Today, the famous Kansas City Monarchs brand lives on in independent baseball.

Its legacy was revived in 2021 after the Kansas City T-Bones rebranded to the Monarchs, in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

“We want this next generation of baseball fans, particularly in Kansas City, to understand just how significant the Kansas City Monarchs were,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Before the rebrand, the T-Bones originally came to Kansas City in 2003. The T-Bones won league championships in 2008 and 2018.

The Northern League championship in 2008 included former Royal Ken Harvey, who hit 12 home runs and drove in 45 runs. Jim Fasano led the team with 20 home runs and 84 RBIs in 94 games.

Following a loss in the 2010 championship series, the T-Bones moved to the American Association of Professional Baseball.

The T-Bones ended a seven-year playoff drought and tasted championship glory once again in 2018. Starting pitcher Tommy Collier led the league with 12 wins and 140 strikeouts.

After the 2021 rebrand, the team revived the Monarchs name and won the league championship.

The 2021 championship came after cruising through the regular season with a 69-31 record. Back-to-back three-game sweeps in the playoffs delivered the organization’s third championship.

The rebrand has allowed for more excitement and education about the history of the original Monarchs.

“Now that brand is living
again. We are seeing more
kids walking around wearing
Kansas City Monarchs gear
than ever before.”

Bob Kendrick, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president

MLB veterans Pete Kozma and 2021 World Series champion Matt Adams joined the team in 2022. Adams, a designated hitter, led the team with 27 home runs before being released in August. Kozma started 83 games as a surehanded shortstop.

Matt Hall led the pitching staff with a league-best 1.09 ERA with a 10-2 record, helping the Monarchs to the best regular season record before falling in the first round of the playoffs.