Absolutely fascinating collection! Though partial to the Giants related stuff, the bats, uni's, and anything Cuba related are off the hook! Thanks for sharing

1898 Detroit Tigers vs. St. Paul Apostles/Saints Western League Baseball Program

This particular Saints team was part of the second incarnation that was active in the Western League from 1894-1899. The Western League, was a minor league baseball league founded in 1885 and included the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Blues, Minneapolis Millers, Indianapolis Indians, and the Buffalo Bisons.

In 1900, the Western League changed its name to the American League. It was still officially a minor league, a part of the National Agreement and an underling of the National League. The NL actually gave permission to the AL to put a team in Chicago, and on March 21, 1900, Charles Comiskey moved his St. Paul club to the South Side, where they became the Chicago White Sox.

This particular program dates to the 1898 season, 120 years old! Although absent from this program, the Detroit Tigers held future Hall of Fame (Introduction 1946) Pitcher Rube Waddell and Kid Elberfield, known as one of the best shortstops in the early years of the twentieth century. The Detroit Tigers defeated the St. Paul Apostles/Saints 4-3 that day.

This is the earliest Saints related program I have ever come across, and likely one of the earliest Detroit Tigers programs to exist today.

Saw that one. Nice pick up.

How about that set of 1939 autographed photos that were recently auctioned? I collect early Ted Williams, but couldn't fork out that much dough when I only wanted this one:

Ted
 

Thats a beaut! What auctionwas it a partof?

haha-i knew that would be right up your alley. it sold last month in either Lelands or Hunt - I forget which.

Great stuff, as always!

Kind of surprising to me that bicycles could cost from $40 to $75 in the late 19th century.

1951 Minneapolis Millers Full Ticket--Willie Mays’ Home Run #4

Newest addition. Thought this was a neat item!

Game Used Bats from Ray Mueller, Lou Clinton and Don Zimmer.

Ray Mueller was a member of the Millers 1955 JWS Championship Team and Lou Clinton was a member of the Millers 1958 JWS Championship Team. I now have 12 GU Bats from the 1955 Championship Team and 6 GU bats from the 1958 Championship team.

Zimmer played for the St. Paul Saints in 1953 and 1954, winning the American Association Rookie of the Year in 1953 with the Saints!

This beautiful cabinet is of the 1887 Millers. Shown is Robert Foster who put the team together and managed it, and his brother Elmer Foster who stared on the team and is featured in the Old Judge set, among other things, as a member of the spotted tie subset. This team also featured many players who would go on to play higher level baseball and who were also featured in the Old Judge set(Hawes, Murphy, Patton, Winkleman, Krueger, Murray, Shaw, Tuckerman, Knopf, etc). This cabinet is available for trade(oldjudge@gmail.com)

Still in awe of that 1877 Red Caps composition.

Joe Glenn - Minneapolis Millers (1933)

1933-35 Joe Glenn Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

Glenn hit .333 with 17 home runs and 91 RBIs for Minneapolis in 1933. When the Millers’ season ended he moved back up to the Yankees and was the catcher when Babe Ruth made his final appearance as a pitcher. Seven years later, Glenn was also the catcher when Ted Williams took the mound for two innings for the Red Sox. Glenn played on four New York Yankees World Series Championship teams - 1932, 1936-38.

I figured you’d be picking that up. Nice and very tough find. The photos of both teams players on both covers are cool.

1955 Minneapolis Millers vs. Rochester Red Wings Junior World Series GM 5 & GM 7 Scorecard Programs!

I attended a local memorabilia show last weekend, and found two hidden gems in these Millers programs. Both programs are beautifully scored and from the final games ever played at Nicollet Park!

JWS Game 5 (Home GM 1 - Nicollet Park) - 9/25/55.
WP-Worthington. 8-hitter by Worthington, who strikes out 12 and walks 1. Pless and Lennon hit back-to-back homers in the second. Brandt ties game in the 3rd with a home run. With the score 3-3 in the 8th Irvin hits a long homer to left. Millers add 3 more runs in the inning. Millers Win 7-3.

JWS Game 7 (Home GM 4 - Final Game ever played at Nicollet Park) - 9/29/55.
WP-Melliere. With the Millers short on pitchers, Byerly makes his first start of the season and gives up a leadoff home run to Howie Phillips. Rochester scores another in the inning, and Melliere relieves Byerly. Lennon hits a 3-run homer off Deal in the 4th for a 3-2 lead, and Sawatski follows with a home run. Irvin adds a homer in the sixth for a 5-2 lead. Rochester scores 2 in the 7th, and Worthington relieves Melliere, going the rest of the way. Millers make the score 9-4 in the 7th on a 2-run homer by Bollweg and 2-run double by Lennon. Millers Win 9-4 winning the Junior World Series!

