St. Louis Ribs in the St. Louis area who wanted a better rib cut than they were receiving from big meat packers at the time. St. Louis Ribs, or St. Louis Style Ribs are Spare Ribs with the rib tips cut off where a lot of cartilage and gristle exists with very little meat. “Pork Ribs, St. Louis Style” officially became an official USDA cut standard NAMP/IMPS #416A in the 1980’s. Spare Ribs and St. Louis Style Spare Ribs are found on grills and smokers in the southern states of the U.S.
Rib Tips Rib Tips are found at the end tips of the rib bone. They are the by-products of St. Louis Ribs where butchers cut the tips off the end of the ribs into strips with a saw. Even with little meat and a lot of cartilage and gristle, Tips are rich in flavor due to the presence of bone and higher fat content. People generally either love them or hate them.
http://three-little-pigs-bbq.com/tutorial-on-pork-ribs-cuts/
We grew up eating Mom’s spareribs = St Louis plus tips, no doubt because neither St. Louis nor tips existed then to be so exalted.