Terre Haute Tots

Over the course of their season, the Terre Haute Tots (a minor-league team) played 63 games at home. These all took place at Memorial Stadium, a stadium which was originally intended to be a multi-use stadium but soon turned into one of the nation's finest minor league baseball stadiums. The Terre Haute Tots were only Class B minor leaguers, but that doesn't mean they never got their chance to shine. On Wednesday, April 26th, 1926, the St. Louis Cardinals, on their way to play the Pittsburgh Pirates the next day, had arrived in Terre Haute to play an exhibition game they had arranged with the Tots. After their expected slaughtering of the Terre Haute Tots, they would then sleep on the overnight train and arrive at Forbes Field the next day to play the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately for them, the Tots had other plans. At Memorial Stadium at 3:00 PM, the game between the Cardinals and the Tots began. The game was close early on. Expectedly the Cardinals took a slight lead in the middle innings. Slowly that slight lead changed to a huge lead, needing just one more inning to play until the game was ended. No one expected what was about to happen in the 3rd inning. The Terre Haute Tots quickly scored three doubles and two singles, tying the two teams. The fact that the pitch-hitter for the Tots ended up striking out to end the game is far from the most memorable part of this game. Later that same year, the St. Louis Cardinals that were ever so close to being beat by the Terre Haute Tots went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees, a team that had legendary players such as Babe Ruth. There was only one umpire that called the entire game that took place that spring day in Memorial Stadium. His name was Charles Jensen and I was surprised to find out that the place he called home is right around the corner from the place I call home now.