Hilldale featured three future Hall of Famers—catcher, Biz Mackey, third baseman, Judy Johnson, and 35-year-old backup catcher and pinch hitter, Louis Santop.
In 1925, the NNL, which played in the Midwestern and Southern United States, held a split season championship, with 50 games scheduled for each half.
St. Louis won the second game 6–3, behind the pitching of Roosevelt Davis and excellent plays in the field by Willie Wells, Cool Papa Bell, and Branch Russell.
[22] Kansas City evened the series in game four, played in Chicago on September 26, beating St. Louis 5–4 with Bullet Rogan not only pitching, but also getting four hits, including a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth.
Rogan took the mound for the second game with only one day of rest and pitched a 4–0 shutout over the Stars, winning the league championship and the chance to face Hilldale in the World Series.
[26] Charleston's outburst prompted a strong rebuttal from Ed Bolden, owner of the Hilldale Club and chairman of the ECL commission.
Because the parks had to be secured in advance, the teams agreed to play exhibition games on October 10 and 11 if the series ended early.
Their starting pitchers were Rube Currie, Phil Cockrell, Scrip Lee, and Nip Winters, with Red Ryan pitching in relief.
From the bench, Louis Santop, Namon Washington, and Newt Robinson played as pinch hitters or defensive replacements.
[4][34][35][36] Kansas City's roster took a major hit the day before the first game, when Bullet Rogan, their star pitcher, ran a needle into his leg while playing with his child on the floor.
Bill Drake, who pitched the last two innings for Kansas City in relief for starter Cliff Bell, was charged with the loss.
In the top of the 11th, Briggs led off with a line drive single up the middle, which Cliff Bell attempted to catch, hurting his hand.
The losing pitcher, Phil Cockrell, was hurt by a couple of costly errors, as he struck out four and gave up 10 hits and four walks in a complete game.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kansas City broke open a 2–2 tie when an error by Jake Stephens was followed by RBI singles by Lemuel Hawkins and Frank Duncan.
[3][35] Kansas City got the first run on the board in the first inning, when McNair knocked a one-out double over Thomas's head in left field and Allen drove him in with a single to right.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when Kansas City scored a run, which was matched by Hilldale in the top of the ninth.
In the top of the eighth, Carr led off with a walk, Mackey got an infield hit, and Judy Johnson singled to short left to load the bases with no outs.
Moore knocked it down with his gloved hand as it bounded fast over the ground, stumbled over second, forcing Thomas out and throwing to Hawkins from a half crouching position, getting Santop headed for first and making one of the prettiest of double plays.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Monarchs offense finally came alive, when Johnston singled to right, and McNair reached on an error by Carr.
In the bottom of the tenth, Duncan hit a one-out double to left, but Foreman and Johnston both flied out to end the game, with a 3–1 victory for Hilldale.
The winning pitcher was Nip Winters, who pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits and three runs, striking out eight, and walking three.
Briggs followed with a double to right, advancing Stephens to third, and Warfield tripled to right-center, driving in two more runs, and scored himself when Joseph missed McNair's throw to third.
[41][42][43] Moore led off the top of the second inning with a hit off Currie's glove, but he was caught off first by catcher Mackey and thrown out trying to advance to second.
With two outs, Thomas hit a ground ball past Moore for a double, scoring Mackey, and giving Hilldale a 2–0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Hilldale had runners on first and third with one out, and Thomas hit a fly caught by Allen in short right near the foul line.
Kansas City's only hit in the last three innings was a one-out double by Duncan in the top of the seventh, so they were unable to catch Hilldale.
Phil Cockrell, a spitball pitcher, was the winner, as he allowed eight hits and two runs, striking out six, and walking four, in a complete game.
The Monarchs' young pitcher, Chet Brewer, held the champions to one run, as Kansas City beat Hilldale, 6–1.
Total expenses were $15,173, including $3,748 for park rent, $5,543 for railroad fares and hotels for the two ball clubs, $2,050 for war tax, and $827 for umpires.
Newspaper reports described the financial results as disappointing and attributed the poor attendance to cold weather and a shortened and lopsided series.