On Sweltering St. Louis Summers

In South America people ask about your hometown. They want to know if it snows. I used to say about St. Louis that it was the worst of both worlds: sweltering southern summers and snowdrift winters. The latter is changing. STL doesn’t get to sled every year anymore.

I Recently came across an interesting passage in Thomas Wolfe’s “You Can’t Go Home Again”, a novel about an author who is unwelcome in his Appalachian hometown. The novel is set in the 1930s, long before air conditioning. One character is a professional baseball player nearing the end of his career. He’s trying to pile up money from one more season despite his aging body.

“By the time the season starts, along in April, you feel pretty good. By May you’re goin’ like a house a-fire, an’ you tell yourself you’re good as you ever was. You’re still goin’ strong along in June. An’ then you hit July, an’ you git them double-headers in St. Looie! Boy, oh boy!” Again he shook his head and laughed, baring big square teeth… “You ever been in St. Looie in July?”

“No.”

“All right, then,” he said very softly and scornfully. “An’ you ain’t played ball there in July. You come up to bat with sweat bustin’ from your ears. You step up an’ look out there to where the pitcher ought to be, an’ you see four of him. The crowd in the bleachers is out there roastin’ in their shirt- sleeves, an’ when the pitcher throws the ball it just comes from nowhere. It comes right out of all them shirt-sleeves in the bleachers. It’s on top of you before you know it. Well, anyway, you dig in an’ git a toe-hold, take your cut, an’ maybe you connect. You straighten out a fast one. It’s good fer two bases if you hustle. In the old days you could’ve made it standin’ up. But now — boy!” He shook his head slowly.

“You cain’t tell me nothin’ about that ballpark in St. Looie in July! They got it all growed out in grass in April, but after July first,” he gave a short laugh. “Hell! It’s paved with concrete! An’ when you git to first, them dogs is sayin’, ‘Boy, let’s stay here!’ But you gotta keep on goin’. You know the manager is watchin’ you, you’re gonna ketch hell if you don’t take that extra base, it may mean the game. An’ the boys up in the press box, they got their eyes glued on you, too. They’ve begun to say old Crane is playin’ on a dime. An’ you’re thinkin’ about next year an’ maybe gittin’ in another Series. An’ you hope to God you don’t git traded to St. Looie.”

After reading it, I was curious why he singled out St. Louis. I Googled which cities had teams in 1935:

• Boston (2)
• Chicago (2)
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Detroit
• New York (3)
• Philadelphia (2)
• Pittsburgh
• St. Louis (2)
• Washington DC

Today many people live in cities hotter than St. Louis. But without cars and air conditioning, St. Louis was the hottest region where you could have a large city. Or at least a large city where you could play baseball in the summer.

Hat tip to Rafa Stumbo for the book recommendation.