The Pride of Missouri Part 1 (Roots - 1939)

Throughout 200 years, the state of Missouri has been a land of opportunity, a land of change, a land of tradition, and a state that has experiences success, failure, joy, and heartbreak through the world of professional sports.

Right in America’s heartland.

Most importantly, several occurrences and businesses were established in Missouri that have permanently affected professional sports worldwide to this day.

Some of them happened within professional sports organizations, others happened at universities or the Olympic Games. Either way you look at it, they each have had a lasting impact, giving Missouri a sense of pride that very few other states have.

With numerous organizations in professional sports, teams have come and gone, some successfully, and others without ever even sniffing a touch of championship glory, while others have maintained a winning tradition and drawing millions of fans to their events on an annual basis.

Before we go into sports and entertainment, let’s just go over a few other things about America’s heartland.

The state of Missouri has endured numerous nicknames over the years, “The Cave State” with its 7,300 caves surrounding the land, “The Mother of the West”, “The Gateway to the West,” and “The Show Me State.”

The ‘Show Me State’ has been the home of several prominent figures, including Walt Disney, whose family moved to Kansas City when he was just 10, and spent his childhood as a paper delivery boy, and drawing commercial illustrations for advertising, theater programs, and catalogs.

It has been the birthplace of Harry S. Truman, who would become the 33rd President of the United States and play a crucial role in the ending of World War II, and has also been the birthplace of Mark Twain, whose creation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer remains an impactful story reminiscent of his childhood years and life as a Missourian in the 1840s and 50s.

The great author and poet Maya Angelou, who was also an activist, was born in St. Louis and spent the majority of her life in Missouri. Some other great names include Joseph Pulitzer, William Clark, T.S. Elliott, George Washington Carver, and Yogi Berra, just to name a few.

Of course, let’s not forget more recent names such as Sheryl Crow, Tech N9ne, Nelly, Jayson Tatum, Jenna Fisher, and Cedric the Entertainer.

In 1821, Missouri was initially admitted into the nation as a slave state in accordance with the Missouri Compromise and made Jefferson City, a location along the Missouri River named after the president, the state’s capital in 1826.

By the late 1830s, a game of ball played with a bat, glove, and base was evolving as never before called baseball.

It would arguably become the state’s most beloved sport, and through the 20th Century into the 21st, other sports would join the mix while teams, individuals, and moments would capture the world’s attention and bring to light many occurrences in the Show Me State over the years