VOL. 11, NO. 8 — AUGUST 2018 FOR THE RECORDS Use multiple sources for incorporating sports history into family history projects Many sporting events, sports heroes, and celebrated teams have helped shape the history of St. Louis. The History and Genealogy Department (H&G) has re- sources for exploring these memorable moments and the people who were a significant part of the city’s his- the images of the early sports teams of St. Louis. The Rogers Hornsby’s tory. Images of Sports Series in the H&G colletion, part of championship Cardinals in a Arcadia Publishing Company’s Images of America photo from the 14 While these resources are a great way to remember and Series, includes pictorial histories for baseball, bas- Oct. 1926 issue of St. Louis commemorate St. Louis sport’s history, there are also ketball, boxing, and football. For St. Louis baseball, Sporting News ways to incorporate sports history into your family his- Steve Steinberg’s Baseball in St. Louis: 1900–1925 (see p. 3). tory projects. From identifying the era and time period and St. Louis’s Big League Ballparks by Joan M. of a piece of sports memorabilia, to locating a newspa- Thomas are great examples of how pictorial histories per article of a record breaking game, sports offers an can help readers go back in time through photographs. opportunity to incorporate more stories into your fami- ly history. Particularly when interviewing relatives and Researching the 1926 Cardinals friends, sports memorabilia and favorite sports memo- The following is an example of how you might inte- ries are great conversation starters that often lead to grate and combine multiple sources for a research great family stories. project related to sports in St. Louis. For researching Rogers Hornsby’s 1926 championship Cardinals In addition to the book collection, the department also team, the St. Louis Sporting News is a great starting subscribes to historical newspaper databases featuring point for game summaries and team photos. To access publications focusing on sports news and events. In this newspaper, log on to the History and Genealogy particular, the NewspaperArchive database includes the page on the library’s website <https://www.slcl.org/ St. Louis Sporting News from 1886 to 2003. This data- genealogy>. Click on “Online Research.” This will base can be used for free at any St. Louis County Loca- take you to the list of databases. On the third page of tion and is accessible to local residents remotely with a the History & Genealogy Database list, the Newspa- valid St. Louis County Library card. perArchive database should appear. Click on the link, and you can then locate the St. Louis Sporting News Pictorial histories of various sports teams, included in using the map. First, click on Missouri, and then St. the H&G collection, help give readers a glimpse into Louis to find the list of CONTINUED ON PAGE 3. NEWS AND TIPS | HISTORY AND GENEALOGY AT ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRAR Y [ OPEN AUG. 11–12 ] AUGUST 2018 | PAGE 3 St. Louis newspapers. This list includes a link to the St. Louis Sporting News (1886–2003). The database allows you to search by first name, last name, or key- words in addition to browsing issues by year. Ad- vanced search options are also included, which enable researchers to search for phrases and specific date ranges (see Image 1). To search for the 1926 Championship Cardinals, en- ter the following into the search boxes: Rogers Horns- by (for first and last name) and St Louis Cardinals (for Keywords) (see Image 2). After clicking search, a list of search results will appear. To refine the search IMAGE 1 results, you can select a decade under the refine re- sults section on the right hand side of the page. After clicking “submit query” under decade, you can select a specific year. For this research project, we will se- lect the year 1926 (see Image 3). This will bring up all of the search results for the relevant year that match up with your initial search terms (see Image 4 on page 4). Clicking on a search result will open the page of the newspaper with the highlighted article. By following these steps, an article about Rogers Horns- by’s championship Cardinals appears with a photo of the team on page three of the issue from 14 Oct. 1926 (see page 4). IMAGE 2 IMAGE 3 Using several sources together is a great way to com- bine and corroborate information. Once you have Screen captures found names, dates, and game information from arti- demonstrating cles in newspapers like the St. Louis Sporting News, how to search the Newspaper- for example, you can fill in the details of the story Archives data- from books in the H&G collection. Consulting both base (see text). primary and secondary sources also allows research- ers to gain a better understanding of historical events. In