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.

Is Ernie Smith new? How many more do you need for a COMPLETE set of Millers?

I have had the Smith for a little while, but wanted to post a dedication to it. I only have 8 bats from the team. Still missing quite a few regulars - Art Ruble, Joe Mowry, Harry Rice, Wes Griffin, Eddie Sicking, & Ray Fitzgerald.

These are kinda rough
 

I found these in the yard at a garage sale a few years ago, the kids had been playing with them.Attachment 395297

Attachment 395298

Hi Steve, very neat bats and thanks for sharing! Both bats are circa 1952-55. They look professional model. If you would like, send me the dimensions and model number of the Rigney and I can compare it to the one I own.

Original 1920 St. Paul Saints Baseball Club 14x20 Team Photograph – American Association Champions!

This Original Baker Art Gallery photograph was previously owned by Saints P Steamboat Williams. The 1920 Saints were recognized as being the 6th Greatest Minor League Team of All-Time! They finished the season with 115 Wins, 49 losses and captured the American Association Championship.

Top Row: Rapp, McMenemy, Shanley, Haas, Miller, Duncan
Middle Row: E. Hargrave, Merritt, Hall, Griner, Williams, Riggert, W. Hargrave
Bottom Row: W Dressen, Berghammer, M.J. Kelley, Foster, Browne, Boone

Local antique shop find today. As I started to disassemble the frame I found another piece of paper tucked behind the cardboard mat. To my surprise it was an original Montana Public Schools Diploma certificate signed and dated 22 April 1905. The diploma was issued to Rees Williams. Rees “Steamboat” Williams won 20 games for the Saints in 1920! He played for the St. Paul Saints in 1915, 1917, 1920-21 and played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1914 & 1916. Extremely excited to trace the origins of the photo!

Original 1903 St. Paul Saints Baseball Club 11x14 Team Photograph featuring HOFer Miller Huggins - Very 1st American Association Championship!

Back Row: Wheller, Shannon, Corbett, Chech, Hurley, Ferguson, Geier
Middle Row: Sullivan, Kelley, Schaefer, Davis
Front Row: Pierce, Huggins, Volz, Marcan, Jackson

There is an amazing story behind this photo. In 1947, the Saints ran a contest at Lexington Park which provided fans the special opportunity to correctly guess all members of the Saints very first championship team. The winner was handsomely rewarded with this photograph as the prize!

It is believed this photo is original to 1903. These photos were only given to players and management of the team. Mike Kelley was the team manager/player for the 1903 team. The photo has sepia, and done in flat tones. The image is high quality and has strong and clear silvering, which I was told is indicative to a turn of the century photo. Photo attribution is to Harris of Little Rock, Arkansas and copyrighted by the St. Paul Daily News. The St. Paul Daily News ceased publication in 1938.

There are two vintage news clippings on the back of the matt. The first is the player identification roster and the second is the write up about the contest. The article mentions, “The picture belongs to Mike” referring to current team owner Mike Kelley.

That's beautiful. And it's in the right hands, because you may be the only person who could have named the team members off the top of your head!

1877 Minneapolis Brown Stockings vs. Janesville Mutuals Baseball Scorecard – The Origins of Professional Baseball in Minnesota (1875-1877)

Here we have a remarkable scorecard dating to the earliest years of organized baseball in Minnesota that I recently acquired. The scorecard measures 4.5 x 5.5. I was told this scorecard was used in the Ken Burns Baseball documentary.

Minneapolis known as the White Shirts in 1875, Blue Stockings in 1876. By the spring of 1877, Minneapolis appeared in upgraded fine white uniforms, brown stockings and belts, and different colored caps for each position. Because of their new stockings the team would now be known as the Brown Stockings.

The Brown Stockings, much like their nearby river rival the St. Paul Red Caps joined the League Alliance in 1877 after a decade of purely amateur teams drifting through various spots in south Minneapolis. The League Alliance was the first semi-affiliated minor league baseball league. Proposed by Al Spalding on January 15, 1877. Independent baseball teams were to affiliate with National League teams, which would honor their respective contracts. The league only existed for one season, 1877, though another version was attempted in 1882. The League Alliance, a loose association of 13 clubs from the Midwest and East and featured clubs from Syracuse, Memphis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Fall River and Lowell, Massachusetts.

The 1877 Minneapolis Browns rostered some of the earliest players to play at the highest level of Major League Baseball:

Mike Brannock - Chicago White Stockings (1871, 1875)

Dory Dean - Cincinnati Reds (1876)

Charlie Eden - Chicago White Stockings (1877)

Bill Gleason - St. Louis Brown Stockings (1882-87), Philadelphia Athletics (1888), Louisville Colonels (1889), 1886 World Series Champion

Jack Gleason - St. Louis Brown Stockings (1877, 1882-83), Louisville Eclipse (1883), St. Louis Maroons (1884-85), Philadelphia Athletics (1886)

Sonny Hoffman - Cleveland Blues (1879)

Dan O’Leary - Providence Grays (1879), Boston Red Stockings (1880), Detroit Wolves (1881), Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Cincinnati Outlaw Reds (1884)

Bill Phillips - Cleveland Blues (1879-84), Brooklyn Grays (1885-87), Kansas City Cowboys (1888)

Very cool!

I live about a half hour from Janesville, Wi and am there quite often. I think it is awesome to find local "stuff" such as this.

Awesome pick up Taylor