Updated 1-10-2022

Saint Paul Saints History 1940-1960

1940 1946 1952 1958

1941 1947 1953 1959

1942 1948 1954 1960

1943 1949 1955

1944 1950 1956

1945 1951 1957

Index to players, managers and ballpark bios

-----1940-----

The fifth decade of the Saint Paul Saints franchise started poorly as the club again finished in fifth place winning four less games (in six fewer games played) and attendance fell by nearly 57,000 fans [compared to 1939]. Only two players hit over .300 and two pitchers had ERAs under 4.00. In addition, there were seven players who played part of the season with other American Association teams which makes analysis difficult since currently existing minor league stats are not broken down by team, just league.



[Minnesota Historical Society]

Lexington Park Being Readied for Opening Day

It appears that deals were made, during the year, with Indianapolis [Gibby Brack and Dee Phillips for Jesse Newman and Lloyd Johnson], Milwaukee [Woody Abernathy for Ed Morgan] and Toledo [Saints obtained Vern Mackie].

The position of catcher was shared by last year's reserve Norm Schueter (.204 in 86 games), Vern Mackie (.224 for two A.A. teams), Neil Cornelius (.214 in 38 games) and a returnee bench player - Rufus Jackson (.245 in 15 games).

After hitting .229 in 40 games at first, the starting first baseman since 1938, LeRoy Anton went down to the Southern Association where he finished his pro career. Taking over first was Jesse Newman who was obtained from Indianapolis (.302 for two A.A. teams). Ollie Bejma (.297) returned as the second baseman after spending 1939 with the White Sox and Gil English (.317) also came back to lead the team in average, home runs (19), RBI (89) and slugging percentage. Newcomer John Gerlach (.247) played more at shortstop (81 games) then Lou Rogino (.241 in 67 games) and Dee Phillips who was sent to Indianapolis.

George Stumpf (.273) was the only returning outfielder and it appears that Ed Morgan (.292 for two A.A. teams) and Ralph McLeod (.269) were the other starters after the departure of Woody Abernathy (.281 for two A.A. teams) and Gibby Brack (.276 for two A.A. teams). Bob Reis (.273) was a power-hitting bench player with 16 homers as a outfielder (46 games) and infielder. He played third base in the year's All Star game.

Another All Star, Art Herring, returned to lead the team in victories (17-10) in 32 starts/239 innings and was second in ERA (3.80). Newcomer Bill Swift (13-10) led in two other categories with a 3.29 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 24 starts as he compled 186 innings. Vedie Himsl (13-15) , in his second year, had an ERA of 4.05 and a 1.40 WHIP in 26 starts and 222 innings. Harry Taylor (5-15) returned for 22 starts and 150 frames, but didn't pitch very well (5.86, 1.64).

Other heavily-used pitchers were Tom Earley (12-12) who pitched in 139 frames with 17 starts and had an ERA of 4.47/ 1.56 WHIP and Lloyd Johnson, who after coming over from Indianapolis, was a starter (8-11 for two A.A. teams).

Ten other players were given a chance on the mound with veteran Saint Vic Frasier (3-4) [some sources spell his last name "Frazier"] getting into 18 games (7 starts) for 65 innings compiling a 5.40 ERA and 1.91 WHIP. Newcomers Al Fisher (1-3) got into 44 innings, Mac Beddingfield (0-0) in 20, Howie Belknap (0-1) in 15, Nate Andrews (1-3) in 24 and Ed Weiland (0-0), who played some games for the White Sox during the year, pitched in 21. The others (Jess Dobernic, Dwain Sloat, Ray Philps and Wilcy Moore) all returned for a few games each.

John Gerlach played for Saint Paul in 1940. He was in 12 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1938-39 as a shortstop (8 games) and third baseman (one game). In 27 at bats, he had nine hits (.333) with a .419 OBP and .333 slugging %.

Gerlach was a pro player from only 1938-1941 with one year in the highest minor league classification. He died at age 82 on August 28, 1999, in Madison, WI.