this case, pages 105–132 of The St. Louis Cardi- nals: The Story of a Great Baseball Club by Freder- ick G. Lieb provide an overview of the events in 1925 and 1926 that helped Rogers Hornsby lead the Cardi- nals to their first World Series championship. The official 1926 scorecard is on page 14 of St. Louis Car- dinals Past and Present, as well as a photograph of IMAGE 3 Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby shaking hands before NEWS AND TIPS | HISTORY AND GENEALOGY AT ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRAR Y AUGUST 2018 | PAGE 4 the 1926 World Series. Researchers can turn to page 39 for another photo of Rogers Hornsby from about 1926. This Date in St. Louis Cardinals History by John Leptich provides another summary of game sev- en of the 1926 World Series. These books, along with the newspaper articles from the St. Louis Sporting News, provide historical context and facts through both primary and secondary sources. For a list of oth- er St. Louis baseball related sources in the History and Genealogy Collection, please see the bibliography at the end of this article. The 1904 Olympics A similar approach of combining resources to corrob- IMAGE 4 orate historical facts and discover authentic stories also works for other events and sports. For example, H&G has books with information about the 1904 and politics involved with bringing the Olympics to A article about Olympic Games. Arcadia’s Images of America series St. Louis. Consulting all of the previously mentioned the 1923 cham- pionship Cardi- includes a book on the St. Louis Olympics of 1904. resources allows researchers to verify facts and dates, nals found by Full of fascinating photographs from the 1904 Olym- gain a greater understanding of the historical context, searching the Newspaper- pics held in St. Louis, this book can enhance a re- and find visual evidence of the 1904 Olympic Games. Archive data- searcher’s knowledge and understanding of this event base (see p. 3). through images of gold medal winners, Olympic offi- St. Louis basketball, golf and cials, and other important people involved in the other sports games. Several books in the History and Genealogy collection are useful for those researching basketball in St. Louis, For researching the results of various competitions including Jim Healey’s St. Louis Hoops, 1904–2007: during the Olympic Games, Bill Mallon’s book, The Compendium of St. Louis Basketball. Healey’s book 1904 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in mentions high school, college, and professional bas- All Events, with Commentary, is a wonderful re- ketball teams. One of the teams included in Healey’s source. Published in 1999, it includes an introduction book is the St. Louis Hawks, with season summaries that explains “Official Reports.” Mallon states that, for the team’s 1955–56 to 1967–68 seasons. To get “the Official Report describes every facet of the more insight into the history of this team and their four Olympics in great detail, including the results for eve- championship seasons, researchers can also consult ry competitor in every event.”1 In addition, the first Greg Marecek’s book, The St. Louis Hawks: A Gal- sections also give important background information lery of Images & Memorabilia. Marecek’s book fea- on the organization of the games as well as the selec- tures several full-color photographs of the team and tion of St. Louis as the location for the 1904 Olym- highlights key players and championship seasons. The pics. PHL in the STL: The Public High League, A St. Louis Basketball Legacy, by Earl Austin Jr., focuses on high America’s First Olympics: The St. Louis Games of school basketball teams and is another great resource 1904 by George R. Matthews gives readers an over- for anyone researching St. Louis basketball. The au- view of the games and describes the events, people, thor puts the spotlight on several notable players and NEWS AND TIPS | HISTORY AND GENEALOGY AT ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRAR Y AUGUST 2018 | PAGE 5 coaches, such as Jo Jo White, whose accomplishments tions debated in Burwell’s book would be great for included All-State, All-American, NBA All-Star, and family history interviews and can remind people of NBA champion.2 personal stories and memories. Two key H&G resources for studying the history of Bob Broeg’s, The 100 Greatest Moments in St. Louis golf in St. Louis include James Healey’s Golfing Be- Sports, provides material for considering the most fore the Arch: A History of St. Louis Golf and the Of- memorable sporting events in the city’s history. Publi- ficial PGA Tournament Record Book, 1959–64. Con- cation emphasis on great moments and professional sulted together, they provide a general golf history in sports teams should not dissuade people from re- St.