KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame will begin introducing its largest induction class in history Saturday by honoring seven baseball legends during a Kansas City Monarchs game at Legends Field.
The ceremony, scheduled in conjunction with the Monarchs’ 6:35 p.m. game, is the first of three induction events planned this summer for the Hall of Fame’s 32-member. Twelve members of the class will be inducted posthumously.
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame chair Jeff Bollig said the organization traditionally honors 10 to 12 people each year but expanded this year’s class to recognize deserving nominees who were not selected during a 10-year period when inductions were dormant.
“The hall of fame board of directors, which oversees the selection of honorees annually, thought it was important to rightfully recognize outstanding representatives of the Sunflower State who may have missed out when the selections were dormant for 10 years,” Bollig said.
Saturday’s inductees are Chet Brewer, Edward Dwight Sr., George Giles, Dink Mothell, Bullet Joe Rogan, Diego Segui and Frank Wickware.
Brewer, a Leavenworth native, pitched professionally during 19 nonconsecutive seasons between 1925 and 1953, most notably with the Kansas City Monarchs. The Negro Leagues All-Star reportedly recorded more than 100 shutouts and later scouted for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1957 to 1974.
Dwight, who made Kansas City, Kansas, his home, played outfield and second base in the Negro Leagues. The Sumner High School graduate led the Negro American League in stolen bases in 1923 and walks in 1937 and started in the 1936 East-West All-Star Game.
Giles was a Negro Leagues All-Star first baseman and manager who began playing professionally at 17 and joined the Monarchs a year later. Born in Junction City, Giles grew up and maintained a summer home in Manhattan.
Mothell, a Topeka native, played at least one game at every position during his 15 seasons as a Negro Leagues player and manager. Known as one of the league’s greatest utility players, Mothell helped the Monarchs win the 1924 Negro World Series.
Rogan also helped lead the Monarchs to the 1924 championship. The pitcher, outfielder, second baseman and player-manager competed for Kansas City from 1920 to 1938 and became one of the Negro Leagues’ most celebrated two-way players. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
Segui played in the major leagues from 1962 to 1977, beginning with the Kansas City Athletics and finishing with the expansion Seattle Mariners. The Cuban-born pitcher won the American League earned-run average title in 1970 with a 2.56 ERA and later made Kansas City, Kansas, his home. Segui died in July 2025.
Wickware, born in Girard and later a resident of Coffeyville, was a Negro Leagues standout from 1910 to 1925. Known for his fastball and curveball, Wickware defeated fellow Kansas native Walter Johnson 1-0 in a 1913 exhibition game.
The Hall of Fame will hold its second induction ceremony July 25 at the Kansas Star Casino near Wichita. The final group will be honored Aug. 16 at the Huhtamaki Shield Club at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.