Brian Flaspohler is a baseball historian who claims that the first professional game in St. Louis took place on May 4, 1875. St. Louis lost but won. The St. Louis Brown Stockings defeated the St. Louis Red Stockings 15 to 9. Out-of-town ringers were recruited to create the city’s first professional baseball team. The Brown Stockings were founded by these ringers. The Red Stockings were an amateur team of scrappy, unprofessional players unhappy that there wasn’t a St. Louis player on the city’s professional soccer team.
Flaspohler stated that the Cardinals will be around forever, and most people believe so. They weren’t the first major league team to visit St. Louis.
Brian Flaspohler’s latest book Baseball History in St. Louis: a Guide. The book explores the rich history of Lou’s favorite pastime. The book is organized by geography. Each chapter corresponds with a specific location in the town.
South Compton Avenue was the venue that hosted the first professional game. It is now called Midtown. Lafayette Park was a popular place for amateur baseball during the Civil War. Harris-Stowe State University’s diamond for baseball is exactly where the original Negro League baseball park was built. It was constructed a century ago. Legend has it that Babe Ruth was attracted by Forest Park Avenue’s brothel.
In the mid-twentieth Century, St. Louis had two major league teams: the Cardinals and Browns. Each team had its apartment in Lindell Towers, now Coronado Place and Towers At Grand Center. This arrangement worked because each team was always present when the other was away.
It worked until the World Series when the two teams met.
Flaspohler claims that the Cardinals manager sent an email to the Browns manager, in which he stated that he could have the apartment for the World Series. Flaspohler states that the Cardinals’ manager sent an e-mail to the Browns’ manager in which he said, “You can have the apartment for World Series.”
History of St. Louis Baseball The following article covers the history of St. Louis baseball.
Many are familiar with the Kansas City Monarchs and Negro League. Flaspohler says that the history of this league is “a fascinating, but the untold story.” The St. Louis Giants formed the original six league teams in 1920. Later, they have renamed the Stars. They won pennants in 1928 and 1930. A decade later they were on an upward trajectory.
He said, “The Stars are an incredible story that many people don’t know much about. Incredibly, baseball can still take place in the same stadium it used to be.
Flaspohler stated, “Every generation in St. Louis had a champion team to root for,” referring specifically to the fact the Cardinals are one of the few teams that have never won the World Series after going more than 25 seasons.
However, he does have a problem with historians.
The Cardinals were founded in 1882 and became the team that we know today. It reads “est. 1892. “ “They joined the National League in 1892 even though they were around for more than a decade.
Flaspohler believes that there is a reason. Flaspohler believes there is a reason for that. Flaspohler believes someone in the Cardinals organization realized that they missed the 100th-anniversary celebration. They decided to retroactively declare 1892 the year they were “established.”
Flaspohler lauds the efforts of the Cardinals’ family, The DeWitts to preserve the game’s history. As an example of their efforts, he mentions Busch Stadium’s Hall of Fame Museum.
He said, “Their family has an extensive history of baseball and they have done an incredible job keeping that history alive.” They won’t even change their T-shirts from 1882 to 1883. It’s a good idea, though.