Baseball in Harper

One of the things what's been around in Harper since I were a little boy and even before that are baseball. Way back yonder we didn't have no stadiums like all the towns and cities has today. We just marked off a part of a field and the peoples sat on rail fences, or just stood, and watched. We used homemade bases and marked off baselines with a stick if we couldn't get some kind of chalk powder to line 'em up. And we used the same ball till the cover were tore off it. We listened to baseball on the radio and the team we listened in on the most were the St. Louis Cardinals. They had another team in St. Louis called the Browns, but we never took much interest in them. I reckon the Dean brothers and what they called the Gas House Gang (Cardinal infielders) was what kept us tuned in. I once upon a time had a chance to ride the train up to St. Louis and see a game in person. At that time St. Louis were the biggest city I ever went to and I were so confused by all the getting around problems up there that from then on I just tuned in to KMOX radio. I played a little for what were called a semi-pro league. We didn't get no money, but it were fun anyway. I warn't too good at pitching and catching, but ever now and then I could hit the ball a far piece.