View source for Minneapolis Millers

{{Other uses}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=October 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox Minor League Baseball
| name = Minneapolis Millers
| firstseason = 1884 
| lastseason = 1960
| allyears = {{baseball year|1884}}, {{baseball year|1886}}–{{baseball year|1891}}, {{baseball year|1894}}–{{baseball year|1960}}
| city = Minneapolis
| logo = 
| uniformlogo = MinneapolisMillers(baseball)Logo.PNG
| class level = {{plainlist|
*[[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] (1946–1960)
*[[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] (1908–1945)
*[[Class A (baseball)|Class A]] (1902–1907)
}}
| league = 
{{Plainlist|
[[American Association (1902–1997)|American Association]] (1902–1960)
*[[Western League (1900–1958)|Western League]] (1901)
*[[American League]] (1900)
*[[Western League (U.S. baseball)|Western League]] (1894–1899)
*[[Western Association]] (1888–1891)
*[[Northwestern League]] (1884, 1886–1887)
}}
| division = 
| majorleague = {{plainlist|
*[[Boston Red Sox]] (1958–1960)
*[[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] (1946–1957)
*[[Boston Red Sox]] (1936–1938)
}}
| nickname= Minneapolis Millers
| ballpark= {{plainlist|
*[[Metropolitan Stadium]]<br />[[Nicollet Park]]<br />[[Athletic Park (Minneapolis)|Athletic Park]]
}}
| classnum = 2
| classchamps = {{hlist|1955|1958}}
| leaguenum = 10
| leaguechamps = {{hlist|1896|1910|1911|1912|1915|1932|1935|1955|1958|1959}}
| divisionchamps = 
}}
The '''Minneapolis Millers''' were an American professional [[minor league baseball]] team that played in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the [[Western League (U.S. baseball)|Western League]]. The team played first in [[Athletic Park (Minneapolis)|Athletic Park]] and later [[Nicollet Park]].

==History==
[[File:Nicollet plaque 080713 B&W.JPG|thumb|left|Nicollet Park, home of the Minneapolis Millers]]

The name Minneapolis Millers has been associated with a variety of professional minor league teams. The original Millers date back to 1884 when the [[Northwestern 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 when [[Ban Johnson]] and [[Charles Comiskey]] revived the [[Western League (U.S. baseball)|Western 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 the [[American 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 the [[Kansas City Blues (1885-1901)|Kansas City Blues]] franchise to become the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington 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 to [[Baltimore]] as the [[Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)|Orioles]], especially given that no player for the 1900 Millers played for the 1901 Orioles.
[[File:1904 Minneapolis Millers Team - DPLA - cc2de6bc44165c7514854732c08c1f37.jpg|thumb|269x269px|The Minneapolis Millers team in 1904.]]
Several teams went by the nickname Millers, but the most prominent of these was the team in the [[American Association (1902–1997)|American Association]] from 1902 to 1960. The Millers won four Association pennants during the 1910–23 tenure of [[Joe Cantillon|"Pongo Joe" Cantillon]], then were managed from 1924 to 1931 by another legend, [[Mike Kelley (baseball)|Michael Joseph Kelley]], one of the great figures of American Association history. Kelley operated the team as club president until 1946.

[[Al Sheehan]] broadcast [[play-by-play]] for the Millers live from Nicollet Park, and recreated road games via [[ticker tape]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Aqua Follies Producer Dies at 66|date=January 17, 1967|newspaper=[[Minnesota Star Tribune|The Minneapolis Star]]|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-sheehan-1967/164124233/}}; {{cite news|title=Sheehan (Continued from Page One)|date=January 17, 1967|newspaper=[[Minnesota Star Tribune|The Minneapolis Star]]|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-minneapolis-star-sheehan-1967/164124402/}}</ref> Broadcaster [[Halsey Hall]] was the Millers' play-by-play man from 1933 until the club folded in 1960 to make way for the [[Minnesota Twins]].

[[Ted Williams]], [[Willie Mays]] and [[Carl 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 at [[Nicollet 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 into [[Metropolitan Stadium]] in [[Bloomington, Minnesota|Bloomington]], until 1960.

They had a heated crosstown rivalry with the [[St. Paul Saints (1901–60)|St. Paul Saints]]. The two clubs often played "streetcar [[doubleheader (baseball)|double-headers]]" on holidays, playing one game in each city.

Over the years the Millers were participants in four [[Junior World Series]]; matchups between the champions of the American Association and the [[International League]]. In the 1932 championship, the team was defeated by the [[Newark Bears]] 4 games to 2. The Millers, under manager [[Bill Rigney]], clinched the 1955 series against the [[Rochester Red Wings]], 4 games to 3, in the final ball game played at [[Nicollet Park]]. In 1958, the Millers, with [[Gene 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 the [[Havana Sugar Kings]].

After the [[farm system]] era began, the Millers were top-level affiliates of the [[Boston Red Sox]] (1936–38; 1958–60) and [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] (1946–57). It returned to the Red Sox organization as a result of a swap on October 15, 1957 with the [[San Francisco Seals (PCL)|San Francisco Seals]] as part of the Giants' move to the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19571016&id=qNo_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=3aMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6404,6088979 "Giants Swap Seals For Minneapolis," ''United Press'' (UP), Tuesday, October 15, 1957.] Retrieved February 23, 2023.</ref>

The Millers ceased operations after the 1960 season with the arrival of the [[Minnesota Twins]] in [[1961 in baseball|1961]]. The Red Sox affiliated with the [[Pacific Coast League]]'s [[Seattle Rainiers]] for 1961.  The Millers ended with an overall record of 4,800–4,365.  Through the years, Millers pitchers threw seven [[no-hitters]], and a Miller  batter was the league-leader in [[home runs]] twenty-one times and [[RBIs]] nine times.

