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Category Archives: Amusements
Springfield wins minor-league baseball game, 33-23 (1926)
Baseball-mad Springfieldians got more than their money’s worth on July 20, 1926, both on the field and in the next day’s newspaper story. The Springfield Senators, the local entry in the Class B Three-I League, outslugged the Peoria Tractors that … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Social life, Sports and recreation
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Riverton Athletic Club
The mammoth home run Robin Roberts hit on Oct. 14, 1951, remains a highlight in the 80-year history of the Riverton Athletic Club. Roberts, a Springfield native who had just completed the second of his six 20-win seasons as a … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Parks, Social life, Sports and recreation
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Great National Horse Show and Equestrian Fair, 1865
The 11th annual Great National Horse Show and Equestrian Fair, held on the outskirts of Springfield in August 1865, was neither national nor, apparently, all that great. But it did draw Harper’s Weekly, the era’s most popular magazine, to central … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Illustrations, Maps, Spectacles, Sports and recreation
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Dan Patch sets state fair race record (1906)
An estimated 40,000 people watched Dan Patch, the world’s most famous harness horse, set a new Illinois State Fair pacing record on Oct. 2, 1906. Dan Patch covered the one-mile fairgrounds track in 1:59¼, the first time a harness horse … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Social life, Sports and recreation
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Haskell Viaduct (Illinois State Fairgrounds)
The Haskell Viaduct was a pedestrian bridge that connected the Exposition Building to the Poultry Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds from 1897 until, probably, the mid-1920s. The Poultry Building (today’s Artisans Building) also was completed in 1897, but in … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Maps, Uncategorized
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‘Toy-pistol tetanus’
Dozens of young Sangamon County residents were injured, and a few killed, by toy pistols during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The pistols were a regular feature of the Fourth of July, which is when the vast majority … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Children
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Courthouse square locomotive
Two thousand people filled Adams Street in 1915 to watch a steam locomotive puff its way from Third Street to the courthouse square. The engine – the Chicago & Alton Railroad’s No. 533 – was set up on the south … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Historic Sites, Spectacles
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Second Christmas parade (1929)
Correction: This entry has been retitled. The first Christmas parade (smaller and less formal) in Springfield was held in 1914. You can read about it here. Embarrasssed apologies from SangamonLink’s editor, who wrote both entries, for forgetting the first one. And … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Children, Department stores, Depression, Spectacles
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‘Napkin social,’ First Methodist Church (1895)
The napkin above, printed in 1895, is a rare relic of a fundraising technique that was popular among women’s church groups in the late 19th century – “napkin socials.” The idea was that members of a group – in this … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Churches, Women
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The Sternaman brothers (football pioneers)
Two brothers from Springfield played important roles in the history of football. One co-founded the Chicago Bears. The other, by starring in the most notorious football game ever played in central Illinois, helped bring about tighter rules on amateur sportsmanship. … Continue reading