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1941-1948

            1942 was Al Eckert’s last year as president of the club and “Runt” Marr became manager. Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, baseball was not a main focus, and many players were still being lost to the draft.

            After Garagiola was qualified to signed a contract, he became the backup catcher for his first year with the club. The team finished third in the first half and last in the second half. Most of the minor leagues shut down for the rest of WWII, including the Western Association.

            During World War II there was no significant baseball being played. But, games did occur occasionally. O’Reilly Hospital fielded a team and youth baseball was still available, to a limited degree. There were also some barnstorming teams that came into the area, but nothing significant.

A story told by Ralph Harris of the Assemblies of God church, stated that in the early morning hours of January 1, 1915, five teenage boys on their way home from a watch night service decided to take a short cut through White City Amusement Park, which sat on the corner of Boonville and Division streets in Springfield. The boys knew the park had developed a bad reputation in town due to the nature of some of its entertainment. They decided to pray and ask God to use the property for his glory. The boys claimed a two-block area for God that stretched from Boonville Avenue to Campbell Avenue, and from Division Street to Calhoun Street. In December of 1945 their prayer was granted when the Assemblies of God purchased the land. The park was demolished and the lights were sent to the Springfield High School.

            After the war had finished, the Western Association began again in 1946, but there was no place to play.

            In need of a new stadium, they began construction of Memorial Stadium in 1947. The construction was initiated by the Springfield Memorial Baseball Association. It was required that a $100,000 ($824,209.74 today) bond was to be sold, however, only $7,000 ($57,694.68 today) was raised. The Chicago Cubs financed parts of the construction and loaned the association $25,000 ($206,052.43 ).

            In 1948 the Cubs didn’t move their club to Springfield, but kept them in Hutchison, Kansas. That year a windstorm blew through Hutchison and destroyed the grandstand, and the Cubs were forced to move the team to the partially complete Memorial Stadium. They finished their season in Springfield, but had very poor attendance. It may have been because of their 43-87 record.

            The Cubs wanted to moved the team to Springfield permanently in 1949, but they had a pre-existing agreement with Hutchison.

            Eventually Chicago moved the team from Hutchison to Springfield. The manager was Bob Peterson and their home field was Memorial Stadium. Combined with the park not being completed and the odors that came from the nearby sewage treatment plant, the attendance was very poor. They finished third in the season and lost in the playoffs. The paid attendance for the 1950 season was 34,860, and the Springfield Cubs were terminated during the off-season.