1901
Born February 14, 1901
Kansas City, MO, USA
Frank Duncan Marquee
b. February 14, 1901 · Chicago Giants 1920–1921, Kansas City Monarchs 1921–1934, 1937–1938, 1941–1945, Harlem Stars 1931, Homestead Grays 1932, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1932, New York Cubans 1935–1936, Chicago American Giants 1937–1938, 1940
Frank Duncan caught for the Kansas City Monarchs through the 1920s and 1930s and managed them afterwards, including the years when Satchel Paige was on the roster and the club was the best-known Black team in the country.
He was behind the plate for the Monarchs when they won the first Negro League World Series in 1924, and again for the pennant winners of the 1940s. Spells with the Chicago Giants, the Homestead Grays, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the New York Cubans and the Chicago American Giants filled the gaps, and he was picked for East-West All-Star games in 1938, 1943 and 1944, by which point he was in his forties. His son, also Frank Duncan, pitched in the same leagues.
Born in Kansas City in 1901, Duncan batted .255 with 724 hits across 915 recorded games. Duncan died in December 1973.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 3 | 1938, 1943, 1944 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | COG | 16 | 47 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .149 |
| 1921 | COG/KCM | 81 | 249 | 26 | 62 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 1 | 5 | .249 |
| 1922 | KCM | 75 | 267 | 45 | 62 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 28 | 3 | 4 | .232 |
| 1923 | KCM | 91 | 346 | 60 | 89 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 38 | 0 | 13 | .257 |
| 1924 | KCM | 68 | 235 | 51 | 62 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 27 | 4 | 7 | .264 |
| 1925 | KCM | 51 | 146 | 22 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 2 | .233 |
| 1926 | KCM | 57 | 166 | 32 | 47 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 25 | 2 | 3 | .283 |
| 1927 | KCM | 20 | 56 | 10 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .393 |
| 1928 | KCM | 49 | 150 | 18 | 41 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 3 | .273 |
| 1929 | KCM | 45 | 140 | 27 | 48 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 19 | 0 | 7 | .343 |
| 1930 | KCM | 53 | 162 | 33 | 58 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 21 | 3 | 2 | .358 |
| 1931* | HAR/KCM | 22 | 69 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .246 |
| 1932 | HG/KCM/PC | 37 | 103 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | .223 |
| 1933* | KCM | 4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .308 |
| 1934* | KCM | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .125 |
| 1935 | NYC | 35 | 109 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .202 |
| 1936 | NYC | 40 | 130 | 16 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | .231 |
| 1937 | CAG/KCM | 51 | 154 | 22 | 35 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 2 | .227 |
| 1938 | CAG/KCM | 34 | 106 | 19 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 3 | .255 |
| 1940 | CAG | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1941 | KCM | 15 | 41 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .244 |
| 1942 | KCM | 12 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .120 |
| 1943 | KCM | 19 | 43 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | .140 |
| 1944 | KCM | 20 | 37 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | .216 |
| 1945 | KCM | 15 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .176 |
| Major leagues | — | 885 | 2748 | 416 | 702 | 116 | 28 | 14 | 344 | 321 | 23 | 59 | .255 |
| All seasons | — | 915 | 2838 | 432 | 724 | 119 | 30 | 14 | 352 | 331 | 26 | 65 | .255 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For Frank Duncan, that is 1931–1934. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1973
Died December 4, 1973
Image: 1924_Negro_League_World_Series.jpg, public domain