Gilbert "Gibby" Brack was with the Saints for part of the 1940 season. He played 112 games for the Dodgers in 1937 (.274) and 40 games in 1938 (.214) before going to the Phillies for 72 contests (.287). His final big league year was 1939 when he performed in 91 Phillies games (.289).

He was an outfielder in 230 games and played first in 19 more (.967 fielding). Brack hit .279 in 315 major league games and 980 at bats with a .341 OBP and .436 slugging.

Brack played professional ball from 1933-1948 including four years in "AAA". Thereafter, he worked for Lone Star Steel in Longview, TX. Unfortunately, he died at age 51 in Greenville, TX, on Jan. 20, 1960. His body was found at a roadside park and the cause of death was determined to be suicide from a gunshot wound. Burial was at Memoryland Memorial Park in Greenville, TX.

Ed W. Morgan played part of the 1940 year with the St. Paul club. His first stint in the majors was in 1936 for the Cardinals when he played 8 games with a .278 average. During the next year, he completed his big league days with 31 games for the Dodgers (.188). He was in 39 major league games and had 66 at bats with a .212 average, .325 OBP and .303 slugging. Defensively, he had a .842 fielding average with 11 games in the outfield and 7 at first base.

Morgan was a pro performer from 1934-1950 with eight years in the American Association and managed in the minors from 1946-1950. Later he was a construction worker for the Cleveland (OH) Housing Authority. He died at age 67 on June 27, 1982, in Lakewood, OH. Cremation followed and burial was at the Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Bedford Heights, OH.

Ralph McLeod was with the 1940 Saints. He was in only six big league games with the Braves in September 1938. He had 7 at bats with 2 hits including one double (.286 average, .429 slugging). Ralph only had one appearance in the outfield.

He played as a pro from 1936-1940. He died on April 27, 2007, in Weymouth, MA, at age 91, after living in Wollaston, MA.

Robert "Bobby" Reis played for St. Paul teams in 1939-40 and 1942-43. In 1930-31, he was with the Dodgers for six and one game(s) going 6-for-21 as a third baseman. Back with Brooklyn in 1935, he spent the whole year in the Bigs as a utility player playing all positions [he was supposedly the first major leaguer to do so]. Bob was in 52 games with 85 at bats for a .247 average.

He finished his MLB career with more back-up duty for the Braves from 1936-1938 in 37, 45 and 34 games. During this tenure he added catcher and shortstop to his resume and hit .217, .244 and .184. In his major league 175 games and 301 at bats, he batted .233 with a .291 OBP and .279 slugging. Defensively, he was in 51 games as an outfielder and played every other position including 69 as a pitcher. As a hurler, he completed 243 innings, including 139 in 1936, allowing 262 hits and 144 walks with 52 strikeouts. His ERA was 4.27 with a .277 OAV .379 OOB and he had a 10-13 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"The versatile Reis played nearly every position during his career. Coming up as a third baseman, the singles hitter failed in two trials before reappearing in 1935 as an outfielder and pitcher. Traded to the Braves after the season, he was used primarily as a relief pitcher in 1936 and went 5-1 in that role. He caught one game in 1938 and filled in around the finfield when necessary." - Warner Rockford

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Reis was a professional ballplayer from 1930-40, 1942-43, 1946 and 1948. He then worked for the Fleishman Distillery and died, after a long illness, at the age of 64, in Saint Paul on May 1, 1973. Burial was at the Willow River Cemetery in Hudson, WI.

Damon "Dee" Phillips played for Saint Paul during part of the 1940 year. He played in 28 games as a shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds in 1942 hitting .202 in 84 at bats. In 1944, he was with the Boston Braves as their starting third baseman/shortstop appearing in 140 games with a .258 average. His career ended with 2 games in 1946 for the Braves (1 for 2 as a pinch hitter).

In his career 170 games and 575 at bats, the right hander batted .250 with a .296 OBP and .315 slugging %. His fielding average was .956.

In the minors, from 1938-1943 and 1947-1959, he played on 25 teams with averages over .300 in 3 seasons. He played at the AAA level for 12 years including four in the American Association. Dee played for the 1959 Fargo-Moorhead Twins (.176) as a player/manager.

