One of the best-known teams was the Kansas City Monarchs. As they traveled, they took their portable lighting system with them so that they could play night games. They beat out the MLB in terms of artificial light, as they were using it five years before the first MLB game was played with it.

Professionals Were Not Allowed To Barnstorm For Years

However, as professional leagues spread, barnstorming was only allowed outside of the regular baseball season. By the 1880s, barnstorming was limited further to the postseason. In 1903, the World Series began, and, according to new player contracts prior to 1910, the players were not to play in exhibition games without the consent of their major league team, essentially banning them from playing with the barnstorming teams. The teams were concerned that, if a player was beaten by an amateur, it would harm the reputation of the team. The Baseball Players’ Fraternity President, David L. Fultz, made an argument in 1916 that players should not be fined for playing games outside the normal season, as long as they were not claiming to represent their club.

Some Broke Those Rules 

In 1921, when Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, and Bill Piercy finished the season after winning the American League pennant, they played exhibition games and were fined their World Series shares and suspended until May 20. Babe Ruth stated that he was “out to earn an honest dollar, and at the same time give baseball fans an opportunity to see the big players in action.” By July 1922, the barnstorming rule was removed, leading to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig touring with the Bustin’ Babes and Larrupin Lous in the mid-1920s.

Barnstorming had its heyday in the 1930s and ‘40s and during the regular season, many of the Negro League teams went on barnstorming tours. Several future Hall of Famers, including Dizzy Dean, Satchel Paige, and Jackie Robinson played on the teams. The integration that was an integral part of barnstorming allowed players like Babe Ruth to face Negro League players, including Jackie Robinson.

 The King Of Barnstorming

The “king of barnstorming was Leroy “Satchel” Paige, who started playing with the Mobile Tigers in 1924. He pitched for both barnstorming teams and Negro League clubs throughout the ‘20s and ‘30s. Because he had been pitching year-round for more than a decade, by the 1930s, his arm was suffering. J.L. Wilkinson, the owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, created a barnstorming team, “Satchel Paige’s All-Stars.” Fans had the opportunity to watch him pitch several innings per game. Rejuvenated, he was called up to pitch for the Monarchs, eventually winning the 1948 Rookie of the Year title when he was 42 and playing for the Cleveland Indians

The All-Girl Teams

There was an element of novelty to the barnstorming teams as well, such as allowing women on the teams. For example, promoters created the first female barnstorming team in 1875, The Blonds and The Brunettes. because they realized that customers were interested in unusual games; the players were recruited from the streets or orphanages, and they had very little ability. The Bloomer Girl teams which were formed in the late 1800s were comprised of competitive athletes.

House Of David

The House of David was comprised of bearded players from a religious community founded in 1903; they put together their barnstorming team as a fundraiser starting in 1915. Their “no shaving” rule meant that all players had to have beards, and when they started recruiting outside their sect, they supplied the new players with false beards. On their tours, these bearded men played against amateur teams, semi-pro teams, and Negro League teams, and at times, they had three teams playing. In 1933, they even recruited a female to their team, Jackie Mitchell, who was not required to wear a beard. She did, however, offer to wear one as a publicity stunt in a few games.

The End Of An Era

With the spread of radio and television coverage of baseball games, barnstorming tours were in decline by the 1950s. One of the teams that lasted the longest, the Indianapolis Clowns, got their start in Florida in 1915, where they were the Ethiopian Clowns, before moving to Cincinnati, and finally, to Indianapolis. They occasionally played the game dressed in skirts made of banana leaves. As a side note, Hank Aaron was their biggest player, and the Clowns signed him over to the Boston Braves for $10,000. They lasted until 1988, by which point they were no longer an all-African American team.