1959 Minneapolis Millers vs. Havana Sugar Kings Junior World Series Program - Signed by Carl Yastrzemski

Picked up my second 59 JWS program the other week!

St. Paul Saints Original Team Photos - 1920, 1922, 1930

The 1920 and 1922 Saints were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. HOFer Lefty Gomez played for the Saints in 1930. Special thanks to Graig Kreindler for connecting me with the seller.

1948 St. Paul Saints Junior World Series Team Signed Baseball – 22 Signatures

This baseball originates from a local family collection, in which the father was with the team from 1943-1951 as an Assistant Trainer under Al Schuneman. The baseball has aged nicely over the past 71 years. Signatures remain very bold, and the ball in still great condition. All players on the active 48’ JWS Roster are represented on this baseball, with the expectation of manager Walter Alston. HOFer Roy Campanella unfortunately is also not represented on the baseball as he only played 35 games for the Saints that season between May and June and was back in the Brooklyn Dodgers lineup by July 2. One notable signature on the baseball is Dan Bankhead. Bankhead on August 26th, 1947 became the first African-American to pitch in a Major League Baseball game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Players: Bob Addis, Andy Anderson, Toby Atwell, Dan Bankhead, Al Brancato, Slick Coffman, John Douglas, George Fallon, Phil Haugstad, Buddy Hicks, Mel Himes, Spider Jorgenson, Morrie Martin, Pat McClothin, Earl Naylor, Jack Paepke, David Pluss, Bob Ramazzotti, Jim Romano, Charles Samaklis, Eric Tipton, Harry Taylor.

1949 Ray Dandridge Marianao Baseball Club Payroll Check

Ray Dandridge became the first black player to play for the Millers in June of 1949. Dandridge had been signed, along with Dave Barnhill, off the roster of the New York Cubans of the Negro American League. A 16-year veteran of the Negro and Mexican Leagues, Dandridge was regarded as the greatest third baseman in the history of the Negro Leagues. In his rookie season at Minneapolis Dandridge hit .311 and had a 28-game hitting streak during the year. He also had three home runs and eight RBIs in one game in August. Dandridge’s 1950 performance in the field and at the plate (.311 batting average with 106 runs scored and 80 batted in), earned him the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Dandridge played for the Millers from 1949-52.

This signed payroll check dates to October 6, 1949 from the Cuba Baseball League, Marianao Baseball Club. The Check was endorsed by Dandridge on the back and dates to his rookie season with the Minneapolis Millers. The Cubans sold him mid-year during the 1949 season to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, a farm club for the major league New York Giants. After the Millers 1949 season ended, Dandridge played Winter ball in the Cuban Professional League in which this check was cut to him for his services.

Although this is not a Payroll check from the Minneapolis Baseball Club, I still see it being a significant addition to my collection to highlight Dandridge’s career.

1929 Ad Liska Autographed Professional Model H&B Bat

Liska played two seasons with the Minneapolis Millers in 1928 and was a member of the 1932 Minneapolis Millers Junior World Series team. In 1928, Liska won nine straight games for the en route a 20-4 record with 3.68 ERA in 225 innings pitched.

Liska was a star pitcher for the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League for 14 season. In 1936, his 15 wins helped the Beavers win the PCL championship. In 1945, at the age of 39, he won 20 games, leading the Beavers to the best record in the league. He was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003.

1919 St. Paul Saints American Association Championship Trophy

Beautiful Sterling Silver trophy was presented to the St. Paul Saints Baseball Club for winning the American Association Championship in 1919. HOF Chicago Bears owner George Halas played 39 games with the Saints that season after being released by the New York Yankees.

1922 St. Paul Saints American Association Championship Trophy

How unique is this! This absolutely stunning cow horn vessel and sterling silver trophy was presented to the St. Paul Saints Baseball Club for winning the American Association Championship in 1922. With a season record of 107-60, the 1922 Saints team is ranked in the Top 100 Greatest Minor League teams off all time!

You tracked down a couple of great items. Nice pick ups.

Those are absolutely fantastic! Unbelievable pick ups!

Impressive.

Stopped by CHS Field today, the home of the current St. Paul Saints. They're in the process of building a museum on site.

1930s Ollie Bejma Hillerich & Bradsby Side-Written Game Used Bat

Bejma played three seasons with the St. Paul Saints (1938, 1940-41) and was the American Association co/MVP in 1938 batting .326 with 25 HR’s helping the Saints to the American Association Pennant that year. He was the second of only three Saints players to win league MVP honors in team history.

