Carthage Historic Preservation, Inc.
Mailing Address:  P.O. Box 375 | Carthage, MO  64836
Phelps House:  1146  Grand Avenue, Carthage, MO
417.358.1776

Municipal Park was dedicated on July 5, 1937, with a day-long celebration featuring the crowning of a queen, games, swimming and diving exhibitions, band performances, and a bathing beauty contest.  Former Carthaginian and millionaire Dr. Sayman was an honored guest, contributing both financial support and his Sayman’s Vegetable Wonder Soap as prizes.

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Funded in part by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), many of the park’s stone structures were built using local fieldstone.  Created to combat the effects of the Great Depression, the WPA partnered with local governments on smaller-scale efforts, hiring only individuals receiving public assistance and paying their wages directly through federal funds.

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Rock Stadium, originally built in 1937 as an amphitheater, became a ballpark in 1942 and was later named after teacher, coach and umpire Carl Lewton.  It hosted future baseball legends including Mickey Mantle, Satchel Paige, Stan Musial, Ernie Banks, and local stars Ken, Clete, and Cloyd Boyer.  

 

The park’s Swimming Pool and Bathhouse opened in 1935 and was considered a state-of-the-art facility at the time. The Pavilion, leased for use as a skating rink and dance hall in 1938, remains a skating rink to this day.

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Carthage Golf Course opened its original nine holes in 1937, expanding to 18 in 1982, with renovations completed in 2003.

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FUN FACTS:  

• The Boyer family from Alba, Missouri, produced seven sons who all played professional baseball, with three reaching the major leagues:  Cloyd Boyer, Clete Boyer, and Ken Boyer. 

• In the 1964 World Series (Cardinals and Yankees), Ken Boyer and his brother Clete both hit home runs, becoming the first brothers to do so on opposing teams.

• All three brothers are buried in Friends Cemetery, Purcell, Missouri.

 

 

​​CLOYD BOYER, born September 1, 1927, was the first of three Boyer brothers to reach Major League Baseball. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945 and debuted in the majors in 1949. Known for his fiery fastball and competitive spirit, Boyer earned nicknames like "Killer Cloyd" and "Blazing Boyer."

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His best MLB season came in 1950, when he posted a 7-7 record and 3.52 ERA with six complete games and one shutout. Despite persistent arm injuries, Boyer finished his big-league career with a 20-23 record over five seasons. He continued pitching in the minors through 1961, winning 117 games over 14 years.

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Boyer later became a respected pitching coach and manager. He worked in the majors with the Yankees, Braves, and Royals, including coaching the Yankees’ staff during their 1977 World Series championship season. His approach emphasized control and injury prevention, informed by his own career challenges.

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Boyer retired from baseball in 1992 and passed away in 2021 at the age of 94. He was married to his high school sweetheart, Nadine, for 72 years and left behind a lasting legacy in both professional baseball and his family.

 

KEN BOYER, born May 20, 1931, was one of 14 children in the Boyer family and a standout athlete from a young age. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1949 and transitioned from pitcher to third baseman early in his professional career. Boyer went on to become one of the greatest third basemen in Cardinals history.

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Boyer made his Major League debut in 1955 with the Cardinals and quickly established himself as a consistent and powerful hitter, a slick fielder, and a team leader. Over his 11 seasons with St. Louis, he was an 11-time All-Star and won five Gold Glove Awards. His best season came in 1964, when he hit .295 with 24 home runs and a league-leading 119 RBIs. That same year, he was named National League Most Valuable Player and led the Cardinals to a World Series championship, hitting a crucial grand slam in Game 4 against the Yankees.

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He played briefly for the Mets, White Sox, and Dodgers before retiring as a player in 1969. Boyer finished his career with a .287 batting average, 282 home runs, and 1,141 RBIs.

After his playing days, Boyer managed in the Cardinals’ minor league system and was named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1978. He led the team through the early 1980s but was dismissed in 1980. Though his managerial career was short, his impact on the organization remained strong.

Ken Boyer passed away in 1982 at the age of 51 after a battle with cancer. In 1984, the Cardinals honored him by retiring his No. 14 jersey. Boyer remains a revered figure in Cardinals history as a symbol of leadership, talent, and dedication to the game.

