play in Oakland, and before the Kansas City Royals were formed, Kansas City did not have a baseball team, the first time since 1883! That year was also the year of the tragic assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. It was considered the year of the pitcher in MLB, with the Tigers Denny McLain winning 30 games. It was the Athletics first year in Oakland, having just moved from Kansas City, when Catfish Hunter pitched a perfect game! The A's finished at 82-80 in their first year in Oakland, the A's first winning season since when they were in Philadelphia in 1952! It was also the last year before DIVISIONAL play in MLB. (in 1969 when the Kansas City Royals joined the league, NL and AL teams were arranged into East and West divisions)

FIRST SEMI-PRO BASEBALL GAME IN KANSAS CITY
The first recorded game between two semi-pro black teams in Kansas City happened on Aug. 27, 1890, between the St. Louis Mohawks and the Kansas City Maroons at Exposition Park, with KC winning 12-2.

KANSAS CITY HORSE WINS THE DERBY
On May, 8 1938 - "Lawrin" A longshot horse from Kansas City wins the Kentucky Derby. Lawrin, owned by clothier Herbert Woolf, was raised at Woolford Farm, where he was trained by the noted Ben Jones. The jockey, Eddie Arcaro, said after the race that Lawrin was "the best horse I've ever ridden." He won the Derby by a length.

KANSAS CITY SPEED
On September 24, 2000, Maurice Greene from Kansas City, Kansas, wins the men's 100-meter dash at the Olympic Games in Australia.

KANSAS CITY STRONG MAN
Ted Strong a switch hitting shortstop and outfielder for the Kansas City Monarchs in the 1940's was one of the great players of the Negro Leagues. Mr. Strong was also a star for the Harlem Globetrotters!

SPORTS STARS IN KANSAS CITY SPOTLIGHT
International, World Class Athletes that have played in Kansas City are:

KANSAS CITY SLAM DUNK
On Nov. 13, 1979, Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins of the Philadelphia 76'ers, while playing against the Kansas City Kings at Municipal Auditorium (Kemper Arena was under repair from a storm that collapsed the roof), hits a massive dunk so hard that the backboard shatters into a thousand pieces! This is the first known shattered backboard dunk shown on television, when ESPN was a "new" 23-hour sports network. The Kings sent a $295 bill to the 76'ers for the backboard replacement. Three weeks later, Dawkins broke another backboard in Philadelphia. NBA Commissioner announced that going forward anyone who broke a backboard would be fined and suspended. Not long after, the collapsable rim was invented.

KANSAS CITY FINAL FOUR
On March 23, 1957, Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain loose 53-54 in three overtimes in the NCAA title game to North Carolina in KC's Municipal Auditorium.
On April 4, 1988, Kansas and Oklahoma play to a 50-50 halftime tie, with Danny Manning of the Jayhawks leading their team to an 83-79 NCAA Basketball Tournament Victory at KC's Kemper Arena. There have been more Final Fours played in Kansas City than any city in the country. John Wooden won his first NCAA championship in KC.

AFL Champions
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders on 1/4/1970 17-7 to win the AFL championship and go to play the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. It was the final game in AFL history. The Chiefs were the AFL's only three-time champion. Then the Chiefs went to upset the two touchdown favorite Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl 23-7. The Chiefs played in the LAST game by an AFL team. The next season, the AFL merged with the NFL. Len Dawson, quarterback of the Chiefs was the Super Bowl MVP.

TD Pack Band- Tony DiPardo "Mr Music"
Tony DiPardo's band starting playing music live at Kansas City Chiefs games when they arrived in 1963. They were originally called the Zing Band. They had a special band section in the end zone to play special music before, during and after the game. By 2008 the band was the only band playing live music in the NFL. The TD Pack Band ended after the 2008 season.

SUPER BOWL
Kansas City Chiefs founder, Lamar Hunt coined the term, "Super Bowl". Lamar picked the word "super" for the important NFL Championship Bowl game after he noticed the fantastic bounce and fun his children were having with a Wham-O "super ball". The name of the Championship game, Super Bowl did not appear on tickets for the event until Super Bowl IV, when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings. Lamar Hunt also developed the idea of giving each game a Roman numeral, which he got the idea from the Olympic games. He also adopted from the Olympics the practice of creating pins for each Super Bowl for fans to collect and trade.

