Frank Lee Duncan Jr (February 14, 1901 – December 4, 1973) was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

from 1920 to 1948. He was primarily a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

for the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930 ...

, handling their pitching staff for over a decade. While playing part-time, he managed the Monarchs to two pennants in 1942 and 1946; he managed the Monarchs for the longest of all managers in team history with six and he won 281 games as skipper, a club record. He caught two

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s with the Monarchs, in 1923 and 1929.

Playing career

Duncan broke in with the 1920

Chicago Giants The Chicago Giants were a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois which played in the Negro leagues from 1910 to 1921. History The team was founded by Frank Leland after he and his partner, Rube Foster, split up the Leland Gian ...

, forcing John Beckwith to move from catcher to shortstop. He hit just .161. In 1921, Duncan moved to the Monarchs and batted .250/.295/.277 (BA/OBP/SLG) for the combined season. In 1922, Duncan improved to .235/.317/.313 at the plate and was credited with 22 sacrifice hits to lead the Negro National League in that category. He led the NNL's catchers in fielding percentage (.984) and assists (91). In 1923, he batted .257/.332/.332 and fielded .960 while batting second for the pennant-winning Monarchs. That winter, he played for one of the most famous

Cuban Winter League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...

teams ever, the 1923–1924 Santa Clara Leopardos. He batted .336 and slugged .401 for the club, which won the pennant with a 36–11 record. Duncan batted .267/.358/.332 in 1924, helping the Monarchs to the second of their three consecutive pennants. He was batted only .139 (5 for 36) in the

1924 Colored World Series The 1924 in baseball, 1924 Colored World Series was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League (1920–31), Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale Club, Hilldale. In a te ...

, won by the Monarchs in 10 games. Despite the low batting average, one of his most memorable moments as a player came in Game Eight when he singled the tying and winning runs home in a dramatic ninth-inning comeback victory by his team. The play was notable because veteran catcher

Louis Santop Louis Santop Loftin (January 17, 1889 – January 22, 1942) was an American baseball catcher in the Negro leagues. He became "one of the earliest superstars" and "black baseball's first legitimate home-run slugger" (Riley), and was elected to the B ...

had dropped Duncan's foul pop-up one pitch before, and his key hit went through shortstop

Biz Mackey James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), P ...

's legs. Both Mackey and Santop were considered great defensive players, though Santop's best defensive days were behind him. Duncan hit only .200 for Santa Clara in the winter of 1924. In 1925, the catcher slipped to .222 for the Monarchs. He went 3 for 21 in the playoffs and 4 for 21 in the 1925 Negro World Series. He again had a huge moment in the series, with a great tag on Otto Briggs at home in the 11th inning of game one. Duncan batted .247 in 1926. In June, he was in the middle of a fight when he collided with John Hines. During the melee, he was struck on the back of the head by the butt of a policeman's pistol. While Duncan was down,

Jelly Gardner Floyd "Jelly Roll" Gardner (September 27, 1895 - March 28, 1977) was a baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played infield and outfield from 1919 to 1933, primarily for the Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago ...

kicked him in the mouth with his spikes. In the winter of 1926–1927, Duncan batted .276 and slugged .328 in the

California Winter League California Winter League is a former baseball winter league. It was the first integrated league in the 20th century as players from Major League Baseball and Negro league baseball played each other in training games. The league was in existence f ...

. In 1927, the Kansas City native hit .395 while splitting time with T.J. Young. Had he qualified, he would have ranked 4th in the NNL in batting average. Duncan took part in a memorable tour of Japan by Negro league players that year; the blackball stars won 23 games, tied once and lost none. The fall trip included stops in Hawaii, China, Russia and the Philippines. In the winter of 1927–1928, Duncan was 8-for-21 with two doubles in the California Winter League. In 1928, Duncan batted just .182. With Cienfuegos that winter, he hit .265 and slugged .434. His 8 stolen bases were second on the team behind

Cool Papa Bell James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's sp ...

