The American Association was formed in 1902. The St. Paul Saints and Minneapolis Millers were among the eight franchises. The end of the rivalry came on Oct. 26, 1960, when it was announced the original Washington Senators were moving to Minnesota.
July 4th Minneapolis Millers-St. Paul Saints doubleheaders generated fireworks in more ways than one
One game in St. Paul, one in Minneapolis formed a summer rivalry that went beyond baseball.
July 3, 2021 at 10:00PM
Baseball was as anticipated as fireworks on July 4th for many decades in the Twin Cities. The Saints and the Millers would play a doubleheader, with a morning game in one ballpark and an afternoon game in the other.
This was also done for Memorial Day and Labor Day, but the 4th was the heart of summer, and baseball season.
The Millers' Nicollet Park was located next to Lake Street. The Saints' Lexington Park was located a short walk from Marshall Avenue.
Same street, different cities. There was trolley service into the early 1950s and fans would ride from one game to the next.
Baseball provided fantastic symbolism for rivalry between Minneapolis and St. Paul in politics and business. Nothing stranger than this:
When Minneapolis got behind building Met Stadium in Bloomington (opened April 24, 1956) in the hope of attracting a major league team, St. Paul set about building the first Midway Stadium (opened April 27, 1957) with the same goal.
And it was at Midway, and then the Met, the Millers and Saints would play on July 4, 1959.
Gene Mauch was a player-manager at age 32 when he led the Millers to a Junior World Series title in a four-game sweep over the Montreal Royals in 1958.
The Red Sox had replaced the Giants as the Millers' affiliate that season. That's because the Giants had moved to San Francisco, displacing Boston's farm club, so the Giants handed over Minneapolis to the Red Sox.
Rookie manager Mauch delivered a Class AAA title and was promptly identified as a future Red Sox manager in the Boston media.
The Red Sox were 31-42 on July 2, 1959. Pinky Higgins was fired as manager. General Manager Bucky Harris didn't want a young manager and immediately hired Billy Jurges, a coach with the Senators, without telling owner Tom Yawkey.
Mauch was balancing the Red Sox' disappointment against the Millers' eight-game winning streak when arriving at Midway for the morning of the Fourth.
Chuck Van Avery was a St. Paul booster and well-known heckler, always located strategically with a few pals near the visitors' dugout. Mauch's roster included his brother-in-law, Roy Smalley Sr., a veteran big-league infielder then winding down his playing career.
Mauch gave him an obvious take sign in a hitter's count. Van Avery bellowed to Mauch that Smalley, "batting .210 needed all the swings he could get.'' He also made reference to the family connection, shouting the pair "could talk it over at dinner.''
There had to be more, although "Van'' was known as a constant but high-class heckler — meaning no profanity.
Whatever, it was enough to set off Mauch. He came around the corner of the dugout, reached the gate and got into the stands, pointing angrily at Van Avery.
The league response? Basically, guys will be guys.
The Saints won that morning game 8-4 on two home runs by Jim Gentile; the Millers won the afternoon game at the Met 7-6 in extra innings.
Mauch and the Millers would return to the Junior World Series, losing in seven games to the Havana Sugar Kings, with Fidel Castro's men famously hanging out by the dugout with rifles.
The next April, Eddie Sawyer quit as Phillies manager after the season opener and Mauch was hired from the Millers to replace him. And in May 1961, Gentile, playing first base for Baltimore, became the first player in major league history to hit grand slams in consecutive innings against our new team — the Twins — at Met Stadium.
Longtime Twins executive George Brophy, the Millers general manager in 1959, always had the explanation for Mauch's short fuse on that 4th.
"Gene was in a bad mood because he didn't get the Red Sox job,'' Brophy said.
Millers and Saints: The history
• The St. Paul Saints and Minneapolis Millers were in the American Association from 1902 through 1960. The Little World Series (starting 1904) and Junior World Series (1932) were played 45 times, with the Association winner playing the International League winner in 44.
• The Saints lost to the Pacific Coast League champions, the Vernon (Calif.) Tigers, in 1919. St. Paul's only "World Series'' title came in 1924, 5-4-1 in 10 games vs. Baltimore. Records reveal outfielder Cuckoo Christensen batted .314.
• The Millers didn't win such a title until 1955, as a Giants farm club with Bill Rigney as manager, and then won another in 1958, as a Red Sox farm club with Gene Mauch as manager.
PATRICK REUSSE
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