1962 East-West Game (Negro League)

The 1962 East-West Game was the thirty-sixth East-West Game, in its thirtieth consecutive year, and the last in the series. Played on Sunday August 26, 1962, it was held in Kansas City's Municipal Statdium, the only time that Kansas City hosted an East-West Game.

The West, consisting of players for the Kansas City Monarchs and Memphis Red Sox defeated the East squad, which consisted of players from the Birmingham Black Barons and Harlem Stars, by a 5 to 2 score. Kansas City's Willie Hendrick hit the games only home run in the 2nd. West starter Sherman Cottingham got the victory, and Robert Hollaway was charged with the loss. The East team committed five errors in the game, leading to four unearned runs for the West.

In the middle of the fifth inning, a ceremony was held at home plate to honor recent Hall of Fame inductee Jackie Robinson, who had played in the 1945 East-West classic in his only Negro leagues season for the Monarchs. Satchel Paige and several other former Monarchs were also recognized.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
East	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		2	8	5
West	0	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	x		5	8	2

• Homeruns:
  • West: Willie Hardwick, KC
  • East: none

• Winning Pitcher: Sherman Cottingham, KC
• Losing Pitcher: Robert Holloway, Har

The game received little notice in the press, either before or after the game. Most pre-game reports noted that the game was to be held in Kansas City for the first time, and only the Kansas City Call reported game rosters, and then only partial rosters. The game itself was reported briefly in the hometown Kansas City Star and in the Chicago Daily Defender. Other than that, it was almost entirely ignored by the press.

Sources

• Kansas City Star, August 28, 1962
• Chicago Defender, August 28, 1962