Local organization provides teens a safe place for after-school activities
31 August 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Kansas African-American Museum hosted an event highlighting the history of Negro League Baseball in Wichita.
Phil S. Dixon was the featured keynote speaker who is an author and historian of NLB.
During the event, Dixon talked about the importance of knowing the history of black baseball in Wichita and how some of the players paved the way for many athletes across the state in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Monrovians were the all-black semi-professional baseball team in Wichita during the 1920s, which had multiple players move onto other Negro League teams like the Kansas City Monarchs and the Homestead Grays. The Monrovians played in a historic baseball game against the Ku Klux Klan in 1925, beating the KKK baseball team 10-8.
Traveling and speaking to people about the players has been a special way to keep the memories of these legends going.
“It’s just been my honor to talk about these wonderful players who made baseball better for all of us (and) who were forgotten. And so I have been able to spend my life talking about these guys, and it’s really enriched my personal life.” Phil S. Dixon said.
Trying to bridge the gap between the older generation of baseball fans to the younger generation tends to be a challenge in getting people to relate to the history of the sport. Having the stories be told in a way that is impactful and can leave an impression on someone continues to motivate Dixon while he’s writing his books.
“Being able to articulate that story to a completely different generation and a way that they can understand it and make it relevant to their life today, and that’s kind of what I try to do, and that’s the reason I hooked into baseball early on is because people made it relevant to me,” said Dixon.
Dixon has written 10 books, with his latest featuring the 1910 “Leland Giants,” who won over 120 games with six losses that season and was one of the most talented teams in the sport at that time.
Phil S. Dixon literature (KSN Photo)
Dixon also was a co-founder of the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1990.