Sports & Recreation

Sports Teams

Professional Sports

From wikipedia.org: Enthusiastic and knowledgeable fans give St. Louis a reputation as “a top-notch sports town” and “Baseball City, USA.”  The Sporting News rated St. Louis the nation’s “Best Sports City.”  Although the city has or had professional football, hockey, and basketball teams, it is baseball that is undeniably the epicenter of the city’s sporting life.  The St. Louis Cardinals [http://www.stlcardinals.com], one of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball, have accumulated nine World Series titles since 1892, second only to the New York Yankees.

The city of St. Louis has earned 12 professional sports championships.  As mentioned earlier, the St. Louis Cardinals have won 9 World Series Championships with one of the championships played against the cross-city rival the St. Louis Browns in 1944.  The St. Louis Rams [http://www.stlrams.com] have one 1 Super Bowl Championship, and the St. Louis Hawks (who later moved to Atlanta) gave the city its lone NBA Championship.  On top of that, the St. Louis Blues [http://www.stlblues.com] hold the record for most consecutive playoff appearances in all of sports with 26 straight.  The Blues have also made 3 trips to the Stanley Cup Finals but have never won the championship.

Boxing

St. Louis was also home to two prominent twentieth-century boxers, brothers Leon and Michael Spinks.  The two are the only brothers in boxing history to have captured the Heavyweight boxing title.
[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9002618?source=RSSOTD]

Wrestling

Essentially, three men combined to make the Mound city not only the “Gateway to the West,” but the unofficial capital of professional wrestling.  The three men were Tom Packs, Sam Muchnick, and Lou Thesz.  Wrestling at the Chase was a popular weekly event for hundreds of thousands of fans for several decades, both live and on television.  St. Louis is also home to former WWE World Champion and currently one of the sport’s top performers, Randy Orton. 

College Cup

In 2006, the College Cup will be played at Hermann Stadium on the campus of Saint Louis University.
[ http://slubillikens.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/092605aaa.html]

NCAA Hockey

The Savvis Center will host the 2007 Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament on April 5 and April 7, 2007.    [http://www.ncaasports.com/icehockey/mens]

NCAA Men’s Basketball

In March 2005, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis hosted the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Final Four. The Savvis Center also hosts the annual “Braggin’ Rights” game, a men’s college basketball rivalry game between the Universities of Illinois and Missouri.  St. Louis is roughly equidistant from the two campuses.
[http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/mens]. 

NCAA Women’s Basketball

In April 2009, the Edward Jones Dome will host the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
 [http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/womens]. 

NASCAR

Gateway International Raceway hosts NASCAR events in nearby Madison, IL. 
[http://www.gatewayraceway.com]

Minor League Teams

There are also several minor league teams in the area.  The Gateway Grizzlies (Minor League Baseball) of the Frontier League, which plays at GMC Stadium across the river in Sauget, IL.
 [http://www.gatewaygrizzlies.com]

The River City Rascals (Minor League Baseball) also of the Frontier League play at T.R. Hughes Stadium in nearby O’Fallon, MO. 
[http://www.rivercityrascals.com]

The River City Rage is an Arena Football team that plays in the National Indoor Football League at Family Arena.
[http://www.ragefootball.com]

Corkball

St. Louis is also one of the few cities in the country that plays host to local Corkball leagues.  Corkball is a “mini-baseball” game featuring a 1.6 oz ball and bat with a barrel that measures just 1.5”.  Corkball is St. Louis’ classic baseball game.  Originally played on the streets and alleys of St. Louis in the early 1900s, today the game has leagues formed around the country as a result of St. Louis service men introducing the game to their buddies during World War II and the Korean conflict.  It has many of the features of baseball, yet can be played in a very small area because there is no base running.   
[http://www.corkballusa.com] 

St. Louis Cardinals locker room

Fun Things To DO