RETIRED CHIEFS
Both Joe Montana and Marcus Allen retired from the NFL as Kansas City Chiefs.

FOUR STRIKE OUTS IN ONE INNING
Kevin Appier of the Kansas City Royals recorded the rare feat of 4 strike outs in one inning (during the fourth inning!) on Sept 3, 1996

HOME RUN WITH FIRST AT BAT
Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics hit a home run in his first MLB at bat on July 23, 1964, while Jon Nunnally of the Kansas City Royals also hit a homer in his first at bat on April 29, 1995.

SIX HIT GAME
The following members of the Kansas City Royals have collected six hits in one game: Bob Oliver on May 4, 1969, Kevin Seitzer on Aug. 2, 1987, and Joe Randa on Sept 9, 2004.

Kansas City Athletics and Royals Connection
Pitcher, Moe Drabowsky became known as one of the few players that played for both the Kansas City Atheltics and Kansas City Royals won the FIRST game in Royals history when the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 in 12 innings on Opening Day in 1969. In that same game, another Athletics/Royals player, Dave Wickersham, got the save. Aurelio Monteagudo and Moe Drabowsky are the other pitchers that played for the A's and Royals. That day was also Billy Martin's (former Yankee player and manager) managerial debut. The Royals were managed by Joe Gordon, who had also previously managed the Kansas City Athletics. (The Royals played two exhibition games at Municipal Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals before this first ever game) MLB Hall of Famer, Whitey Herzog played in 1958-60 with the Kansas City A's and later, was manager of the Kansas City Royals from 1975-79.

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 31-7 on Jan. 1, 1967 (the SAME day that future Chiefs star linebacker Derrick Thomas was born!) for the AFL Championship. The Chiefs lost by the score 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL-AFL Championship Game, which was later called Super Bowl I.

MONDAY NIGHT MAGIC
On Monday, Oct. 17, 1994, the Kansas City Chiefs played the Denver Broncos in Mile High Stadium. It was one of the greatest Monday Night Football games ever. It stared future Hall of Fame Quaterbacks, Joe Montana and John Elway. Elway lead the Broncos with the go ahead score late in the game. Joe Montana of the Chiefs threw a pass to Willie Davis in the end zone with 8 seconds remaining to defeat the Broncos 31-28.

SACK ATTACK CHIEF
On Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 1990, inspired by a military flyover, Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs payed tribute to his deceased father who served our country in the Air Force. DT set a single game record NFL record by sacking Seattle's Dave Kreig SEVEN times! On 9/6/98 he got 6 sacks against Oakland and got his club-record third safety of his career, which was a "called shot". On 10/7/91, he got four sacks and two forced fumbles to beat Buffalo on Monday Night Football 33-6. Derrick had a career 126 1/2 sacks, a Chiefs career record. He had 20 sacks in the 1990's, the most by any player that decade. He's caused 45 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, 4 fumble return TD's and made 3 safeties. DT joined the NFL Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, 2009.

KICK RETURN TD RECORD
In 2003, the Kansas City Chiefs Dante Hall became the first player in NFL history to return a kick or punt for a touchdown in four consecutive games! Dante (the X-Factor) set another record that season by becoming the first player in NFL history to return FIVE kicks or punts for touchdowns in the SAME season, when including the playoffs.

KANSAS CITY RESTAURANT AND SPORTS MUSEUM
For some good food and to see a large collection of Kansas City sports collection, uniforms, helmets, pennents, trophies, baseballs and other memorabilia, check out Chappell's Restaurant and Sports Museum in North Kansas City, MO.

ACADEMY FRANK
Frank White grew up in Kansas City and went to Lincoln High School, which was next to Municipal Stadium, home of the Kansas City Athletics and later Kansas City Royals. Frank was selected to join the Royals Baseball Academy at 19 yrs old. As the first and best to graduate the Academy, he became a member of the Kansas City Royals baseball team, won eight gold gloves and had his number 20 retired from the team!

LARGEST TRUMAN SPORTS COMPLEX ATTENDANCE
The largest onsite attendance at the Truman Sports Complex was on Oct. 2, 2000, with 82,893 in attendance for the Monday Night Football Game. That day 78,542 persons watched the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Seattle Seahawks 24-17 at Arrowhead Stadium, while at the same time, 4,351 fans watched a simulcast of the Chiefs game at nearby Kauffman Stadium!

