1965-68 Ozzie Virgil Sr. Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

Virgil made his minor league debut in 1953 in St. Cloud, Minnesota in the Northern League. After spending the 1956 season with the Minneapolis Millers, Virgil made his major league debut that fall for the New York Giants.

On September 23, 1956, Virgil became the first player from the Dominican Republic to play Major League Baseball. On June 6, 1958 he became the first black ballplayer for the Detroit Tigers, who were among the last teams to break the racial barrier.

The Minneapolis Millers had four players to break the MLB color barriers - Monte Irvin (NYG), Hank Thompson (STLB), Ozzie Virgil (DET) and Pumpsie Green (BOS)

Pee Wee Wanningers contract the year Gehrig pinch hit for him to begin the streak
 

Pee Wee Wanninger played 6 years for St. Paul. He's an interesting footnote to the two longest consecutive games played streaks behind Ripken.

Cal Ripken holds the all-time record for consecutive games played with 2,632. Second on the list is Lou Gehrig with 2,130; third is Everett Scott with 1,307. Pee Wee Wanninger is tied to both men directly behind Ripken.

In the 1925 season a 32-year old Scott was slipping at shortstop and at the plate. When Yankee manager Miller Huggins saw fit to bench Scott and end the streak, he turned to the rookie Wanninger. On May 5th, 1925 Wanninger started in place of Scott to end what is still the third longest run in MLB history.

Four weeks later Huggins called on 22-year old Lou Gehrig to pinch hit for Wanninger in what would be the start of Gehrig’s own streak.

Here is Wanninger’s player’s contract for the 1925 season in which he helped stop and start two of baseball’s most prolific consecutive games streaks. The front page is also signed by Hall of Fame executive Ban Johnson.

Each of the names that have link that directs to their pages on my website. It's got autographs of all but three Hall of Famers who debuted in the big leagues since 1900. There are also almost 300 other pages with autographs of guys not in Cooperstown. Thanks for looking.

I hope everyone stays healthy,.

Awesome artifact, Jim! Just another great connection to St. Paul. Thanks for sharing!

Saw this on Ebay and thought it was interesting. A St. Paul Saints vs Indianapolis Indians program from 1929. Both teams had a ton of major league talent and the ads are almost as interesting.
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Thank you so much for the tip! I do already have a 1929 program in my collection. Can you believe the Saints won 102 games in 1929 and finished 2nd in the American Association to the Kansas City Blues who won 111 games that season!

100k views, thank you everyone for your interest and support!

Taylor

1925 St. Paul Baseball Club Stock Certificate - Issued to and Signed by Miller J. Huggins.

On January 1, 1925, the St. Paul Saints of the American Association had been sold to Bob Connery, longtime New York Yankees scout. This started a close relationship between the two teams which included a regular shuttle of players between the Saints and Yankees. What was not known at the time was that Yankees manager Miller Huggins was a part-owner of the Saints, as well. After Connery bought the Saints, his statements on his new club’s ownership and relationship with the Yankees were a mystery. He refused to name his partners; there were rumors he was one of three

There was no formal or ownership connection between the two teams, however because of the Yankee-Saints connection, many Yankees players spent time in St. Paul including: George Halas, Lefty Gomez, and thirteen members of the 1927 Yankees: Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel, Walter Beall, Cedric Durst, Pat Collins, Joe Giard, Johnny Grabowski, Ray Morehart, Wilcy Moore, Ben Paschal, George Pipgras, Myles Thomas, Julie Wera.

Extremely happy to finally add one of these to my collection. The stock certificate is for 33 shares of $100 each. That would be equivalent to $49k today.

1936-37 Leo Durocher Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used & Autographed Bat

His competitiveness, passion, ego, and facility for remembering situations is hard to mistake. Shortly after his Major League Debut in 1925 with the New York Yankees, Durocher played shortstop for the 1927 St. Paul Saints during the Connery/Huggins ownership era before winning his first World Series ring the following season with the ’28 Yankees.

I realized through the years of collecting Millers/Saints bats, that finding a Durocher gamer would prove to be monumental task and more so wishful thinking. Well, I'm exceedingly happy to land one of his gamers from his player career for the good old collection. I put this gamer right up there with my Monte Irvin gamer as the one of the most scarce bats in my collection.

Incredible bat!

Beauty! I don't remember when (if) I've seen one. Congratulations.

