Perhaps no player is more synonymous with the Minnesota Twins than Kirby Puckett. The Chicago, IL native was selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 1982 draft and spent his entire 12-season career with the Twins, leading the team to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. His feats on the field are the stuff of legend, and his iconic pose – fist raised in triumph while rounding the bases – after hitting a walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series is memorialized in bronze outside Target Field. Puckett was also a 10x All-Star, 6x Gold Glove Award winner and 6x Silver Slugger Award winner. The Twins formally retired his No. 34 in 1997, and he was part of the inaugural Twins Hall of Fame class in 2000. Puckett was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot and was inducted in 2001.
One of the greatest outfielders of all time, Dave Winfield is a St. Paul native, University of Minnesota product and National Baseball Hall of Famer (Class of 2001) – one of four St. Paul natives in Cooperstown. The first athlete ever to be drafted by four different leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA and ABA), Winfield made his major league debut with San Diego in 1973 and played 22 seasons in the majors for the Padres (1973-1980), New York Yankees (1981-88), California Angels (1990-91), Toronto Blue Jays (1992), Minnesota Twins (1993-94) and Cleveland Indians (1995). On September 16, 1993, Winfield collected his 3,000th career hit as a member of his hometown Twins. The 1994 Roberto Clemente Award recipient was a 12x All-Star, 7x Gold Glove Award winner and 6x Silver Slugger Award winner.
One of the best all-around players ever, Willie Mays went from rural Alabama to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Class of 1979). At age 16, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, prior to signing with the National League’s New York Giants. His time in the minors was brief, but his 35-game stint with the Minneapolis Millers – then the Giants’ Triple-A team – was so electric (.477 avg., 1.323 OPS) that, after his club called Mays up, Giants owner Horace Stoneham placed an apology ad in The Minneapolis Morning Tribune. Mays was the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year and in 1954, helped lead the Giants to the 1954 World Series title – including “The Catch”, a backwards running basket grab that remains one of the most iconic outfield plays in baseball history. Across his 23-season career, Mays was a 24x All-Star, 2x All-Star MVP, 2x MVP and 12x Gold Glove Award winner, among other accolades.
The “42” on the vertical panel represents Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson’s No. 42 was retired across baseball in 1997 and April 15 – the anniversary of his debut – is celebrated across Major League Baseball every year as Jackie Robinson Day.
The St. Paul Colored Gophers
The St. Paul Colored Gophers were a pre-Negro Leagues (1907-1914) barnstorming baseball team based in St. Paul. The Gophers’ logo on the vertical panel symbolizes the team’s impact on the local barnstorming circuit and its role in setting the foundation for the founding of the Negro National League in 1920.
One of the most popular Twins players on and off the field, Torii Hunter spent 12 of his 19 major league seasons in a Minnesota uniform. He was a first-round draft pick by Minnesota in 1993, made his major league debut in 1997, and helped lead the Twins to American League Central division titles in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. In 2002, Hunter became the first Twin since Kirby Puckett in 1995 to start an All-Star Game and had one of the most memorable moments of his career, robbing Barry Bonds of a first-inning home run. Renowned for his defensive prowess, competitive fire and clubhouse leadership, he was a 5x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove Award winner and 2x Silver Slugger Award winner. Hunter was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2016.
Hilton Smith is often regarded as one of the forgotten superstars of the Negro Leagues. Born in Texas, he pitched at Prairie View A&M University before enjoying a successful 13-season career in the Negro Leagues, primarily with the Kansas City Monarchs from 1937-48 – where he was teammates with the Satchel Paige. Smith also barnstormed across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest and was part of the 1935 Bismarck Larks team that helped push for baseball's eventual integration. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
One of the most colorful characters in baseball history, Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige played in leagues with trackable stats from 1927-65 and, geographically-speaking, pitched everywhere from North Dakota to the Dominican Republic. Before, during and after his time in the Negro Leagues and American League, Paige barnstormed across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, including playing on the 1935 Bismarck Larks team that helped push for baseball's eventual integration. His Negro Leagues career included stints with the iconic Pittsburgh Crawfords (1933-34, ’36) and Kansas City Monarchs (1940-47). He eventually made his AL debut on July 8, 1948 for Cleveland, at age 42, and pitched for the Indians (1948-49), St. Louis Browns (1951-53) and Kansas City Athletics (1965). Paige was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
Widely regarded as one of the best and most athletic third basemen of all time, Ray Dandridge played more than 20 years in various leagues. Signed into the Negro National League at age 19 in 1933, he played and managed year-round in the U.S., Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. In 1949, Dandridge was the first Black player signed by the Minneapolis Millers in Triple-A and played for the team from 1949-52, where he mentored future National Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays. Dandridge also won the American Association Most Valuable Player Award in 1950 with the Millers. He wrapped up his playing career in Bismarck in 1955 at age 42. Dandridge later became a longtime MLB scout and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.