Special thank you to Ken for helping me out with this one!

Tay already has THE museum. :p

I thought I would share a bit more about the museum coming to St. Paul. I have been working with the St. Paul Saints over the past couple years now on their new City of Baseball Museum that will open next Thursday, May 16 at CHS Field. It has been a tremendous privilege to be able to partner with the St. Paul Saints to make this vision of ours come to life!

A large portion of the artifacts on display will be on loan from my collection. Graig Kreindler has an amazing piece in the museum as well! I hope if you live in the area or are just visiting the Twin Cities that you take the opportunity to stop by and take a jog down memory lane. We have a great story to tell about baseball in Minnesota. The museum is free to the public during stadium hours, and to fans who attend games.


Enjoy!


https://www.kare11.com/article/sport...6-c9fc500a8385

https://www.twincities.com/2019/05/0...-lore-to-life/

The museum looks amazing. Can't wait to see it and part of your collection when the season opens next week.

Sent from my LM-X410(FG) using Tapatalk

Looks like you're using this as a BS line to expand your personal collection. I was the high bidder on a pair of 1931 Junior World Series tickets this morning and then the listing is canceled. I contact the seller to find out what the story is. This was what he told me:

"New message from: centscount (7,390Green Star)

A museum in St. Paul that is opening a baseball museum on Thursday requested the tickets for their exhibit.

Sorry about that.

Congrats on winning them do you want their info? I can ask them and maybe they can buy 1 piece from you?

Let me know it was just an honor to have an item from our store go to a museuam in the city where 1000s of people could enjoy them. Just honest.

Please advise. At your service.
Virgil"


That's is an absolutely dishonest and shady way to go about collecting.

Chris Sexton

Jump to conclusions much? Wow. I was hoping you were kidding but I dont think that is the case.

I am completely serious. They were 1931 St. Paul Saints Junior World ticket stubs and extremely rare. The seller was contacted directly to sell them off of eBay. Did you read the seller's entire response? It is in my post.

Nice job on throwing out the first pitch.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d5223a8dc1.jpg

Sent from my LM-X410(FG) using Tapatalk

Thanks for posting all of this...
 

I have really enjoy the dedication. I have a special love of the Irvin bat! Congrats!

I believe that is also Graig Kreindler tossing out one of those first pitches as well!

Thank you David and Al! Its great to hear the wonderful feedback about the museum! Here is a picture taken by the St. Paul Saints staff of Dave Kaplan, Craig Kreindler and myself.

1937-42 Babe Barna Hillerich & Bradsby Side-Written Game Used Bat

A Nicollet Park favorite, Barna played 6 years season with the Millers (1941, 1944-48) and twice lead the American Association in home runs.

1934-49 AB Wright Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

In 1940, just two seasons following Ted Williams Triple Crown season with Minneapolis, Wright became the second Millers player to win the American Association Triple Crown Award with the Minneapolis Millers with 39 home runs, 159 RBIs and a .369 average. Arguably is greatest career accomplishment came on a July 4 game against the St. Paul Saints at Nicollet Park when he slugged four home runs and a triple for 19 total bases, still a league record. Wright played 10 seasons (1931-34, 1939-44) with the Millers. In 892 games with the team, Wright hit .323 with 159 home runs. This is my second AB Wright addition to my collection!

Vintage St. Paul Saints Programs from 1930-1959

1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959.

1930 Pinky Hargrave Hillerich & Bradsby Side-Written Game Used Bat

The younger brother of Bubbles Hargrave, Pinky Hargrave played for the Minneapolis Millers from 1934 to 1936 and was selected in 1934 as the Most Valuable Player in the American Association after compiling a .356 batting average with 17 home runs. He was 38 years old! Pinky had a 10 Year career in Major League Baseball with the Washington Senators (1923–1925, 1930–1931), St. Louis Browns (1925–1926), Detroit Tigers (1928–1930), and Boston Braves (1932–1933), and also played on the 1924 Washington Senators World Series Championship team!

1959 Junior World Series Program & Actual Home Line-Up Card Signed by Manager Gene Mauch from Game 2 on September 28, 1959 vs. Havana Sugar Kings at Metropolitan Stadium

WP-Wall. Ed Sadowski of Minneapolis homers off Luis Arroyo leading off the last of the 9th wins the game. The Millers had tied the game with 3 in the 8th on a 2-run homer by Lou Clinton off Mike Cuellar and solo homer by Red Robbins off Arroyo. Earlier in the game, Roy Smalley had hit a 2-run homer. The Millers defeated the Sugar Kings 6-5. The next day with the weather forecast calling for cold and rain, the series commission voted unanimously to move the remaining games to Havana. The Sugar Kings would take the series in seven games, winning twice in extra innings.