 

WORLD SERIES BROTHER DUO
Who is the brother duo that includes a baseball hall of famer who played in two World Series and his brother, the youngest pitcher to ever play in a World Series game?
That's George Brett of the Kansas City Royals who played in the World Series in 1980 and 1985. George had a .373 World Series batting average. George's brother, Ken Brett of the Boston Red Sox, was 19 years and three weeks old, pitching in the World Series for Boston in 1967 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

HURRICANE CHANGES CHIEFS SCHEDULED GAME
With the approaching Hurricane Wilma headed towards South Florida in 2005, the NFL was forced to move the scheduled Sunday game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins to an earlier Friday game. The Chiefs beat the Dolpins 30-20, then quickly flew back to Kansas City.

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ATHLETICS TRADES WITH YANKEES
The New York Yankees seemed to get the best of any trades with the Kansas City Athletics. On December 11, 1959, Kansas City traded Roger Maris to the New York Yankees. In addition to Maris, the Yankees received Joe DeMaestri and Kent Hadley. Kansas City got Norm Siebern, Don Larsen, Hank Bauer, and Marv (soon to become "Marvelous") Throneberry. Roger Maris as a Yankee was the League MVP in 1960 and 1961 when he broke Babe Ruth's home run record.

OLDEST ROOKIE
In 1948, Satchel Paige, former pitcher from the Negro Leagues, Kansas City Monarchs is signed by the Cleveland Indians and becomes baseball's all-time oldest "rookie" at the age of 42.

KANSAS CITY WIZARD IN HALL OF FAME
Preki was the first player from the Kansas City Wizards to be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010. He helped the Wizards to the MLS Cup Championship in 2000, he won the League MVP twice in 1997 and in 2003 when he was 40 years old. He was the first person to reach the 50 goal, 50 assist mark. He finished his career with 79 goals and 112 assists in regular season play. Preki also played for the USA National Team, scoring 4 goals, including one that beat Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup. He appeared in two World Cup Matches. The only other player with the Wizards in the Hall of Fame is defender Alexi Lalas, who spent 1999 with the club.

NFL Overall No. 1 Pick
Through at least 2010, the Kansas City Chiefs have had the number one overall pick in the NFL draft only once. It occurred back in 1963. The number one pick in the draft from the Kansas City Chiefs was Buck Buchanan, a defensive tacke from Grambling.

1923 Baseball in Kansas City
The most popular outdoor sport in Kansas City in 1923 was baseball. The greater Kansas City area had 400 amateur and semi-pro baseball teams. It has TWO professional baseball teams, the Kansas City Blues and Kansas City Monarchs. Although illegal, Muehlebach Beer built a new baseball stadium at 22nd and Brooklyn Ave, by hometown Beer Baron, George Muehlebach. The stadium was named Muehlebach Stadium, and opened on July 3, 1923 with a seating capacity of 17,500. Around town, twenty-five cents would get you a cold, 12-oz. draw of Michelob beer and a marijuana cigarette.

The Kansas City Speedway
In 1923 more popular than baseball, was auto racing. At 95th Street and Troost (at the end of town), the Kansas City Speedway was built. The oval track had a wooden surface. 60,000 fans crowded into an area made hold only 40,000. The rule was that if a car didn't average 100 miles per hour in four laps, they were disqualified.

Kansas City Blues Baseball
The Blues were considered one of the best minor league baseball teams as part of the American Association. In 1901 the Kansas City Blues team was used to form the Washington (Nationals) and Senators, who then moved to become the Minnesota Twins in 1960. There are two KC Blues teams in the Top 100 Minor League Baseball Teams of all time, the 1929 Blues with a 111-56 record who ranked #28 and the 1939 Blues with a 107-47 record. The Blues became a farm team of the New York Yankees in 1936. On the 1939 team were Vince DiMaggio, Billy Hitchcock, Jerry Priddy and more. Blues shortstop, Phil Rizzuto was named the 1940 Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News Magazine. The Blues won the Junior World Series in 1929. They won the AA Championship five times in the 1930s and 1940s. When the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955, the Blues moved to Denver, CO.

Kansas City "City Championship" of Baseball
The Kansas City Blues and Kansas City Monarchs met twice in a "City Championship". In the Fall of 1921, the Blues won the series 4 games to 2. In 1922, the Monarchs won the series 5 games to 1.