==Notable players==
Numerous famous baseball players, managers and coaches have appeared for the Minneapolis Millers as players at some point in their careers, these players include:

[[File:MoeBergGoudeycard.jpg| thumb| 180px |[[Moe Berg]]]]

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

Hall of Fame alumni

*[[Orlando Cepeda]] (1957)
*[[Jimmy Collins]] (1909)
*[[Ray Dandridge]] (1949–1952)
*[[Red Faber]] (1911–12)
*[[George Kelly (baseball)|George Kelly]] (1930–1931)
*[[Billy Herman]] (1948)
*[[Monte Irvin]] (1955)
*[[Willie Mays]] (1951)
*[[Rube Waddell]] (1911–1912)
*[[Zack Wheat]] (1928)
*[[Hoyt Wilhelm]] (1950–1951)
*[[Ted Williams]] (1938)
*[[Carl Yastrzemski]] (1960)

Notable alumni
*[[Felipe Alou]] (1957)
*[[Nick Altrock]] (1909–1911)
*[[Moe Berg]] (1924)
*[[Ossie Bluege]] (1922)
* [[Sam Bohne]] (originally "Sam Cohen") (1927–29)
*[[Zeke Bonura]] (1941)
*[[Ralph Branca]] (1955)
*[[Galen Cisco]] (1960)
*[[Roger Bresnahan]] (1898–1899)
*[[Gavvy Cravath]] (1909–1911)
*[[Hughie Critz]] (1923–1924)
*[[Jim Davenport]] (1957)
*[[Chuck Dressen]] (1931)
*[[Hobe Ferris]] (1910–1912)
*[[Buck Freeman]] (1907–1908)
*[[Mike González (catcher)|Mike González]] (1930)
*[[Bubbles Hargrave]] (1931)
*[[Long Tom Hughes]] (1909–10, 1918)
*[[Ad Liska]] (1928)
*[[Bill McKechnie]] (1921)
*[[Gene Mauch]] (1958–1959)
*[[Bill Monbouquette]] (1958)
*[[Cy Morgan]] (1904)
*[[Bob Meusel]] (1931)
*[[Stu Miller]] (1957)
*[[Billy Muffett]] (1959–1960)
*[[Deacon Phillippe]] (1897–1898)
*[[Dick Radatz]] (1960)
*[[Paul Richards (baseball)|Paul Richards]] (1932)
*[[Bill Rigney]] (1954–1955)
*[[Don Schwall]] (1960)
*[[Chuck Schilling]] (1960)
*[[Haywood Sullivan]] (1959–1960)
*[[Chuck Tanner]] (1959)
*[[Hank Thompson (baseball)|Hank Thompson]] (1957)
* [[Phil Weintraub]] (1939–40)
*[[Wes Westrum]] (1941–1942, 1947)
*[[Earl Wilson (baseball)|Earl Wilson]] (1959–1960)
*[[Bill White (first baseman)|Bill White]] (1956)
*[[Al Worthington]] (1953–1955, 1960)
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/p16022coll38:187#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&rid= Interview with Stew Thornley], author of ''On to Nicollet'', the history of the Minneapolis Millers, ''NORTHERN LIGHTS Minnesota Author Interview'' TV Series #39 (1988)

==Bibliography==
{{Commons category}}
* ''Before the Dome'', Nodin Press, 1993, edited by David Anderson.
* ''On to Nicollet: The Glory and Fame of the Minneapolis Millers'', Nodin Press, 1988, by [[Stew Thornley]].
* ''Ballparks of North America'', McFarland & Company, 1989, by Michael Benson.
* ''Green Cathedrals'', SABR, 1986, and Addison-Wesley, 1992, by Phil Lowry.
* [[Baseball-Reference.com]] providing information regarding team rosters and players by individual years

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = [[San Francisco Seals (baseball)|San Francisco Seals]]<br /><small>(Open Classification)</small>
| title  = [[Boston Red Sox]] <br />Triple-A affiliate
| after  = [[Seattle Rainiers]]
| years  = 1958–1960
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Jersey City Giants]]
| title  = [[New York Giants (MLB)|New York Giants]] <br />Triple-A affiliate
| after  = [[Phoenix Giants]]
| years  = 1946–1957<small><br />(with [[Jersey City Giants]], 1946–1950)<br />(with [[Ottawa Giants]], 1951)</small>
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[San Diego Padres (PCL)|San Diego Padres]] & [[Syracuse Chiefs]]<br />(1936)
| title  = [[Boston Red Sox]] <br />Double-A affiliate
| after  = [[Louisville Colonels (minor league baseball)|Louisville Colonels]]
| years  = 1938
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1884]]
[[Category:Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1960]]
[[Category:Defunct minor league baseball teams]]
[[Category:Defunct American Association (1902–1997) teams]]
[[Category:Baseball in Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Professional baseball teams in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:1960 disestablishments in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball teams in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Northern League (1902-71) baseball teams]]
[[Category:Defunct Western League teams]]
[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1960]]