A ballpark once stood here
Memories of 22nd and Brooklyn
When I was a child, we stopped in Kansas City and visited Municipal Stadium. We parked in a lot on 22nd Street and my father and I walked across the street to the stadium. It was a late morning and surprisingly, we were able to gain access to the stadium. We walked up a ramp and through a tunnel that overlooked the field. As we emerged from the tunnel, my senses were blown away by the vivid colors or green, red, and yellow. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my young life.
The field was dressed for football season and a lone groundskeeper, most likely George Toma, labored below us. I’ve written about this before, how it was my Wizard of Oz moment, where my life turned from black and white to technicolor. I’d come from western Kansas, where everything turned brown in July and stayed that way until April. Municipal Stadium was amazing.
On a recent road trip, my daughter and I retraced those early steps. We too parked in the lot off 22nd and walked across the street to a park, that now tells the story of the stadium that once stood there.
The park stands at what used to be the right-field corner of the ballpark. It’s tastefully done with a nice sign giving the history of the stadium and has a series of six-foot-tall displays of various football and baseball stars who once plied their trade on Municipals’ green grass. There’s Satchel Paige, Buck O’Neil, and Jackie Robinson from the Monarchs. Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, and Otis Taylor for the Chiefs, John Wyatt stands for the Athletics while Amos Otis and John Mayberry represent the Royals.
The neighborhood is quiet and clean. I stood there, looking to the west and downtown and in my mind’s eye, imagined the stadium as it used to be. The area has more hills than I recalled. It’s an attractive little park. After we left, I got to thinking about the players represented. I have no quarrel with the three Chiefs recognized but wish they would have made room for Len Dawson. The Chiefs of that era had so many deserving candidates: Hank Stram, Buck Buchanan, Ed Podolak, Jan Stenerud, and Emmitt Thomas all come to mind, but Dawson should absolutely be there.
For the Athletics, Wyatt is a fine choice. He had 5 ½ good years with the Athletics, which included an All-Star appearance in 1964, a season in which he appeared in a league-leading 81 games. Who else would you included from the Athletics? They played at Municipal for 13 seasons, but most players were only around for five years or less, given the teams propensity to make trades, mostly bad ones. Catfish Hunter? Bert Campaneris? Bob Cerv or Vic Power? Both of those guys had some moments. Norm Siebern had four excellent years. Ed Charles played for 5+ seasons and was as good as anyone. Roger Maris could have been the guy if they’d been smart enough to hang onto him. So, Wyatt it is.
The Monarch choices are spot on. You can’t argue about Satchel, Jackie or Buck. A plaque for Hilton Smith or Bullet Rogan or even J.L. Wilkinson would also be appropriate.
For the Royals, it was a little light, with just Amos and Big John. Those guys were 100% the right choices as they both ascended to stardom at Municipal. Freddie Patek could have a seat at the table. Maybe Dick Drago, Lou Piniella or Roger Nelson. People forget how dominant Roger Nelson was in 1972, the last season the Royals played at Municipal.
Nelson had been the Royals’ first choice in the expansion draft and had battled arm problems his entire career before it all came together in 1972. First, he had to make the club, in the bullpen no less, out of spring training as the Royals were prepared to give up on him. They didn’t even put him in the starting rotation until early July and he only made 19 starts that summer, but my lord, did he make the most of them. He threw a club record six shutouts, a record which will never be broken. He set still-standing club records for starting pitcher ERA, WHIP and hits-per-nine innings. Of the complete games he threw that summer, he allowed just three hits twice, and threw a two-hitter and a one-hitter.
He pitched the final Royals game at Municipal on October 4 against the Rangers, allowing just two measly singles to Ted Ford. He struck out six and shut down Texas by the score of 4-0. Royals good luck charm Don Denkinger, who was manning the third base line when they played the first Royals game at Municipal on April 8 of 1969, was the first base umpire for this one. Only 7,329 fans came out that night to say goodbye to the stadium.
The Royals only spent four seasons at Municipal. In memory, it seems longer. The 1971 Royals surprised the baseball world by going 85-76, good for a second place finish in the American League West, behind our former team, the Oakland/Sacramento/Vegas A’s, who won an impressive 101 games that summer. Those baby Royals finished with the fourth-best record in the American League. That would have easily gotten them a Wild Card spot in today’s world.
Back in 1971, there were 24 teams total, 12 in the American and 12 in the National League. Today we have 30 teams. The talent was more condensed in those days. The way I figure it, comparing 2024 to 1971, we’ve now got 150 players in the majors who in those days would have been in AAA. And I’m guessing we could easily pick out 150 players in today’s game who should be back in AAA.
A lot of history went down at 22nd and Brooklyn. The Monarchs won the first World Title for the city with their triumph in the 1924 Negro League World Series. Lou Gehrig played his last game in Municipal in 1939. Jackie Robinson played a season here. Lamar Hunt moved the Dallas Texans to Municipal in 1963 and they thrilled crowds for a decade. The Beatles played here in 1964, one of Charlie O. Finley’s more successful stunts. Early Wynn won his 300th game at Municipal and one crazy night, Bert Campaneris played all nine positions. The Chiefs and the Dolphins played the longest game in professional football history on this field on Christmas Day 1971. That was the last football game ever played in Municipal, and the outcome broke my, and many others, hearts.
