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| Minneapolis Millers | |
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| Minor league affiliations | |
| Class | |
| League | American Association (1902–1960)
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| Major league affiliations | |
| Team |
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| Minor league titles | |
| Class titles(2) |
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| League titles(10) |
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| Team data | |
| Name | Minneapolis Millers |
| Ballpark | |
TheMinneapolis Millers were an American professionalminor league baseball team that played inMinneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of theWestern League. The team played first inAthletic Park and laterNicollet Park.
The name Minneapolis Millers has been associated with a variety of professional minor league teams. The original Millers date back to 1884 when theNorthwestern League was formed. This league failed and the Western League replaced it, absorbing some of the old teams. According to Stew Thornley, this team folded in 1891 due to financial problems. In 1894, another team calling itself the Millers was formed whenBan Johnson andCharles Comiskey revived theWestern League in hopes of making it a second major league. The Millers continued to play in the Western League through 1900, when the name was changed to theAmerican League to give it more of a national image. Following the 1900 season, several cities were abandoned for bigger markets in cities recently vacated by the National League, including Minneapolis. Some teams were transferred, as was the case of theKansas City Blues franchise to become theWashington Nationals (Senators). However, some of the teams were just left out in the dark. It is unclear which of these two paths the Millers took, but most evidence seems to point toward abandonment, not a transfer toBaltimore as theOrioles, especially given that no player for the 1900 Millers played for the 1901 Orioles.
Several teams went by the nickname Millers, but the most prominent of these was the team in theAmerican Association from 1902 to 1960. The Millers won four Association pennants during the 1910–23 tenure of"Pongo Joe" Cantillon, then were managed from 1924 to 1931 by another legend,Michael Joseph Kelley, one of the great figures of American Association history. Kelley operated the team as club president until 1946.
Al Sheehan broadcastplay-by-play for the Millers live from Nicollet Park, and recreated road games viaticker tape.[1] BroadcasterHalsey Hall was the Millers' play-by-play man from 1933 until the club folded in 1960 to make way for theMinnesota Twins.
Ted Williams,Willie Mays andCarl Yastrzemski were among some future major leaguers who played for the Millers. The Millers won nine pennants in the Association during their fifty-nine years. They played their home games atNicollet Park until 1955, the ballpark being demolished the following year. That site, at 31st and Nicollet Avenue, is now the home of a Wells Fargo bank. In 1956 they moved intoMetropolitan Stadium inBloomington, until 1960.
They had a heated crosstown rivalry with theSt. Paul Saints. The two clubs often played "streetcardouble-headers" on holidays, playing one game in each city.
Over the years the Millers were participants in fourJunior World Series; matchups between the champions of the American Association and theInternational League. In the 1932 championship, the team was defeated by theNewark Bears 4 games to 2. The Millers, under managerBill Rigney, clinched the 1955 series against theRochester Red Wings, 4 games to 3, in the final ball game played atNicollet Park. In 1958, the Millers, withGene Mauch as skipper, beat the Montreal Royals 4 games to 0. Their last appearance in this Series was in 1959, with Mauch as manager, when the Millers lost the series 4 games to 3 to theHavana Sugar Kings.
After thefarm system era began, the Millers were top-level affiliates of theBoston Red Sox (1936–38; 1958–60) andNew York Giants (1946–57). It returned to the Red Sox organization as a result of a swap on October 15, 1957 with theSan Francisco Seals as part of the Giants' move to theBay Area.[2]
The Millers ceased operations after the 1960 season with the arrival of theMinnesota Twins in1961. The Red Sox affiliated with thePacific Coast League'sSeattle Rainiers for 1961. The Millers ended with an overall record of 4,800–4,365. Through the years, Millers pitchers threw sevenno-hitters, and a Miller batter was the league-leader inhome runs twenty-one times andRBIs nine times.
Numerous famous baseball players, managers and coaches have appeared for the Minneapolis Millers as players at some point in their careers, these players include:
Hall of Fame alumni
Notable alumni
| Preceded by San Francisco Seals (Open Classification) | Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate 1958–1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Giants Triple-A affiliate 1946–1957 (withJersey City Giants, 1946–1950) (withOttawa Giants, 1951) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Boston Red Sox Double-A affiliate 1938 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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