Capahas shutting down after historic 130-year run

The Cape Girardeau Capahas, the nation’s oldest amateur baseball team, have shut down operations, ending a 130-year era of local baseball that began in 1894.

Longtime Hall of Fame Capahas manager and current general manager Jess Bolen said the decision was made due to a lack of financial support and a lack of availability to play at Capaha Field.

Between Southeast Missouri State in the spring and the Cape Catfish in the summer, the Capahas were recently the odd team out when it came to playing weekend games at Capaha Field. The Capahas spent much of last season in the Mon-Clair League bouncing around from Jackson High School and Saxony Lutheran.

More often than not, there wasn’t anyone to operate the scoreboard. Even with free admission, attendance was limited to those related to the players of both teams.

“I could not find a sponsor,” Bolen said. “We didn’t really have a place to play anymore. We were always searching around for a high school field to play our games. You put it all together, it’s frustrating, so we decided there’s no reason to be this way so we shut it down.”

Bolen played for the Capahas since he was a high school sophomore. His management tenure lasted 50 years where he won 1514 games and lost 409. He has been inducted into the Southeast Missouri Hall of Fame (1993), the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame (2000), the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame (2008), the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2011), St. Louis Baseball Hall of Fame (2013) and earned the Jaycees Man of the Year award in 1978 as well as the National Sportsman of the Year award.

Tom Bolen followed in his father’s footsteps and played for the Capahas. He took over as manager and won his 100th game last season. He ended his tenure with a 107-64 record.

The program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Since 1980, the Capahas have won 20 state and regional titles (and earned six other at-large berths) to advance to the National Baseball Congress World Series.

Many former players shared the news of the shutdown of social media with photos of them playing for the Capahas. A handful of them played in the big leagues, including former Chicago White Sox pitcher Cliff Politte, former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Kerry Robinson, and Detroit Tigers pitcher Mike Henneman.

“It was unique,” Bolen said. “It was like we were all brothers on the same team. We took them in, me and Mary, we would get so close to these players that they felt like our kids.”

Mary, Bolen’s late wife, played a vital role in the team’s success and was known for her kindness and generosity.

“She was unbelievable,” Bolen said. “Every time I was given an award I felt guilty because I felt like I was stealing an award from her or at least split with hers.”

During a recent episode of the “Sports Huddle” on SEMO ESPN, a show in which he co-hosts with Eric Sean, he told a story of Mary’s motherly generosity during games played in the scorching summer heat.

“She always fed players during a doubleheader,” Bolen said. “I look out one day, I’m dragging the field during doubleheader games and she’s feeding the other team, the opponents.”

Bolen said her reason why was simply, “Well, they get hungry too.”