This Month in St. Louis History

U.S. Grant wins battle;
DeWitt family enters local baseball

Ulysses S. Grant won his first Civil War battle at Belmont, Mo., in 1861. And the DeWitt family's long history in St. Louis sports started in 1936 when William Sr. purchased the old St. Louis Browns.

These are a couple of the historic events in Novembers past covered by St. Louis author Joe Sonderman in his book, "St. Louis People 365."

Young Saint Louis.com first listed items from Mr. Sonderman's book four years ago. YSL.com is revisiting the book this month to remind readers of one of the interesting history books by a local author.

(Usually, this history article consists of items compiled by a Missouri History Museum staff member. Due to a death in the family, she wasn't able to complete this month's material. The museum's efforts will resume in December.)

A previous article from Mr. Sonderman's book of November events was published in the November, 2003. In that article, YSL.com listed just 10 of the 150 historic references. This article tells of an additional 10 items of people and events that shaped local history.

(If you'd like to know more about Mr. Sonderman's book, visit www.booksonline.com.)

Here are the 10 additional items from Novembers past:

Nov. 1, 1892: The Western Brewery was incorporated as the William J. Lemp Brewing Company. Lemp was the first brewery to ship beer coast-to-coast, using refrigerated rail cars. William Lemp introduced Falstaff beer in 1903. He chose the jolly looking image of Sr. John Falstaff because he believed it presented a positive image of beer drinking. William Lemp killed himself in 1904. It was the first of four suicides in the family, three of which took place in the family mansion on DeMenil.

Nov. 3, 1968: Bob Gibson was named as the National League Cy Young Award winner for 1968, the "Year of the Pitcher." All Gibby had done that year was go 22 and nine, with 28 complete games and 13 shutouts. His earned run average was an astounding 1.12.

Nov. 7, 1861: General Ulysses S. Grant won his first Civil War battle. Federal troops destroyed a Confederate camp at Belmont, Missouri. Grant was nearly shot twice and was almost captured during the fight. The Federals suffered about 500 killed or wounded, and Rebel casualties were 966. The battle was criticized in the North as unnecessary.

Nov. 11, 1943: The film "Meet Me in St. Louis" went into production. Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien starred in the story of the Smith family, who lived at 135 Kensington on the eve of the 1904 World's Fair. Newcomer Vincente Minnelli directed the film. Minnelli and Garland clashed at first, but they were engaged by the time the movie was finished. On June 15, 1945, Minnelli married Judy Garland. They were divorced in 1952.

Nov. 12, 1936: A syndicate headed by Donald Barnes and William DeWitt Sr. bought the St. Louis Browns baseball team. They planned to install lights at Sportsman's Park. As a young boy, DeWitt had sold peanuts and soda with his brother at Sportsman's Park. The DeWitt family became sole owners of the Browns in 1949. William DeWitt Jr. is one of the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals today.

Nov. 16, 1818: Bishop William DuBourg founded St. Louis Academy, the forerunner of Saint Louis University. Tuition was free. DuBourg had served as president of Georgetown University. That college failed but was revived as St. Louis College under Jesuit administration in 1829. Father Peter Verhaegen served as the first Jesuit president. In 1832, the school received a charter from the state, making SLU the oldest university west of the Mississippi.

Nov. 21, 1920: Stanley Frank Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania. Brooklyn Dodger fans gave him his nickname. Musial consistently teed off on Dodger pitching, and fans at Ebbetts Field were heard to murmur, "Here comes that man again." Writer Bob Broeg was soon referring to him as "Stan the Man." Stan played for the Cardinals for a record 22 years. After he retired in 1963, he served as general manager and senior vice president of the team. He is still the Cardinals number one ambassador.

Nov. 22, 1877: What may have been the first-ever broadcast concert took place in St. Louis. The concert was transmitted over the newfangled telephone, which had been installed in a few homes in the city by George Durant. One owner thought a concert from the home of William Sherman to all points on the phone system would be a good way to introduce people to the telephone.

Nov. 23, 1999: Sherman George became the first African-American fire chief in the 142-year history of the St. Louis Fire Department. He replaced Neil Svetanics, who was retiring after 13 years as chief. George had served as assistant chief under Svetanics since 1990. He pledged to work to bring racial harmony to the department. (George's demotion recently by Mayor Slay has set off a political storm.)

Nov. 26, 1904: President Theodore Roosevelt visited the World's Fair. He met with the Indian chief Geronimo and was entertained by cowboy Will Rogers. Fair officials planned a football game between U.S. Indian Schools for the president, who was a big sports fan. Carlisle beat Haskell, 38-4, before 12,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium, now Washington University's Francis Field. It marked the first time that Indian players from government schools met as opponents. Roosevelt never actually made it to the game.