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We Hoosiers might be a proud lot, but chances are, most of us have never heard these surprising facts about the state Indiana.
For example: Indiana is famous for basketball, but did you know that the sport of baseball was unofficially born in Fort Wayne? It’s true! The very first professional baseball game actually occurred there on May 4, 1871.
How about this one: All of those letters that kids across the country write to “Santa Claus” each year? They don’t go to the North Pole! Believe it or not. those letters actually go to the appropriatedly named town of Santa Claus, IN. Even better, each and every one of those letters get a reply!
Most people know that James Dean and Steve McQueen were from Indiana, but did you know that James Best, better known as “Rosco P. Coltrane” on “The Dukes of Hazzard” was raised in Corydon, Indiana?
Speaking of Corydon, the tiny town located just north of the Ohio River was Indiana’s original state capital before Indianapolis.
Everyone knows that the breaded tenderloin originated in the Hoosier state – Huntington, Indiana to be exact – but it’s also a favorite sandwich in the pork producing state of Iowa!
Yes, there are endless reasons that you can feel proud to call yourself a “Hoosier.” There are also a few reasons to feel utterly ashamed. For example, WIBC hosts Hammer and Nigel were both born and bred in the state of Indiana.