Bubbles and Pinky. Sounds like a couple of loose women. :p

The stuff you unearth continues to astound me!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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."

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/

2019 Eddie Medina Road St. Paul Saints No-Hitter Jersey & Chesny Young Home St. Paul Saints GM 3 Championship Title Clinching Go-Ahead Grand Slam Homerun Jersey

Eddie Medina threw the sixth no-hitter in American Association history and the second no-hitter in St. Paul Saints history on May 31, 2019, striking out 10 batters in a 5-0 road victory over the Cleburne (Texas) Railroaders. The other no-hitter was pitched by Joe Miller on August 25, 1996 at Midway Stadium. This uniform was worn by Medina during the historic achievement. Eddie finished the 2019 season with a team leading 10-3 record, tossing a No-Hitter and named the Starting Pitcher for the AA All-Star Game.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsx7eV1tTCY

Chesny Young's Grand Slam Homerun in Game 3 of the American Association Championship ended a 15-year championship drought, sweeping their series with the Sioux City Explorers. Young was named the American Association Championship series MVP, finishing the series with seven RBI. Chesny wore this uniform to hit the monumental homerun earlier this month. Young played in the Chicago Cubs minor league organization ending in AAA for the Iowa Cubs in 2018, before joining the Saints in 2019.

Link: https://twitter.com/StPaulSaints/sta...61055347486722

1921-30 Joe Riggert Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

One of the most popular Saints players during his 12 seasons (1912-13, 1915-24) in St. Paul, Joe Riggert accumulated 1,639 hits with the Saints. Riggert was a member of the 1924 Saints Little World Series Championship team. In 2003, baseball writer Bill James named Riggert as the best minor league baseball player of the 1910s.

St. Paul Saints Cardboard Countertop Schedule Display, ca. 1940

I recently purchased this extremely rare and unique silk-screened countertop schedule sign. The piece was likely never circulated as there was an error at the bottom with the city “Lexington, Kentucky”. Other known examples have the name of the team’s ballpark printed underneath the team name. The St. Paul Saints played their games at Lexington Park. It’s likely that something was lost in translation during printing and new signs were distributed. I am particularly excited about adding this sign as it’s only the second vintage advertising piece that I have seen St. Paul Saints related. The other was a barnstorming broadside c. 1926 promoting a game between Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees vs. St. Paul. That sold for hefty $12k!

1932 Junior World Series Game 1 Full Ticket – Minneapolis Millers vs. Newark Bears.
Historic ticket from the first game of the first Junior World Series (it was called the Little World Series before 1932.)

1949 St. Paul Saints American Association Championship Trophy
In his final season in St. Paul, Walter Alston managed the 1949 club to American Association pennant with a record of 93-60. This is now the third Saints trophy in my collection.

Wow.

Your collection continues to amaze.

My Great Great Uncle played for the St Paul Saints in the late 1918 through 192 before the Yankees brought him up to the majors mid 1921. Ended up playing Center field in the 1921 World series. H was one of the leagues best hitters in 1919 ans 1920. Lool up Elmer Miller

Thanks, Andrew!

Ken - that's amazing! Your great uncle played on some of the best teams in Saints history! Very, very cool. He even played with George Halas in 1919! .300+ hitter in each of his three season in St. Paul. Definitely a primary contributor to the teams success. I posted one of my team photos of the 1920 team in an earlier post. Any idea which player is Elmer? Thanks for sharing.

Dave Bancroft Millers & Walter Alston Saints Type I Press Photos

Here we have a pair of original Type I press photos of two HOFers!

The first photo from the Associated Press is of Minneapolis Millers manager Dave Bancroft and Columbus Red Bird pilot Ray Blades before the AA Playoff game on Sept. 15, 1933.

The second photo is of St. Paul Saints manager Walter Alston before the AA Playoff game on Oct. 18, 1948.

Anything on Lou Limmer? Love those lefty first basemen.

c. 1930s Autograph Booklet Featuring 1935 St. Paul Saints Team with Monty Stratton!

19 total signatures featuring Monty Stratton and Phil Todt. In 1925, The Yankees offered Lou Gehrig to the Red Sox, to repay for the Babe Ruth trade. The player they requested was Todt. Neat find.

Another eye-catching find. And that Burley Grimes autograph must be pretty rare! Baseball reference has him pitching for only one season, 1934, in the Penn State Association, class D.

Joe Hauser - Minneapolis Millers (1932-36)

1931-32 Joe Hauser Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used & Autographed Bat - Early 20th Century Single-Season Home Run King!