An agile outfielder and powerful hitter, Monte Irvin was one of the most talented players to make the jump from the Negro Leagues to the American or National League. He began his career with the Negro National League II’s Newark Eagles from 1938-48 (did not play in 1944 while serving for the U.S. Army in World War II). Irvin signed with the New York Giants prior to the 1949 season and, alongside Hank Thompson, became the first Black players to play for the Giants on July 8, 1949. In 1951, with Thompson and Willie Mays on the pennant-winning Giants, he formed one third of the first all-Black outfield in American League/National League history. Irvin was a 7x NL All-Star and won three batting titles with New York, while helping the Giants win the World Series in 1954. His time with the Giants included a stint with the team’s Triple-A club, the Minneapolis Millers, in 1955. Overall, he played eight seasons in the National League with the Giants (1949-55) and Chicago Cubs (1956). Irvin also served as a scout and worked in the commissioner’s office following his playing career, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Legendary catcher Roy Campanella’s professional baseball career began at age 15 in 1937 and spanned until 1957. He played in the Negro National League II from 1937-42 and 1944-45 with the Baltimore/Washington Elite Giants and Philadelphia Stars, and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers prior to the 1946 season. Campanella’s baseball journey included a stop with the St. Paul Saints – then Brooklyn’s Triple-A team – in 1948, prior to his National League debut that same season. With the Dodgers, he was teammates with Jackie Robinson, an 8x NL All-Star, a 3x NL MVP and a key member of the Dodgers’ 1955 World Series-winning squad. Campanella’s career was tragically cut short after an automobile accident in 1958 left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
One of the barnstorming era’s biggest stars and most accomplished players, John Donaldson is said to have amassed over 400 wins and 5,000-plus strikeouts across a career that spanned from the 1910s-30s. He was both a pitcher and an outfielder, successful on both sides of the ball. In the Upper Midwest, Donaldson played in Lehigh, Iowa (1912); Bertha, Minnesota (1924-1925); with the Minnesota Gophers (1925-1926); and in St Cloud, Minnesota in 1930. Donaldson also played on the integrated All Nations barnstorming teams in the 1910s, based on Des Moines, IA. Upon the establishment of the Negro National League in February 1920, Donaldson joined the Kansas City Monarchs and played five seasons there from 1920-24; he is credited by team owner J.L. Wilkinson with suggesting the name “Monarchs.” Donaldson later worked as a scout for the Chicago White Sox following his retirement from playing.
Known for his lights-out pitching on the field, and kind smile and great singing voice off it, Jim “Mudcat” Grant was among the most dominant pitchers of the early 1960s. He made his major league debut for Cleveland in 1958 and spent 14 seasons in the majors with the Indians (1958-64), Minnesota Twins (1964-67), Los Angeles Dodgers (1968), Montreal Expos (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1969), Oakland Athletics (1970-71) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1970-71). Grant was an ace for the Twins’ pennant-winning 1965 team, becoming the American League’s first Black 20-game winner and the first Black pitcher to win a World Series game for the AL. He also earned his second career All-Star nod in 1965, going 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA in 41 games (39 starts). Grant started and won Games 1 and 6 of the 1965 World Series against the Dodgers; in a must-win Game 6, he tossed a complete game and hit a three-run homer to lead the Twins to a 5-1 victory.
A dynamo on the bases, Lou Brock enjoyed a speed-driven 19-year major league career with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals from 1961-79. He signed with the Cubs in 1960 and, in 1961, played for the St. Cloud Rox (affiliate of the Cubs), winning the Northern League batting championship. Brock’s 938 career stolen bases set an MLB record that stood until 1991 and are still second most all time; he was also a 6x All-Star and won the World Series with the Cardinals in 1964 and ’67. Brock was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
One of baseball’s best defensive catchers in the early 1960s and an original Minnesota Twin, Earl Battey began his major league career with the Chicago White Sox from 1955-59. He was acquired by the Washington Senators in 1960, won a Gold Glove in the nation's capital, and moved with the club to Minnesota in 1961. Battey was a key part of the Twins’ early years in Minnesota, including on the American League pennant-winning 1965 team. Battey played for Minnesota from 1961-67 and was a 5x All-Star and 2x Gold Glove Award winner in a Twins uniform. He was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2004.