Phillips served in the military in 1945 and 1946 and was a minor league manager from 1957-1961. Phillips lived for some time in Joinerville, TX, and died on November 4, 2004, at the age of 85, in Fort Worth.

Tom Earley pitched on the 1940 Saints. He was with the Braves from 1938-1942 as a starter/reliever in 2, 14, 4, 33 and 27 games for 11, 40, 16, 139 and 113 innings with ERAs of 3.27, 4.72, 3.86, 2.53 and 4.71. After serving in the U.S. Navy in 1943-44, he ended his big league years back with the Braves for 11 games and 41 innings (4.61 ERA).

Early's MLB career was 91 games, including 37 starts, for 360 innings as he allowed 349 hits and 143 walks while striking out 104. He had a strong ERA of 3.78, a .256 OAV, .330 OOB and an 18-24 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"Early wanted a tryout with the Red Sox but settled for signing with the Braves. After pitching for them for parts of five seasons, he went into the military where he damaged his arm irreparably, tearing ligaments playing first base." -- Norm Macht

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He pitched pro from 1936-1942 and 1945-1946. Later he became an expediter for the Fafnir Bearing Company in New Britain, CT, for 28 years. He died from a heart attack in his Roxbury, MA, apartment, at the age of 70, on April 5, 1988. His burial was at St. Mary's Cemetery in Nantucket, MA.

Vic Frasier [sometimes spelled "Frazier"] was a pitcher on the 1938-1940 Saint Paul clubs. After three minor league years, he joined the White Sox in 1931 and played with them through part of the 1933 season in 46, 29 and 10 games for 254, 146 and 20 innings with ERAs of 4.46, 6.23 and 8.85. He spent the rest of the '33 year with the Tigers in 20 games with a 6.64 ERA. He also pitched in 8 games for Detroit in 1934 (5.96).

His MLB career ended with 3 games with the Braves in 1937 and 10 for the White Sox in 1939. He made 126 big league appearances (68 starts) for 579 innings allowing 686 hits and 291 walks while striking out 170. Vic's composite ERA was 5.77 with a .293 OAV, .373 OOB and 23-38 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"Frazier's (sic) 1937 homesickness created a roster spot for Braves rookie Jim Tuner. Turner responded with 20 wins, seven more than Frazier had collected in his top season (1931 with Chicago)." - Tom Jozwik

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Frasier pitched as a pro from 1927-1929, 1931-1934 and 1936-1941. After baseball, he worked for the W.H. Brown Co. in Jacksonville, TX. He died at the age of 72 on Jan. 10, 1977, at the Neptune Hospital in Jacksonville and was buried at Mount Bethel Cemetery in Gary, TX.

Nate Andrews was a pitcher on the 1940 Saint Paul team. He was in 4 and 11 games for the Cardinals in 1937 and 1939 completing 9 and 16 innings. Nate also had short stretch with the Indians in 1940-1941 for 6 and 2 games. He finally got his real chance with the Braves in 1943-1945 for 36, 37 and 21 games (34, 34 and 19 starts) with 284, 257 and 138 innings with ERAs of 2.57, 3.22 and 4.58 and records of 14-20, 16-15 and 7-12. He was named to the 1944 National League All Star team.

His major league career ended with 7 games for the Reds and 3 for the Giants in 1946. In his big league years, he appeared in 127 games, including 97 starts, for 773 innings allowing 798 hits and 236 walks while getting 216 strikeouts. His ERA, over those games, was a good 3.46 with a .265 OAV, .321 OOB and 41-54 record.

Andrews was a professional pitcher from 1934-1947 and managed in the minors in 1947. He died at age 77 at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC, on April 26, 1991. Burial was at the Rowland Cemetery in Rowland, NC.

Andrew "Jess" Dobernic pitched parts of the 1938-1940 seasons with the Saints. In 1939, he was in 4 games for the White Sox and his next big league appearances did not come until 1948-1949 for the Cubs (54 and 4 games) with 3.15 and 20.25 ERAs. His final MLB games were 14 for the Reds in '49 (9.78 ERA).

