Category Archives: Sports and recreation

“The Gay ’90s” in Springfield

Posted on September 13, 2023 by editor

In 1943, V.Y. Dallman, longtime editor and columnist for the Illinois State Register, published a three-part reminiscence of the “Gay ‘90s” – at least, as they were experienced by Springfield’s upper crust. The series was written by a certified member … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Histories, Military, Prominent figures, Social life, Sports and recreation, Women | Leave a comment

Dreamland Park/Amos Duncan

Posted on April 6, 2023 by editor

“To my way of thinking, the colored people should at least have a place where they can congregate for the purpose of holding picnics, celebrations and public gatherings,” Sangamon County Republican Party chairman George Fish told the Illinois State Journal … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Amusements, Business, Law enforcement, Parks, Prominent figures, Social services, Sports and recreation, Theaters | 1 Comment

Riverton High School boys basketball, 1949-50

Posted on December 13, 2022 by editor

Frank Santarelli assembled what turned out to be a great Riverton boys basketball team on a cold November afternoon in 1949. Santarelli, himself a Riverton alumnus, coached the Hawks from 1935 through 1942 and 1946 through 1957. The 1949-50 team … Continue reading →

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Moose Club ‘athletic show,’ 1914 (Springfield Survey)

Posted on September 30, 2022 by editor

In March 1914, a couple of social survey experts attended a so-called “athletic show” put on by the Springfield Moose Club. The two – apparently Lee F. Hanmer and Clarence Arthur Perry of the New York-based Russell Sage Foundation – … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Social life, Spectacles, Sports and recreation, Springfield Survey | Leave a comment

Memorial Pool

Posted on August 14, 2022 by editor

On June 16, 1928, a crowd of about 750 people attended the grand opening of Soldiers’ and Sailors Memorial Pool on Springfield’s north end. The pool was named to honor all U.S. service personnel who perished in wars spanning the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Local government, Parks, Public health, Social services, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sun ‘n Fun Swimming Club

Posted on July 21, 2022 by editor

There was a time after World War II when swimming pools in the U.S. were built not just for recreation, but as investment opportunities. The Sun ‘n Fun Swimming Club was one such place in Springfield. Sun ‘n Fun opened … Continue reading →

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Cathedral High School basketball champions, 1939

Posted on January 28, 2022 by editor

Springfield’s Cathedral Boys High School won its only Illinois Catholic Conference basketball tournament in 1939. The 16-team event was held at the Illinois State Armory Feb. 24-26. Cathedral’s 285 students (as the name suggests, the school was open only to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Schools and school districts, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Springfield Sallies (professional women’s baseball)

Posted on January 25, 2022 by editor

The Springfield Sallies were one of the least successful, and also shortest-lived, teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league, whose memory was revived by the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own,” lasted from 1943 to 1954. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Parks, Prominent figures, Sports and recreation, Women | 2 Comments

Women’s golf, 1899

Posted on November 26, 2021 by editor

“A crowd of young society women in 1899 shocked the conventions of the day by reckless indulgence in a game called golf,” the Illinois State Journal recalled in 1931. Most of that sentence was nonsense. There’s no evidence anyone was … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Media, Parks, Photos and photosets, Prominent figures, Social life, Sports and recreation, Women | Leave a comment

Early ‘base ball’: Libertys lose to Rockford, 101-13 (1869)

Posted on August 11, 2021 by editor

The hometown Liberty Base Ball Club didn’t expect to beat the Rockford Forest Citys when the celebrated Rockford team visited Springfield in 1869. City-versus-city match games were social events as much as athletic contests at the time. But that 1869 … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Social life, Sports and recreation | 1 Comment