An event that occurred at the start of the decade...the opening of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World...was to effect sports in the Ozarks for many years. The business, which was to become a national tourist attraction, drew many hunters and fishermen, and national tournaments to the area.

The company was also instrumental in getting started, in cooperation with the public schools, a new sports tradition in Springfield. In 1984, the first Tournament of Champions was held which each year, brings outstanding high school basketball teams from throughout the country to Springfield.

The 1970s will be remembered as a significant period for the growth of sports for women. Prompted by federal Title IX legislation opportunities for women in the public schools increased greatly. They had participated in tennis and golf but now also could compete in volleyball, basketball, swimming and track.

Opportunities for boys were expanded also with the addition of swimming and cross country. Interest was being expressed in soccer. Additional opportunities were also added when the fifth high school, Kickapoo, opened in 1971.

The decade of the 1960s was a significant one for fishermen, boaters and water skiers in the Ozarks. Water area in the region increased greatly with the construction of Pomme de Terre Lake in 1961, Truman Lake in 1963, Beaver Dam in 1965 and Stockton Dam in 1969. The new lakes brought with them people from all over the country and national fishing competitions.

Southwest Missouri State College basketball continued strong, winning the MIAA title three years straight starting in 1966. They were runner-up in the NCAA Division II tournament in 1967.

Under coach Orville Pottenger, the SMS football team was undefeated in 1963 and took the league championship that year. Jim Mentis came on board as coach in l965. League competition increased as well when the sports of baseball and wrestling were added to the list of MIAA sports.

The Chicago Cubs came to town in 1950 but not for long. A new Memorial Stadium was built for the arrival of a Cubs farm team at Madison Street and West Avenue.

The Cubs only played one year here, leaving the city without a professional sports team. The new stadium was used by other local teams and eventually purchased by the Springfield Parks Department.

Sports activity was curtailed for most of the 1940s as America went to war with Germany and Japan. The St. Louis Cardinals were still an attraction before the war. Stan Musial played here for awhile but interest lagged during the war. The farm team was moved to St. Joseph before the end of the decade.

Hyde Park All-Stars

At that time, baseball was a segregated sport. From the end of the war until the early 1950s, however, an outstanding team of black baseball players known as the Hyde Park All-Stars entertained fans throughout the region. They played games in Branson, Clever, West Plains and any other small town where they could get a game.

Baseball took on a new importance in the Ozarks in the 1930s as the Springfield Midgets became a part of the new St. Louis Cardinal farm system. First known as the Redwings and then the Cardinals, the team brought to the city such players as Paul Dean, Charley Breeden, Mike Ryba, Frank Howard, Mort and Walter Cooper, Joe Garagiola and Stan Musial. The team won many league championships throughout the 1930s. Their popularity was shown by an attendance of over 9,000 at White City Park for a game in 1932.

Softball came onto the sports scene in 1934 with a small group of players. The involvement in the game increased as new leagues were formed and the first lighted softball field at Grant Beach Park was opened. By 1937, there were 31 teams in league play. Fassnight and Smith Parks were added before the end of the decade. A young pitcher by the name of Johnnie Higgins was thrilling fans pitching several no-hitters in 1936. He continued to be a leading pitcher until the mid 1940s. His chief rival was Tom Doyle who had played pro baseball with Stan Musial at one time.

Drury Football

The "Golden Age of Sports" began in the 1920s ushered in by the end of World War I and a demand by people for relief from the wartime tension. A second factor in the increased interest sports was the fact that many of the men who hadbeen in the military played sports to keep fit and active.

Springfield had a team called the Junior Midgets in the newly reorganized Western Baseball Association which included Ft. Smith, Arkansas; and Chickasha, Drumwright, Enid, Henrietta, Okmulgee and Pawtuska, Oklahoma. Although their early outings were not very successful, the team won the Western League title in 1926. Starting in 1924, games were played in a new 3,000-seat grandstand at White City Park.

As Springfield entered the second decade of the 20th Century, sports fans were still rooting for teams from the city's two colleges. The football rivalry between Drury College and State Normal continued in full swing. It was nip and tuck during the central years of the decade. Normal beat Drury in 1915, the two teams tied in 1916, and Drury beat Normal in 1917.

Drury Women's Basket Ball

A new conference, the Missouri Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), was formed in 1912 with Drury and Springfield Normal among its founding members. In all there were 15 state and private schools involved.Overall though, these were good years for Drury athletic teams. Drury captured a state football championship in 1914, a state basket ball title in 1915, and a state baseball championship in 1916. In addition, the Drury women's basketball team won a state championship in 1917. This was an accomplishment for a program that had only been restarted in 1915.

Three sports dominated the scene in Springfield in the first decade of the 20th Century: baseball, football and basketball.

Baseball action was provided by the Springfield Merchants, a semi-pro team which played in the Southwest League, later renamed the Missouri Valley League. It included teams from Nevada and Jefferson City Missouri, and Fort Scott, lola and Chanute, Kansas.

The Merchants found a permanent home in 1907 with the opening of White City Park at Boonville and Division. They played at Doling Park a year later but returned to White City.