Monett Baseball

Monett Baseball. . Monett has always been known for baseball. In the early 1900s Monett had local teams and semi-professional teams. There was a team called the Athletics until the spring of 1910, then they were renamed Rolleg's Midgets after a player from Joplin who was named Grant Rolleg. The team had a record of 54 wins and 7 losses in their 1910 season. There was an admission entrance fee and the players were paid to play. If spectators were caught sneaking through the fences to watch the game, they would get arrested. There was another team, organized by Onis Wilks, called the Bellview Baseball Team. They played their games on North 9th Street in the late 1920s. There were teams with high school students playing on their team as semi-professional players. Monett also had a farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals in the early to late 1930s called the Monett Redbirds. This team allowed local people to show off their skills and have a shot at major league baseball. Two players who made the lineup from that team were Ervin Dusak and Buzz Arlett. Both players had major league playing time before and after leaving Monett. , Written by: Brayden Tucker [and] Lilli Sitton , This sign was created by students under the direction of Monett High School Missouri Literature and Composition teacher Amy M. Sampson and was paid for via a grant she wrote and was awarded from Rural Schools Collaborative and their 2023 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows Program.