BEST AFL TEAM
The Kansas City Chiefs franchise (includes the Dallas Texans) is the winniest team in the brief history of the American Football League. The Chiefs all time, BEST AFL winning percentage was .644 from 87 wins, 48 losses and 5 ties. This includes: 1962 Western Division Champions, 1962 AFL Champions, 1966 Western Division Champions, 1966 AFL Champions, 1969 AFL Champions, 1969 World Champions of Super Bowl IV.

"Elephant Backfield"
One of Kansas City Chiefs coach Hank Strams designed plays, included an "elephant backfield" formations, which included TWO FULLBACKS, which included Jack Spikes (also a kicker), Abner Haynes or Johnny Robinson (later changed from offense to defense-safety)

Chiefs First NFL Opponent
After the Kansas City Chiefs lost Super Bowl I against the Green Bay Packers, their first NFL team opponent, was the Chicago Bears, who came to KC's Municipal Stadium, where the Chiefs beat in an exhibition game 66-24 in 1967.

65 TOSS POWER TRAP
The famous play call by Kansas City Chiefs head coach, Hank Stram in Super Bowl IV was, "65 toss power trap"....where Gloster Richardson ran into the huddle with this play, and Len Dawson handed off to running back Mike Garrett, who scored a touchdown on the play.

REDWOOD FOREST
The strong defensive of the Kansas City Chiefs who helped win Super Bowl IV, was nicknamed the "Redwood Forest". The Chiefs' defense became the fourth defense in the history of pro football to lead its league in fewest rushing yards, fewest passing yards and fewest total yards. The Chiefs were the second AFL team to win the Super Bowl and last AFL team to do so before the AFL-NFL merger.

BIG CHIEF
One of the TALLEST persons to play in the NFL was the Kansas City Chiefs Tight End, Morris Stroud, listed as 6 ft 10 inches, who was with the Chiefs from 1969-1974.

The Kingbirds of Kauffman Stadium
Maybe you've seen them, if not take a look next game at Kauffman Stadium for the Western Kingbirds. Look around the cables that hold the screen behind home plate. They've been seen at the stadium for a few years now, around 2010-11. At Kauffman Stadium, the kingbirds begin nesting in early April but head south by August. Isn't it appropriate that a bird called a "King" chooses to raise its young at the Home of the Kansas City Royals?

Kansas City Monarchs Opening Day and Miss Monarch Beauty Contests
The first Miss Monarch Beauty Contest was held July 2, 1939, with 35 contestants before the double-header between the KC Monarchs and the Chicago American Giants, with the Monarchs winning both games. First place money was $25. Churches would let out early to promote the Monarchs parade, which was held each year on opening day. Some churches would even close. All the stores in town would have a cut on clothes because the Monarchs were in town. Women wore hats as big as wash tubs. The parade would be from 18th Street to 27th and Brooklyn.

Thank you Jesus.
Sammie Haynes played catcher for the Kansas City Monarchs 1943-45, and played with Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige. Sammie recalled if the Lord had come down and said, "Sammie, would you rather go to Heaven or Kansas City?" he would have said, "Lord, I'll see you later, but I right now I want to go to Kansas City." He sat on the bus floor just like other rookies. Sightless in later years, he founded the International Society of Athletes.

Cost of Living for a Monarch
Melvin Duncan, a pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1949-51 and 1954-55 signed with the Monarchs for $300 a month and $3.00 a day for meal money. Duncan recalls "Beer was like 15 or 20 cents, but that still was a lot going out of your pocket. You had to eat one meal, skip one, and then maybe at night eat a sandwich and go to bed early, so you wake just in time for coffee." Melvin would also eat at Dicks Down Home Cook Shop in Kansas City. For three nickels you got their "Not Very Hungry" entree, for two dimes you got their "Hungry" entry and for two bits (25 cents) you got their "Very Hungry" gourmet spread.

Scoring a Touchdown Five Different Ways!
Johnny Robinson is the only member of the Kansas City Chiefs to score a touchdown in five different ways. He has scored a touchdown during his career by rushing, receiving, fumble return, interception and punt/kickoff return. Johnny started his career with the Chiefs as a running back, but is well known for his stellar career as a safety!

