Joplin first met Gabby Street when he hired on as player/manager of the Western Association1s Joplin Miners minor league team in 1922. Street’s professional baseball career lasted 47 years. He managed 712 games in his six years of managing the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns. In 1931 Street led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title. From 1939 to 1950, Street did the radio broadcasts for the St. Louis Cardinals, teaming up with legendary sports broadcaster Harry Caray. As a catcher, Street caught for Hall of Fame great Walter Johnson, but his most famous catch was a baseball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument in 1908. After his managing stint with the Cardinals, Street retired to Joplin where he lived in the former Levi Riseling home (built 1887) until his death on February 6, 1951.