. Duncan hit .346 in 1929. That winter, he hit .250 for Cienfuegos and slugged .369. Duncan hit .370 in 1930, tying for third in the NNL behind only

Mule Suttles George "Mule" Suttles (March 31, 1901 – July 9, 1966) was an American first baseman and outfielder in Negro league baseball, most prominently with the Birmingham Black Barons, St. Louis Stars and Newark Eagles. Best known for his power hitting ...

and

Willie Wells Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "The Devil," was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America. Wells was a fast ...

. He was 5 for 13 with a triple for Cienfuegos in the 1930 CWL before the season was cut short. In the ''Campeonato Unico'' that replaced the CWL that year, he hit .276 with no extra-base hits in 29 AB for the Cienfuegos club. Duncan hit .297 in 1931 in the Negro leagues. He moved to the

Pittsburgh Crawfords The Pittsburgh Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team, previously known as the Crawford Colored Giants, was named after the Crawford Bath House, a recr ...

in 1932 but only managed a .211 mark.

Later career

In 1935, Duncan had a .102 batting average for the

New York Cubans The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in ...

. He followed with a .239 average in 1936 and was 0 for 3 in an exhibition against the Cincinnati Reds. In 1937, Duncan returned to Kansas City and hit .173. In the final postseason series, he was 3 for 17. He went 2 for 12 in exhibitions against white major leaguers that fall. Duncan came back in 1938. He hit .247 for Kansas City and .378 for Chicago. His 4 triples led the Negro American League. In the 1938 East-West Game, he was 0-for-1 with a walk as the West's starting catcher and #7 hitter in a 5–4 win. He started a double play with a pick-off of Sammy T. Hughes during the game. Larry Brown took over behind the plate for Duncan. In 1939, Duncan played for a semipro team.

Managerial career

He became Kansas City's playing manager in 1942, leading them to a league title, and then won the

1942 Negro World Series The Negro World Series was a best-of-seven match-up between the Negro American League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Negro National League champion Washington-Homestead Grays. In a six-game series, the Monarchs swept the Grays four game ...

, sweeping the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuo ...

four games to none. Duncan was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

after the 1942 season. He became a sergeant in the 371st Infantry Regiment of the 92nd Division. He showed off his precision by hitting 31 bull's eyes in 32 shots in rapid firing from 200 yards, a marksmanship record. He was honorably discharged early in 1943 and returned to manage the Monarchs in 1943 before the season began. In 1944, at 43 years old, he hit .144, and the Monarchs finished last for the first time in their history, having lost much of their best players to the war. He was

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

's first professional manager the following season. Duncan led Kansas City to the

1946 Negro World Series In the 1946 Negro World Series, the Newark Eagles, champions of the Negro National League, beat the Kansas City Monarchs, champions of the Negro American League, four games to three. Summary Matchups Game 1 Game 1 matched Hilton Smith for Ka ...

, which they lost in seven games to the

Newark Eagles The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley. History Formation The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark Dodg ...

. He retired from managing after the 1947 season, turning over managerial responsibilities to

Buck O'Neil John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) 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 became the first Afric ...

. He umpired in the NAL for a couple of years while also running a tavern after leaving baseball.

Personal life

Duncan was married to noted blues singer Julia Lee. She frequently performed in all-white nightclubs, and Duncan had to sit with the orchestra, pretending to be a musician, in order to see her perform. Duncan played alongside his son, pitcher Frank Duncan III, in 1941, and they are thought to have been the first father-son

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

in professional baseball history. Duncan went 0-for-4 against

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

and

Ken Heintzelman Kenneth Alphonse Heintzelman (October 14, 1915 – August 14, 2000) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played all or part of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1937–42 and 1946–47) and Philad ...

in exhibitions in 1941.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
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Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Frank 1901 births 1973 deaths Chicago Giants players Kansas City Monarchs players Negro league baseball managers New York Cubans players Pittsburgh Crawfords players Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri African Americans in World War II United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers African-American United States Army personnel