This Month in St. Louis History

1896 tornado devastates St. Louis

May is the anniversary month of the most severe tornado in St. Louis' history. It occurred late on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27, 1896.

Four hundred persons were killed and 1,200 injured in the tornado which struck the City of St. Louis and East St. Louis, Ill.

A write-up in a book of photographs about the disaster said loss of life and damage was worse than in the famous earthquake along the New Madrid fault. That earthquake was so strong it reversed the flow of the Mississippi River for a time.

What made damage from the 1896 tornado so severe was that it ran right through some of the most populated parts of St. Louis. And it virtually destroyed every building in East St. Louis.

Young Saint Louis.com received information about the tornado from the Missouri History Museum. In turn, the museum drew on material in a book entitled, "Photographic Views of the Great Cyclone at St. Louis, May 27, 1896."

(Editor's note: In the write-up, the terms "tornado" and "cyclone" are used interchangeably. However, in weather bureau terms, the storms have a technical difference. But, both have circular winds and cause lots of damage.)

The 1896 storm hit just before 5 p.m. on May 27, just as people were getting off work. It entered from the southwest, hitting the Compton Heights district first. That book referred to the area as a "thickly populated section, with a large number of very costly mansions."

Next in the path was the Mill Creek Valley area. The book noted the storm tore down "whole rows of smaller dwelling houses, many of them housing more than one family, and ruining thousands as it went."

The storm even caused damage to the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi. The book's author said, "The bridge has been frequently spoken of as unnecessarily massive and heavy." But, even that bridge lost about 300 feet of the eastern approach and rail cars were toppled off the bridge's tracks. Some almost toppled into the river.

You can view some dramatic photos of the damage to St. Louis and East St. Louis. Just log on to www.google.com/search. Then, type in the key words "St. Louis," "tornado" and "1896." From the list, pick the ones that involve photos by Tom Harmon.

 

Busch Stadium opened in May, 1966

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, was opened on May 12, 1966. That was just four days after the last Cardinal game was played in old Sportsman's Park.

There's talk of replacing Busch Stadium with a new ball park. But, many people in St. Louis think that Busch Stadium is still a fine place to watch a baseball game.

For stadium pictures, see www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/buschs.htm.

 

Harry Truman was born in May, 1884

Although Harry Truman wasn't born in St. Louis, we're listing him because he's one of Missouri's favorite sons.

Actually, he was born in Lamar, in the western part of Missouri. He grew up in Independence, Mo., just outside of Kansas City.

 

From "St. Louis 365" book

Lots of local baseball history in May

Lots of interesting events involving St. Louis baseball teams happened in May. Included was a health ban on St. Louis Browns pitcher Harry Howell's spitball.

Health officials in Cleveland issued the ban to prevent Howell from spreading germs with his pitches. Many of them were soaked with saliva to help them break sharper. That ban was issued in 1903.

Another event included a no-hitter by Browns' pitcher Bob Groom. Also, St. Louis hitter "Sunny" Jim Bottomley was sued after a fan's nose was broken by a homerun hit by him. And Cardinal great Stan Musial's nickname, "Stan the Man," was coined in May.

Of course, there were other more serious historical events that happened in May. There are a total of 156 different historical anniversaries are listed for May alone.

(All these events are mentioned in the book by local historian Joe Sonderman. The book, titled, "St. Louis 365," can be purchased at local book stores. It's also sold over the internet at www.booksonline.com.)

Here's a sample of some of Sonderman's May anniversary items:

May 2, 1861: Missouri's pro-southern governor, Claiborne Jackson, ordered the state militia to assemble at Lindell's Grove, a site that would soon become famous as "Camp Jackson." (The site is now part of St. Louis University.) Jackson asked Jefferson Davis for a large shipment of rebel arms, which were taken to the camp. The Commander of the Union Arsenal, Nathaniel Lyon, marched on the camp on May 10th. The Civil War was about to shatter St. Louis.

May 3, 1907: Health officials in Cleveland banned the spitball there after watching Browns pitcher Harry Howell's spitter "working in all its slimy effectiveness." The chief health officer said a player should not have to face "a batted ball covered with microbes coming at him like a shot out of a gun."

May 6, 1917: Belleville native Bob Groom threw a no-hitter for the St. Louis Browns in his very first start. It came in the second game of a doubleheader against the White Sox. Groom had thrown two scoreless innings to wrap up the first game. In 1917, Groom would lose more games than any other pitcher in the American League for the third season in a row.

May 8, 1898: George P. Dorris founded the St. Louis Motorcar Company, the first automobile manufacturer here. Dorris and his partner, John French, built the first internal combustion automobile seen in St. Louis. The Dorris was one of over 200 makes of automobiles manufactured in St. Louis between 1800 and 1930.

May 14, 1804: The Lewis and Clark expedition disembarked from the present site of Wood River, Illinois, on the epic voyage of discovery into the Louisiana Territory. The first stop was at the mouth of Coldwater Creek. Two days later, they arrived at Les Petite Cotes (St. Charles). The first three days were sort of a shakedown cruise for the crew. Lewis remained in St. Louis until May 20th.

May 20, 1948: Stan Musial's "Stan the Man" nickname was born. A day after going five-for-five, Stan continued a hitting spree against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. His four hits, including a home run and two doubles, led the Cardinals to a 14-7 win. As he came up to bat, fans were overhead saying "here comes that man again."

May 26, 1926: A fan who had his nose broken by a home run ball off the bat of "Sunny" Jim Bottomley of the Cardinals used for $7,500. Bottomley was forced to admit in court that he "intentionally hit the ball to create a situation known as a home run." A jury awarded the fan $3,500, but the Cardinals won on appeal in 1928.