1906 - 1913 Minneapolis Millers / Boston Red Sox Scorebook
 

.....also includes some guy named Ruth and many 1915-1919 Red Sox Games

featuring one pitching matchup of Babe Ruth vs Walter Johnson, not a bad summer afternoon matchup.

Not sure what the Minneapolis & Boston connection is, a scorekeeper who finally got The Call, or a Reporter who was re-assigned/relocated or a fan who followed both teams. Maybe I'll find something going through the pages, maybe not.

I love a good mystery......as you know.

Taylor, apologies for posting in your thread. I think there may be another Millers thread, but I may have picked the wrong one.

While I have you are you aware of any significant ball players or games the Millers had from 1906 -1913, or for that matter St Paul, Toledo and any other teams in their division?

If so I'd like to check this scorebook for them/it.


Thank you.

Hi Paul,

That is a great looking scorebook. Is there a handwritten name anywhere that could pinpoint the owner maybe(?). The scorecard results pictured from the Minneapolis v Toldeo game from May 5, 1906 is accurate. Historical records show that the game was played on Sunday and the Millers won 2-1. The game was played at Minnehaha Driving Park. I wasn’t aware of that until now. And actually, I learned something even better. The Minnehaha Driving Park is located right outside my back door!!!? I’m not kidding!! The park was located off Hiawatha and 36th in Minneapolis. My god! My jaw just dropped and I have chills. I would love to own that card and frame it in my home. I have lived here for 10 years and until tonight never knew that!

May 10, 1911 – Otis Clymer hits in his 28th straight game, breaking the "world" record for hitting, according to the Minneapolis Tribune, before being ejected by Umpire Charles Ferguson.

Baseball HOFers that played for the Millers during 1906-1913 include: Jimmy Collins (1909), Red Faber (1911-12), Rube Waddell (1911-12).

Gavvy Cravath played for the Millers (1909-11). he led the National League in home runs six times and was one of the sport's most prolific power hitters of the dead-ball era

Taylor, good stuff......hey there is a name on the inside front cover:

Norman P. Johnson

I like the name of the St. Paul team from 1906, the St. Paul Apostles soon to become the Saints.

Also, there is a 1906 game in the book between Indianapolis & Minneapolis, Eddie Cicotte was on the Indians roster, however does not appeared to have pitched this particular game. But Eddie was once in your Minnehaha Park, so that is pretty cool.

There is a 1908 game between Indy & Minnie with future HOFer Rube Marquard pitching and batting 9th. In this game, scored in this book, vs. the Millers he pitched a 2-hit shutout, w/11 K's. So he was showing his stuff that day. Later that summer he would make his first Big League appearance with the NY Giants pitching in only 1 game and going 0-1 for the season. Thus starting his big league career.

There is a 1911 game with Frank Delahanty (Ed's brother) batting 3rd for the Apostles. And a 1913 game with Frank now joining brother Jim in the Millers lineup batting 3rd & 4th. Delahanty brothers must have had some deadball pop.

Then comes 8 Red Sox games from 1915-1919.

Then a Harvard - Yale game no date, guessing 1919 or 1920 since it's after the 1919 Red Sox games.

But definitely looks to be Norman P. Johnson's scorebook as his name is listed a few times on the front & back inside covers.

Whoever he is? Any idea? Must be related to the Millers somehow.

c.1922 Gavvy Cravath Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

In Minneapolis, Cravath learned to hit to the opposite field to take advantage of the short (279 ft) right-field line at Nicollet Park. That ability would also serve him well with the Phillies, who had a similar short right-field porch only 272 feet from home plate at the Baker Bowl. The 1910–11 Millers were one of the great minor league teams of all time, and Cravath was their biggest star. In 1910 he led the league in batting average (.326), hits (200), home runs (14), doubles (41), and triples (13). In 1911 he again led the league in the same categories except for triples, with an average of .363, 221 hits, 53 doubles, 13 triples, and 29 home runs.

1925-28 Johnny Neun Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

Neun entered baseball immortality on May 31, 1927 against the Cleveland Indians, when he caught a line drive from Homer Summa, stepped on first to retire Charlie Jamieson, and despite shouts from his shortstop to throw him the ball, raced towards second base to retire Glenn Myatt, completing the seventh unassisted triple play in MLB history, and the first such play to end a game. He won the American Association Silver Slugger Batting Championship in 1924 for the St. Paul Saints

Any Billy Klaus items? He was my Great Uncle