In his major league career, he was in 76 games, all in relief, for 112 innings as he allowed 107 hits and 66 walks while striking out 55. His ERA was 5.21 with a .247 OAV, .349 OOB and a 7-3 record.

He was in the service from 1943-45 and played pro ball from 1937-42 and 1946-54. Dobernic died at age 80 on July 16, 1998, in St. Louis, MO.

Ed Weiland was a pitcher on the 1940, 1943, 1946 and 1947 Saints squads. He had two five-game trials with the White Sox in 1940 and 1942. In total, he completed 24 innings allowing 33 hits and 10 walks as he struck out 7. His ERA was 8.25 with a .317 OAV, .377 OOB and no record.

He was a pro pitcher from 1937-1943 and 1946-47. Weiland died at age 56 on July 12, 1971, in Chicago.

Foster "Babe" Ganzel managed the Saints in 1938-1940. He was an outfielder for the 1927-1928 Senators in 13 and 10 games going 23-for-74 (.311) with a .378 OBP and .473 OOB.

He played pro ball from 1922-1937 (including eight years in the American Association - he led the league in RBI in 1932) and was a minor league manager from 1928-1934 and 1937-1941. In 1,796 minor league games, he batted .317 with 6,415 at bats. Ganzel died on Feb. 6, 1978, at the age of 76, at a hospital in Jacksonville, FL.

-----1941-----

After one league championship and two fifth place finishes, Babe Ganzel did not return as manager in Saint Paul. His replacement was 13-year big league veteran Red Kress who was 34 years old and had a .286 life-time batting average as a shortstop and utility infielder. In 1940, he was a major league coach with the Tigers, but did play 68 games at first base and shortstop for the Saints. In 1937, he spent the season in the American Association with Minneapolis.

Kress

Red's rookie managerial season ended poorly as St. Paul settled in seventh place losing 8 more games then in '40 having played 5 more games. Attendance was the league's worst as they lost about 37,000 fans from the previous season. The club hit at the same rate, but pitching performances were worse.

After Bill Swift (7-8) was dwelt to Brooklyn after 16 starts (3.19 ERA, 1.11 WHIP in 124 innings), Vedie Himsl (12-15) took over as the pitching corps leader. He led the team in victories, innings pitched (229) and WHIP of 1.34 (excluding Swift). Art Herring (11-17) pitched 190 innings and had a team-high 26 starts, but his ERA (4.59) and WHIP (1.48) suffered. Future National League star, Ken Raffensberger (10-9), came aboard for 32 games and 20 starts (156 innings) and pitched acceptably with a 4.85 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. Two other newcomers, Clay Smith (8-10, 148 inn., 5.41 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) and Dick Lanahan (5-14, 134 inn., 5.37 ERA, 1.66 WHIP) were the other mainstays in the rotation, but they did not pitch well.

Ten-year MLB veteran, Oral Hildebrand (5-3), joined the team and got into 16 contests (12 starts) and 78 innings for a decent 4.27 ERA but a high 1.62 WHIP. Dwain Sloat (1-6, 30g, 105 inn., 7.03, 2.09) and Mearl Strachan (2-4, 15g, 35 inn., 7.46, 2.26) returned to the Saints but pitched poorly. Lloyd Johnson (5-6 for two A.A. teams) started with the club, but went back to Indianapolis during the season. The final mound corps members were newcomers Bill Clemensen (0-2, 5.06 ERA), Dick Coffman (0-2, 5.48) and Steamboat Struss (0-0, 1.73 WHIP).

New starting catcher, Ed Fernandes (.268), had a decent year with 82 games behind the plate and was named to the league's All Star team. He was backed up by veteran bench player Norm Schlueter (.242) in 46 games and Herm Bauer (.269) in 24. A fourth catcher, Bus Payton, also made appearances with the Saints.

