It was a fantastic moment in Springfield's baseball history... if not short lived. Jack Reider returned in 1926 and he was very good with a 30 2B, 20 HR, .313 performance but that wasn't enough to carry the team. From 1927-1930, the Springfield Midgets were playing about 6-8 games under .500. Except for Bill Hooten's  40 2B, 12 3B, 25 HR, .337 league leading (HR) performance in 1929, there weren't anything special happening in White City Park. That was until 1931. The Springfield Midgets had caught the attention of Major League Baseball somehow. The St. Louis Cardinals came to Springfield in the spring of 1931 and began talking about Springfield showcasing some of the Cardinals' rookie talent. The idea of an "Affiliated Minor League franchise" was still just a concept, so there was nothing official happening as of just yet. Even so, the Midgets officially changed their name to the Springfield "RedBirds" for the 1930 season. it was the beginning of something special happening in White City Park. Springfield usually featured about 2-3 future MLB players every season on their roster for the past 2 decades. In 1931, they featured 8... and some of them were quite excellent indeed. Bill Beckmann would put up the best record since Norman Sitts, tying his 24-8 record while posting a terrific 2.46 ERA on his way to a career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Right behind Beckmann was Cy Blanton who posted a 12-8, 3.63 record. Blanton may not have had Beckmann's numbers but Blanton was special. He would be the first product of White City Park to go on to become a 2 time Major League All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Blanton's best season came in 1935 when he led the league in ERA with an 18-13, 2.58 record. 3rd in this stellar rotation was "Daffy" Dean, brother of Dizzy Dean. Daffy would not become an All-Star like his brother but in Springfield he posted an 11-3, 3.64 record on his way to a 9 year MLB career... which included two straight 19 win seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals. Grover Seitz meanwhile put up a 36 2B, 16 3B, 5 HR, .317 performance leading the league in runs scored with 143. The Springfield RedBirds were suddenly on top of the league putting up a 87-57, .604 record taking home the Western Association trophy. It was then that the Cardinals decided that this was the right team to make their new official Class C representative.