 

 

CLETE BOYER, born February 9, 1937, was the youngest of the three Boyer brothers to reach the major leagues. Known primarily for his exceptional glove work at third base, Boyer made his major league debut in 1955 with the Kansas City Athletics and was soon traded to the New York Yankees.

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During his time with the Yankees (1959–1966), Boyer became a key part of one of baseball’s most successful dynasties. He played in five World Series with New York, winning titles in 1961 and 1962. Though often overshadowed by his All-Star teammates, Boyer was widely regarded as one of the best defensive third basemen of his era, drawing comparisons to Brooks Robinson. He won a Gold Glove in 1969 while playing for the Atlanta Braves.

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While not primarily known for his bat, Boyer provided solid offense to complement his elite defense. He hit 162 home runs over a 16-year career and had a lifetime batting average of .242. His best offensive season came in 1967 with the Braves, when he hit .245 with 26 home runs and 96 RBIs.

After retiring as a player in 1971, Boyer remained in the game as a coach, scout, and instructor, including stints in Japan and with several MLB organizations. His love for baseball and attention to fundamentals left a lasting impression on players he mentored.

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Clete Boyer passed away in 2007 at the age of 70. He is remembered as one of the finest defensive third basemen in baseball history and as part of one of the sport’s most remarkable families.

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THOMAS "DOC" SAYMAN was a flamboyant medicine showman whose rags-to-riches story took him from poverty to the heights of business success. Born in 1853 in Richmond, Indiana, Sayman’s father, a tinker, left his mother to raise six children on her own. At age nine, Sayman ran away and joined the circus, even touring with P.T. Barnum. These early experiences with entertainment shaped his career in the traveling medicine show circuit.

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​Sayman performed across southwest Missouri, eastern Kansas, northern Arkansas, and Indian Territory with elaborate tent shows, often incorporating circus animals and acts and his white horse, Dolly. His success came from his keen understanding of entertainment and crowd psychology—he would attract a crowd with a show and then pitch his medicines.

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Sayman claimed to have studied medicine in college for four years and combined his medical knowledge with herbal remedies, creating Sayman Vegetable Wonder Soap and a popular Sayman Salve. After initial success in Carthage, Missouri, he expanded operations to St. Louis in 1894, eventually constructing the eight-story Sayman Building in 1912. By the 1920s, his business distributed soaps, toiletries, household preparations, salves and related items that were distributed nationwide, and he had become a self-made millionaire.

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Despite his success, Sayman was known for his eccentric, and often dangerous, behavior. He frequently brandished firearms and was arrested multiple times, with over 50 police reports tied to his name. In court, he once flashed a pistol in his own defense. He reportedly handed out guns to employees in the morning and collected them at night, maintaining a shooting gallery at the factory.

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His personal life was equally unconventional. During a divorce in 1895, his first wife accused him of threats and violence. Sayman was known to challenge others to head-butting contests—always winning due to a metal plate in his skull. His second marriage to Luella Maycroft in 1915 brought newfound social respectability. Their daughter, Dorothy Jean "DoJean," was born in 1916. The family resided in a lavish apartment atop the factory and later purchased a grand home on Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis.

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After Sayman's death, Luella moved the business to a different building and drastically scaled it down. The original Sayman factory building was demolished in 2000.  Sayman’s life was a blend of spectacle and innovation, entrepreneurship and eccentricity. His legacy lives on in the folklore of Missouri and the history of early American patent medicine.

 

FUN FACTS:

• Sayman’s horse Dolly was a staple of his traveling show, and even after her death, she was preserved and displayed in the factory lobby.

• At its peak in 1920, the company employed 8420 door-to-door salesmen offering 166 products including soaps, toiletries, household preparations, salves and related items that were distributed on a national scale.

• At a banquet for Sayman's 81st birthday (with Dolly stuffed by his side), he received a testimonial that read:

Dear Doctor: Best wishes for a happy birthday. I sure think your salve is the best on the market. A streetcar ran over my cat and cut off its tail. I applied your salve to the tail and it grew a new cat on it."​

• Today you can still purchase Sayman salve on Amazon!​

Source:  Our St. Louis History Facebook Post

 

 

 

The 1888 CARTHAGE CITY DIRECTORY shows Sayman living at 318 Orchard Street.

 

                    

1915