It has been more than half a century since Springfield last hosted minor league baseball. That draught will end at downtown's newly constructed Hammons Field in the spring of 2005, when the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League bring professional baseball back to the Queen City of the Ozarks. The new team will have quite a legacy to fulfill, as the Springfield Cardinals of the Western Association won several pennants those many years ago, and brought to town such legendary baseball names as Branch Rickey, Joe Garagiola, and Stan Musial. Before the Cardinals came teams like the Midgets,...