Mementos From St. Louis Cardinals' 1936 Game vs. DePauw On Display at Putnam County Museum

May 18, 2005

May 18, 2005, Greencastle, Ind. - Two artifacts from an afternoon in 1936, when DePauw University's baseball team played an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals, are now on display at the Putnam County Museum. One of the souvenirs in question is a baseball signed by members of the Cardinals -- including Jerome "Dizzy" Dean, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize and Leo Durocher -- who played at DePauw on April 24, 1936. "The ball found its way into the collections of the Putnam County Museum by way of Warren Macy, Greencastle physician and sports fan," notes an article in today's Greencastle Banner-Graphic.

The other item is a scorecard from the game, which, too, is signed by some of the Cardinals' players, several of whom are Hall of Famers. "The interest of the card is enhanced by the presence of advertising for local businesses and by information about the DePauw baseball team personnel," the newspaper adds. "The Tigers' team manager was Howard Youse, who in time became professor of botany at the University. One of the umpires that day was Ray 'Gaumey' Neal, renowned former star of DePauw teams and later coach and athletic director at the university. Advertisers, the names of which will be familiar to many Putnam Countians, include Lueteke Bakery, Handy's Sanitary Dairy, John Tzouanakis Shoe Repair, three theaters, three tearooms, three drugstores (Fleenor's, Mullins, and Stevens), five barber shops, and 10 'service stations.'"  Read the complete story at the Banner-Graphic's Web site.

The Putnam County Museum is located at 209 West Liberty Street in Greencastle and is open to the public Thursdays from 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (765) 653-8419 or send an e-mail here.

One of the Tiger players in the 1936 game was legendary baseball executive "Buzzie" Bavasi.  Read the 1938 DePauw graduate's recollections of the contest in this previous story.

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