View source for St. Paul Saints (1901–1960)

{{Refimprove|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox Minor League Baseball
| name = St. Paul Saints
| firstseason = 1901
| lastseason = 1960
| city = Saint Paul, Minnesota
| logo =
| caplogo =
| class level = {{plainlist|
*[[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] (1946–1962)
*[[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] (1908–1945)
*[[Class A (baseball)|Class A]] (1901–1907)
}}
| league = {{plainlist|
*[[American Association (1902–1997)|American Association]] (1902–1960)
*[[Western League (original)|Western League]] (1901)
}}
| division =
| majorleague = {{plainlist|
*[[Chicago White Sox]] (1933–1942)
*[[Brooklyn Dodgers]] (1944–1957)
*[[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (1958–1960)
}}
| nickname= St. Paul Saints (1915-1960)<br>St. Paul Apostles (1914)<br>St. Paul Saints (1901–1913)
| ballpark = [[Midway Stadium]] (1957-1960)<br>[[Lexington Park]] (1901-1956)
| classnum = 1
| classchamps = [[Junior World Series|1924]]
| leaguenum = 6
| leaguechamps = {{hlist|1903|1904|1919|1920|1922|1924|1931|1948}}
}}
The '''St. Paul Saints''' were a 20th-century [[Minor League Baseball]] team that played in the [[American Association (1902–1997)|American Association]] from [[1901 in baseball|1901]] to [[1960 in baseball|1960]] in the city of [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], [[Minnesota]]. The 1920, 1922, and 1923 Saints are recognized as being among the [[The National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams|100 greatest minor league teams of all time]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp |title=Top 100 Teams |publisher=MiLB.com |date=2001 |accessdate=May 9, 2017}}</ref>
==History==
After decades of independence, the Saints became a farm club affiliate of the [[Chicago White Sox]] (1936–1942), the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] (1944–1957), and the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (1958–1960). Their Minnesota rivals, the [[Minneapolis Millers]], were during different periods the top minor league affiliate of the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] and the [[Boston Red Sox]].
The Saints played the first two years at the Dale and Aurora Grounds in St. Paul. The Saints also played from 1903 to 1909 at a downtown ballpark located on Robert Street between 12th and 13th Streets, and at the  original [[Lexington Park]] at Lexington and University Avenue until 1913 when a fire damaged the structure. A new ballpark with a seating capacity of 10,000 was constructed in 1914 at University and Dunlap, which served as the home of the Saints through 1956. The Saints played their final four seasons at [[Midway Stadium]], a modern ballpark located at 1000 North Snelling Avenue with a seating capacity of more than 13,000.
The two rival [[Twin Cities]] ball clubs played heated "streetcar [[doubleheader (baseball)|double-headers]]" on holidays, playing one game in each city.  Over the years 1902–1960, the Saints compiled a 4719–4435 record, second only in winning percentage to the Millers' .524.  The Saints won nine league pennants, and won the [[Little World Series]] championship in 1924, topping the Baltimore Orioles in ten games.
When the [[Minnesota Twins]] came to the Twin Cities in 1961, the Saints became the [[Omaha Dodgers]].
A [[St. Paul Saints|newer version]] of the team began play in 1993 and is currently the [[Triple-A (baseball)|AAA]] affiliate of the [[Minnesota Twins]].
==Notable players==
*[[Sandy Amoros]] (1951)
*[[Ginger Beaumont]] (1911)
*[[Joe Black]] (1951)
*[[Ralph Branca]] (1945–1946)
*[[Ben Chapman (baseball)|Ben Chapman]] (1929)
*[[Pat Collins (baseball)|Pat Collins]] (1925)
*[[Chuck Dressen]] (1921–1924)
*[[Leo Durocher]] (1927)
*[[Bubbles Hargrave]] (1918–1920, 1929)
*[[Miller Huggins]] (1901–1903)
*[[Mark Koenig]] (1921–1922, 1924–1925)
*[[Clem Labine]] (1949–1952)
*[[Gene Mauch]] (1946)
*[[Chief Meyers]] (1908)
*[[Cy Morgan]] (1906)
*[[Johnny Murphy]] (1930–1931)
*[[Dick Williams]] (1954)
*[[Don Zimmer]] (1953)
===Baseball Hall of Famers===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center
|-
! colspan=4 style="background:#0150A3; color:white;"|St. Paul Saints (1901-1960) Hall of Famers
|-
! style="background:#0150A3; color:white;"|Inductee
! style="background:#0150A3; color:white;"|Position
! style="background:#0150A3; color:white;"|Tenure
! style="background:#0150A3; color:white;"|Inducted
|-
| [[Walter Alston]] || Manager || 1948-1949 || 1983
|-
| [[Roy Campanella]] || [[Catcher|C]] || 1948 || 1969
|-
| [[Duke Snider]] || [[Center Fielder|CF]] || 1947 || 1980
|-
| [[Lefty Gomez]] || [[Pitcher|P]] || 1930 || 1972
|-
| [[Leo Durocher]] || [[Shortstop|SS]] || 1927 || 1994
|-
| [[Bill McKechnie]] || [[Third baseman|3B]] || 1912-1913 || 1962
|-
| [[Miller Huggins]] || [[Second baseman|2B]] || 1901-1903 || 1964
|}
==References==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?city=St.%20Paul&state=MN&country=US&empty=0 Baseball Reference]
*Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' 1997 edition. Durham, N.C.: [[Baseball America]].
*"The St. Paul Saints: Baseball in the Capital City", Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2015, by [[Stew Thornley]]
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul Saints (1901-60)}}
[[Category:Professional baseball teams in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Sports in Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saints (1901–1960)]]
[[Category:Defunct American Association (1902–1997) teams]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:1901 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:1960 disestablishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball teams in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Defunct Western League teams]]