Arthur Lee "Floyd" Kranson (1913-1967): Negro Leagues Baseball Player on Championship Teams

Floyd Kranson and Grave Marker

Plot 71 

Arthur Lee “Floyd” Kranson’s life traces a subtle arc of baseball talent, complex heritage, and the everyday realities of mid-20th century America. Born July 24, 1913 in Natchitoches, Louisiana, he would rise to become a pitcher in the Negro Leagues, later moving west to Northern California.

Kranson was born in a small Louisiana parish, the son of a father described in genealogical sources as “white” and a mother recorded as “Negro,” reflecting the layered racial caste of his era. This parentage placed him at a crossroads of identity long before the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and ’60s. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, Kranson’s mixed heritage would have shaped — implicitly or explicitly — the circles he moved in, the opportunities afforded to him, and the social boundaries he encountered.  

Kranson and a 1939 Monarchs team photo

By his early 20s, Kranson had carved out a place in the competitive world of Black baseball. Listed at 6′1″ and about 180 lbs, he batted and threw right-handed. In 1935 he joined one of the premier clubs of the Negro Leagues, the Kansas City Monarchs, and he also spent time with the Chicago American Giants during his career. Kranson played during a golden era of Negro Leagues baseball that featured legends such as Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and Monte Irvin—an extraordinary generation of athletes whose talent and legacy are only now receiving their full due.

Kranson's playing years fall within a pivotal era: before integration of Major League Baseball (MLB), when Black players competed at a high level but under segregated conditions - long bus trips, unpredictable pay, barnstorming, and less-complete record keeping. 

Across the recorded seasons, Kranson posted a pitching line of 14 wins and 11 losses with a 3.84 ERA in approximately 225 innings pitched.  While many of the game logs and statistics from the era are fragmentary, resources such as the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database and Retrosheet show his name among the roster of the Kansas City Monarchs from 1937-1940, Memphis Red Sox in 1937 and Chicago American Giants in 1937. Kranson was part of the Kansas City Monarchs team that dominated during those years, finishing first in the Negro American League in all four of his seasons and winning the championship in three of those years.

J.L. Wilkerson

The Monarchs were owned by J.L. Wilkerson, a white businessman who pioneered black baseball as the founder and owner of the team. Wilkinson was widely regarded as one of the most fair-minded and progressive owners in Negro Leagues baseball. He was known for his unusual respect toward players during an era when exploitation was common. He paid players on time, honored contracts and even provided meal allowances and lodging when travel segregation made accommodations difficult. Monte Irvin, Buck O’Neil, and other Monarchs alumni later called him “the best owner in Negro League history.” He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.  

Following his playing days, Kranson’s life brought him to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked at the Naval Supply Center in Oakland for 25 years. His move to California reflects a pattern: many Negro League players, once their baseball careers ended, settled in northern cities or the West Coast, seeking work outside sporting fields. 

Kranson died in Alameda, California in 1967 at age 54.

Sources: Seamheads Negro Leagues Database; Baseball-Reference; Retrosheet; Wikipedia; Geni.com; Ancestry.com; Find a Grave; MLB.com; J.M. Wilkerson Construction Co. website.