CAPE'S CAPAHAS HAVE NEW SPONSOR; CLUB IS OLDEST SEMI-PRO BASEBALL TEAM IN NATION

Cape Girardeau's Capahas baseball team will be under new major sponsorship this season.

The new sponsor is McDowell South, 4670 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson, and McDowell Ford, Pontiac and Buick of Perryville.

The company assumes sponsorship from Kohlfeld Distributing Inc., which has provided the bulk of funding for the team for 14 years.

The Capahas, which will play their 104th season this year, will play under the name McDowell's Capahas. As the major sponsor, McDowell will provide most of the team's funding.

"We're pleased that McDowell has stepped forward as our major sponsor," said Bolen. "We're looking forward to the new season."

Ron McDowell, president of McDowell South and McDowell Ford, Pontiac and Buick, said: "It'll be great for both. Our dealerships will receive some publicity, and it will help the Capahas financially."

Bolen said the Kohlfeld family will still provide funding to the team. "They picked us up when we were almost at the stage of disbandment 14 years ago, and we're grateful for that," he said.

"Fourteen years is a long time for a major sponsor for a team like ours," said Bolen. "During that time we have moved up."

The Capahas will still need additional funding from other sources, said Bolen.

"Fifteen years ago we could run the team on about $5,000," he said, explaining the Capahas then played teams from Perryville, Sikeston, and other nearby places. But those teams are gone, and the Capahas must travel farther to places like Memphis, St. Louis and Indianapolis.

During that time span, the cost of travel, equipment, and umpires has increased, said Bolen. "Our annual costs now will run about $20,000," he said.

There were times when the manager and his wife, Mary Bolen, dug into their own pockets to keep the team going.

The Capahas are the oldest semi-professional baseball team in the nation. The team has called Cape Girardeau home since 1894.

Under sponsorship of the Kohlfelds, the Capahas have captured six Missouri championships and finished among the top five teams in national tournaments five times."

Bolen has been manager of the team for 32 years.

When the Capahas were organized in 1894, they were named after the sponsoring Capaha Flour Co.