My Vintage Minneapolis Millers & St. Paul Saints Collection

Tay1038 · #1 07-08-2019, 02:19 PM

1924 Johnny Neun St. Paul Saints Minor League Batting Championship "Silver" Bat and Ball Trophy

This Sterling-Silver plated Bat and Ball Award was presented to St. Paul Saints first baseman Johnny Neun for winning the Minor League Batting Championship in 1924 with St. Paul, where he batted .353 with 100 RBI's and lead the American Association with 54 steals!

The bat is engraved, "Frank A. Ubel Trophy Presented to Johnnie Neun Leading Hitter, St. Paul Club 1924 Pennant Winners."

This Silver Bat Award pre-dates the famous "John A. "Bud" Hillerich Award", named for the founder of the Louisville Slugger, that was first given out to the minor league batting champions starting in 1934. In 1949, the Hillerich Award was expanded to the majors and included batting champions from the National and American Leagues. The first winners were Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn) and George Kell (Detroit). Kell had won the award as a minor leaguer in 1943.

Scott Garner · #2 07-14-2019, 06:06 AM

Great stuff, Tay!
Truly an epic collection you are putting together!

Tay1038 · #3 07-16-2019, 09:17 PM

1939 American Association AA All-Stars Game Worn Uniform with Original Baseball Centennial Patch, and ASG Program!

A uniform that really intrigued me! The Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints franchises played in the American Association from 1902-1960. The AA All-Stars of 1939 had 10 combined players rostered between the Millers and Saints teams including third baseman Gil English of St. Paul who won the 1939 American Association MVP that season!

The format of the American Association All-Star game featured the team in first place at mid-season against a team comprised of the best players from the other seven teams. The 1939 contest was held in Kansas City's Muehlbach Field as the hometown Kansas City Blues were crushed 19-7 by the all stars from the rest of the league. A young 20-yr old Shortstop Pee Wee Reese headlined the AA All-Star Roster (Great photo of Pee Wee attached). Notables Phil Rizzuto and Vince DiMaggio played for the KC Blues!

I will have this uniform along with the game-day program on display at The City of Baseball Museum next week during the American Association All-Star Game in St. Paul for those in attendance.

Tay1038 · #4 07-16-2019, 09:36 PM

St. Paul Saints at Toldeo Mud Hens American Association Game Used Baseball from May 24, 1948 at Swayne Field - Roy Campanella's third career game with St. Paul!

Saints manager Walter Alston, the Dodgers’ future hall of fame skipper, wrote Campanella into the Saints’ lineup on May 22 at Columbus, integrating the American Association. His debut was a near disaster going 0 for 4. The next day the Saints packed up for Toldeo in which this baseball was used in game two of the three game road series. Toledo defeated St. Paul 6 -5 that day. Roy Campanella went 1 for 4 recording his second career hit and his first career RBI with the Saints! Campanella hit 13 home runs with 39 RBIs in just 35 games for the Saints before being promoted to Brooklyn.

Tay1038 · #5 07-24-2019, 09:30 PM

Our new display case was a big hit at the 2019 American Association All-Star Game yesterday!

Tay1038 · #6 08-06-2019, 12:24 AM

Minneapolis Millers vs. St. Paul Saints Program & Ticket Stub from Sept. 8, 1960 - Final game ever played between Millers & Saints featuring Saints pitcher Jim Golden's 20th Win of the season becoming the last 20-Game Winner in the History of the American Association!

I recently acquired what I thought was an ordinary final-year Millers program & ticket from 1960 with Yaz in the line-up for Minneapolis. Come to my surprise this program was dated and scored from the second game of a double-header played on Sept. 8, 1960, between Minneapolis and St. Paul making this program the final game ever played between the two ball clubs marking the end of a fierce 59 year battle and the start of a new baseball beginnings in the State of Minnesota.

After spending the better part of the 1890s hosting entries in the Western League, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul became part of the newly formed American Association when the league organized in Chicago in November 1901. A tradition of inter-city rivalry that extended from the days of the old Northwestern League in the 1880s, their American Association battles would become legendary over a period of six decades. The two clubs often played double-headers on holidays, playing one game in each city. The double-header rivalry became famously known as the "Streetcar Double-Headers". These teams and their fans put what was then an isolated Midwestern locale securely onto the baseball map until the Millers and Saints played their final games in 1960, departing the scene to make way for the Minnesota Twins."

Tay1038 · #7 09-17-2019, 04:42 PM

The Ballpark Digest recognized the Saints, and the City of Baseball Museum in particular, in their year-end awards as baseball�s Best $1-Million Ballpark Improvement. More than 40,000 visitors walked through the museum during the season. Quite the honor for St. Paul and the entire Saints organization!

https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/09/1...seball-museum/

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