KINGS of the NBA
Cotton Fitzsimmons of the Kansas City Kings won the Coach of the Year for the 1978-79 National Basketball Association season. That same season, Phil Ford of the Kings won the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Nate "Tiny" Archibald of the Kings lead the NBA in assists, with 11.4 ave per game for the 1972-73 season. Nate Archibald is in the NBA Hall of Fame.

SUPER BOWL IN KANSAS CITY
In 2006, Kansas City was awarded Super Bowl XLIX, but a vote for a rolling roof to be put over Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadiums was voted down, eliminating that possibility.

Kansas City Midwest and World Champs
As it stands as of 2011, of the city's three major league teams, each has won its league championship once and all have occurred against a Midwest rival, the KC Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings, the KC Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals and the KC Wizards beat the Chicago Fire.

Enos Slaughter of the Kansas City Athletics lead MLB with 16 pinch hits in 1955, had a .322 BA in 267 at-bats at the age of 39. 

Johnny Wyatt of the KC Athletics is the first pitcher in MLB to appear in at least half of his teams games, 81 in 162 during the 1964 season. 

Bill Fischer of the KC A's pitches a MLB record 84 1/2 consecutive innings without issuing a walk in 1962.

Jack Aker of the KC A's records 32 saves and sets a new MLB record in 1966.

Amos Otis of the KC Royals sets a new AL stolen base percentage record of .943 by stealing 33 out of 35 attempts in 1970. 

In three straight seasons in the 1970's, the Kansas City Royals had players who led the league in doubles, Amos Otis with 40 in '76, Hal McRae with 54 in 77 and George Brett with 45 in '78. 

SHORT AND TALL KC

When Freddie Patek played for the KC Royals, he was the shortest player in MLB at 5 foot and 4 inches.  At the same time, Morris Stroud of the KC Chiefs was the tallest at 6 feet 10 inches. 

Dan Quisenberry was the first KC Royals pitcher to win a World Series game, as he earned a win in Game 3 of the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Bret Saberhagen has the most wins in one season with the KC Royals, with 23 in 1989.  Bret was the first Royals pitcher to start a MLB All Star game. 

The first member of the KC Royals to hit thee homers in one game was Danny Tartabull, who did it on July 6, 1991. 

The first native of Kansas City to win at least 20 games in a season was David Cone. 

The KC Royals were the first American League expansion team to win a World Series, doing so in 1985. 

In 1980, Royals first baseman, Willie Aikens was the first player to hit two homers in a World Series game, twice in the same series, hitting a pair of homers on Oct 14th (on his 26th birthday too) and again on Oct 18th, 1980.

Royals reliever, Dan Quisenberry was the first one to earn the Rolaids Relief Award four years in a row, 1982-1985. 

In 2004, Carlos Beltran of the Royals was selected to the AL All Star game team, but was traded to the NL Houston Astros prior to the mid summer classic.  Thus he became the first player ever to be selected for one All Star team but played for another.  

Frank White of the Royals batted .545 in the AL Championship series in sweeping the New York Yankees, earning him the ALCS MVP award. 

No catcher stole more bases in a single season than KC Royals John Wathan, who stole 36 in 1982. 

KC Royals Bret Saberhagen was the first Royals pitcher to win a Gold Glove award, doing so in 1989. 

In 1994, designated hitter of the Royals, Bob Hamelin became the first DH to win the Rookie of the Year award. 

When the KC Royals played the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 Fall Classic, it was the first time the entire World Series was played on artificial turf. 

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Jesse Owens ran in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.  Returning home, Jesse joined the Kansas City Monarchs and ran exhibition matches prior to games against all comers, including college students, automobiles, motorcycles, and horses.  To keep the legend of Monarchs Cool Papa Bell being the fastest, Owens refused to race against the speedy center fielder. 

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Bloomer Girls Clubs were named for the harem pants invented by Amelia Jenks Bloomer in the 1850s, started up in Boston, New York and Kansas City and barnstormed successfully for many years.  Each "Bloomer" team would field one to three men. Oddly enough, womens teams seldom played against each other, but typically competed against other mens teams, semi-pro, college and minor teams.  The Western Bloomer Team was one of the most famous teams, which was based out of Kansas City, KS. 

Larry Giroux played in his career for many teams, but he is the only one to have played for THREE different hockey teams from Kansas City, the NHL KC Scouts, KC Blues and KC Red Wings.