“Unser Choe” they called him. A German expression for “Our Joe”. A nickname given to him by the fans while paying for his hometown team the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1920’s. First baseman, Joe Hauser rewrote the record books in professional baseball. While playing for the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1930; he set an organized baseball single-season record with 63 home runs. He led the International League in homers again the following year and was dealt to the Minneapolis Millers just prior to the to the start of 1932 season. In 1933, Hauser reset his original professional baseball record by hitting 69 home runs for the Millers. He became the first and only player (until Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire matched the feat in the 1990s) to hit 60 or more home runs in a season twice. Hauser played five seasons with Minneapolis and ended his five-year stint with the Millers with 202 home runs, averaging better than 40 a season.

The feat of landing this gamer after a long 10-year hunt is stimulating. My Millers game-used bat collection just didn’t feel complete without a Hauser. The bat comes with rock-solid provenance. Dave Bushing traded Joe a bottle of whiskey for an afternoon of stories and an autograph. The bat was presented to Hauser at his home in Sheboygan. Joe proudly indicated bat was his and the nails on the back end of the barrel were from him, and he nailed the bat to keep it in action for as long as he could. Thrilling to know that this gamer is a period example that likely could have been used during the historic 1933 season!

I love this thread...

Me too! :)

I love the super crazy guys like this Millers / Saints collection, you with your no hitter museum, Ted Z with his t206 knowledge, and me with my... well I'm just all around nuts. Hahaha.

Doug

Dick Wade - Minneapolis Millers (1920-22, 1927), St. Paul Saints (1924-26)

1925-28 Dick "Rip" Wade Hillerich & Bradsby Side-Written Game Used Bat

Richard Frank Wade, also know as Rip was a native Minnesotan from Duluth, MN. Rip played four season with the Minneapolis Millers from 1920-22, 1927, and three season for the St. Paul Saints 1924-26 and was a integral member of the Saints 1924 Little World Series Championship team! He had a cup of coffee with the Washington Senators in 1923. His father purchased the Duluth Dukes and the stadium is called Wade Stadium, "The Wade".

One fascinating characteristic on this bat is the smoke damage likely from the 1931 Hillerich & Bradsby factory fire.

Spencer Harris - Minneapolis Millers (1928-37)

Baseball fans know well that Pete Rose is the major league "hit king", with 4,256 hits in 24 seasons. But how many baseball fans know the minor-league hit leader, Spencer Harris? Born in Duluth, MN, Spencer Harris accumulated 3,617 hits in 26 minor-league season from 1921 to 1948. The speedy leadoff man had a keen eye at the plate. In his prime from 1928 to 1937, Harris accumulated 1,792 hits and averaged .336 during his ten seasons with the Minneapolis Millers. Harris never hit under .300 and racked up more than 200 hits in a season four times. He still holds the all-time minor league record for at bats (11,377), Hits (3,617) runs scored (2,287) and ranks fourth all-time in RBI's (1,769). Harris played parts of four Major League seasons with the Chicago White Sox (1925-26), Washington Senators (1929), and Philadelphia Athletics (1930). He also had a long successful PCL career that expanded nine season with San Diego, Hollywood, Seattle and Portland.

Two for the price of one. The first bat is an early career circa 1925-28 H&B that was returned to Hillerich & Bradsby Factory and the second is circa 1933-35 H&B that is attributed to two home runs during the 1935 season while playing with the Millers. There are two vintage hand written statements on the bat. Below the center brand reads, "Harris broke this bat on his third trip to the plate". The other statement is just below the engraved signature and reads, "Spencer Harris hit two home runs with this bat on April 27, 1935. The home runs were made on Spencer's first two appearances at the plate." There is an additional sentence that is no longer legible. Based on the standing, statistics, and game results research compiled by Minnesota Baseball Historian Stew Thornley - the Minneapolis Millers were defeated by the St. Paul Saints 14-2: LP-Morrow. Spencer Harris hits 2 home runs.

Nice bats Taylor.

Really cool bat additions, Tay!

Taylor — that Spencer Harris bat with the notations on it is absolutely incredible.
It would be great if at some point you could share some photos of how you display your collection.

Greg

I'll bet you could figure out what the other sentences say using a black light or other types of "less normal" light.

Doug

Thanks guys! I'll have to consider taking a black light to the bat.

Greg - Once I have the collection displayed exactly as I envisioned, I will without a doubt post a few photos.

1933-34 Ernie Smith Hillerich & Bradsby Game Used Bat

Smith hit .314 in 647 games with the Millers over five years! He scored 108 runs and drove in 111 in helping the Millers to the 1932 pennant.