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Thomas Jefferson (TJ) Young was a catcher who primarily played for the Kansas City Monarchs. There is not much written about TJ Young, making him one of the more difficult players to find out about.
“T.J. Young hit a home run off of me. They didn’t have any walls at the park and the ball just kept going and going and going. He had some kind of power, and a great throwing arm, too.”
Elden Auker, MLB Pitcher
Young played from 1926-1937, and came back for a short stint in 1941. Over his career he batted .296, and his totals prorated to a 162-game season would include 5 HR and 96 RBI. The Monarchs often had two quality catchers, so he usually did not play against left-handed pitchers. He was part of a platoon with Frank Duncan, among others. He was a pull hitter, and managed to hit .394 in 1926. That season they played the Chicago American Giants in the playoffs, and unfortunately he had a crucial passed ball. (That was the series that ended with Bill Foster throwing two complete game shutouts in a doubleheader to win the series.)
He first broke in with the Monarchs at age 19. At one point his brother Maurice Young joined the team and they formed a “brother battery”.