And who can forget Charlie O. Finley’s obsession with animals? Finley installed a small zoo beyond the right field fence, stocked with goats, sheep and a shepherd. How’d you like to have had that job? He had a mechanical rabbit, named Harvey who would pop up behind home plate, often startling opposing players, and deliver balls to the home plate umpire. Finley brought in a Missouri mule, named appropriately Charlie O. The mule replaced the Athletics previous mascot, an Elephant. I wouldn’t be surprised if Finley had tried to get a live elephant and reverted to a mule when calmer heads rejected the elephant idea.
Let’s revisit that Chiefs-Dolphins game. I couldn’t stand on this grass and not think about that day. The Chiefs were a dynasty in decline. Miami was a dynasty on the rise. Both teams were loaded with future Hall of Fame players and coaches. I count eight players for the Chiefs in the Hall and another, Otis Taylor, who should be. The Dolphins fielded five future Hall of Famers, and like the Chiefs, had a handful of players who are in the Hall of Very, Very Good.
At the age of 11, I was already a die-hard Chiefs fan. We finished an early turkey dinner at my grandparents’ house and settled in to watch another Chiefs win. My grandfather’s team, the Cowboys, had punched their Super Bowl ticket earlier in the day, so it was a festive mood at their house. We dreamed of a Dallas-KC Super Bowl for family bragging rights.
The Chiefs got off to a promising start, jumping to a 10-0 lead after one quarter. The Dolphins evened the score at ten for the half. The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns before Ed Podolak scored in the fourth to give the Chiefs a 24-17 lead. Miami drove down the field and tied the score on a Bob Griese to Marv Fleming pass with 1:25 left on the clock. Podolak, who had the game of a lifetime, returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards before being pushed out of bounds on the Miami 22. The Chiefs played it conservatively and brought on Stenerud for the 32-yard chip shot. I was already doing a victory dance when Jan pushed the kick wide. Unbelievable. Stenerud never missed 32-yard field goals, but in the biggest moment of his career, he missed that one.
It was a painful lesson about karma. Don’t celebrate too early. The Cleveland Browns defense should take note of this.
The teams traded blows in the first overtime, with Stenerud missing another short kick, this one from 42 yards. Miami kicker Garo Yepremian came up short on a 52-yard kick. Whew.
The teams traded possessions in the second overtime before Larry Csonka ripped off a 29-yard run through an exhausted Chiefs defense. Miami brought out Yepremian again, this time for a 37-yard kick. Garo put it through the uprights to end the 82-minute marathon. What a game. It remains one of the greatest games in NFL history and what a way to close out the football chapter of Municipal.
Podolak was otherworldly that day. The Iowa product ran for 85 yards. He had 110 yards in receptions and 155 yards in returns. His 350 all-purpose yards is still an NFL playoff record and the fourth-highest total in NFL history for one game. He almost single-handedly won the game for Kansas City. Nick Buoniconti, the Dolphin’s undersized middle linebacker, had 20 tackles. For Miami, this game marked the beginning of their dynasty.
For the Chiefs, it was the end. They moved to Arrowhead for the 1972 season and looked old. The fact is, they were old. Dawson was 37. Jim Tyrer, Ed Budde, Dave Hill, Buck Buchanan and Bobby Bell were all on the wrong side of 30. The team wouldn’t return to the Super Bowl until 2019. For Chief fans, this 2019-2024 run has been the best of times. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, because someday soon, this team will also get old. Travis Kelce will age out. Chris Jones will start to lose his dominance, and yes, even Patrick Mahomes will lose his mojo.
Royals Stadium, now Kauffman, opened for the 1973 season. At the time, it was the most futuristic park in Major League Baseball, and quite possibly the world. No one else had a scoreboard like that. The water spectacular, as it was called, was another first. The sightlines were wonderful, and the stadium had ample parking and was easy to get in and out of. The stadium still looks and plays great.
Despite that, the team will move downtown, and soon. I understand the motivation. I’ve looked over the proposed sites and yes, I can imagine a stadium in each of them. When that happens, we’ll miss Kauffman, but soon grow fond of the new ballpark. It’s hard for me to believe but Kauffman is now older than Municipal. Municipal opened for business July 3, 1923, and the Royals played their last game there in 1972. The stadium sat unused for a few years, slowly declining into the earth, before being razed in 1976.
In the year 2074, another man will take his children out to a park where Interstate 70 meets Blue Ridge Cutoff. He’ll point out to his children that a stadium once stood to the west. Maybe the water fountains will still be there, settled amidst a new housing development or a shopping center or maybe a casino. He’ll tell them stories about how his father took him to his first game at this location and what a marvelous stadium it was. Time is a river that only flows in one direction.