After Jesse Newman (.282 for two A.A. teams) was moved to Toledo, manager Kress took over at first base hitting .293 with 10 homers and 57 RBI. Ollie Bejma (.300) continued to be the starter at second base finishing as the runner-up in team hitting. Third baseman and All Star, Gil English (.316), continued to be the team's hitting star leading the club in hitting, slugging % and RBI (93). Leo Wells (.277) came back to the team as the regular shortstop. The infield reserves were Sig Gryska (.218 for two A.A. teams) who arrived during the season from Toledo and Frank Knox (.182) who played in 10 games.

For the second straight season, George Stumpf (.254) was the only returning regular outfielder. However, his performance was overshadowed by the play of Fern (given name "Jerome" and AKA "Danny") Bell (.284) who led the team in homers with 18 and was second in team RBI at 80. Frank Kalin (.295) was the other starter in 86 games. Frank Silvanic (.225 for two A.A. teams) was with the team until he was sent to Kansas City.

Would things get worse in 1942?

[St. Paul Pioneer Press]

Picture from May 1 Showing Ceremonial First Pitch (Red Kress at left and Ed "King of the Bleachers" Boldt as catcher)

Ed Fernandes was a catcher on the 1941 Saint Paul club. He had a short stint with Pittsburgh in 1940 for 28 games and 33 at bats (.121). He returned the majors in 1946 for 14 games with the White Sox when he went 8-for-32. In his 42-game big league career, he hit .185 with a .338 OBP and .231 slugging. His fielding average was .952 in 39 games as a catcher.

He was a professional baseball player from 1936-1952 and 1954 and managed in 1952 and 1954. He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII and, after baseball, worked as a shipping clerk for Matson Ship Line. Fernandes died suddenly from complications of diabetes at age 50 on Nov. 27, 1968, in Kaiser Hospital in Hayward, CA. Burial was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward.

Fernando "Fern" or "Danny" Bell played on the Saints in 1941. He was a back-up outfielder for Pittsburgh in 1939 batting .286 in 83 games. The next year he only got into 6 games for the Bucs which ended his big league career. In 89 games and 265 at bats, he hit .283 with a .383 OBP and .385 slugging mark. He fielding % was .975 with 67 games in the outfield.

Bell played pro from 1931-1943 with three years in the American Association. He died at age 87 on Aug. 29, 2000, in Rancho Mirage, CA.

Frank Kalin [born "Kalinkiewicz"] was on the Saint Paul team of 1941. He only had two very short trials in the majors with the first coming in September 1940 for Pittsburgh when he was 0-for-3, in 3 games, and the second in 1943 for the White Sox in 4 contests as a pinch hitter (0-for-4). Frank played the outfield in two games.

Kalin was a pro player from 1938-1954 (incl. 7 years in the A.A.) with 1944-45 being spent in the U.S. Army. He died of natural causes at the age of 58 on Jan. 12, 1975, in Steubenville, OH, and was buried at St. Paul Catholic Church Cemetery in Weirton, WV.

Ken Raffensberger pitched on the 1941 edition of the Saints. He had a long 15-year career in the majors. In 1939, he was in one game for the Cardinals and then had 43 appearances for the Cubs in 1940 (3.38 ERA). His 1941 season was also with the Cubs for 10 games (4.50) before he came to St. Paul. In 1943, he was in only one game for the Phillies.

He had an All Star year in 1944 for Philadelphia with 37 games (31 starts) and 259 innings for a 13-20 record and 3.06 ERA. Ken was only in five games the Phils in 1945, but then settled in as a full-time big league pitcher. For the Phillies in 1946-1947, he was called into 39 and 10 games completing 196 and 41 innings for ERAs of 3.63 and 5.49. He led the league in saves in 1946. The remainder of the '46 year, he was with the Reds for 19 games and 107 innings with a 4.13 ERA.

The left-hander continued to play for the Reds from 1948-1954 in 40, 41, 38, 42, 38, 26 and 6 games finishing 180, 284, 239, 249, 247, 174 and 10 innings compiling ERAs of 3.84, 3.39, 4.26, 3.44, 2.81, 3.93 and 7.84 and 11-12, 18-17, 14-19, 16-17, 17-13, 7-14 and 0-2 records. He led the league in shutouts in 1949 and 1952.

In major league years encompassing 396 games (282 starts) and 2,151 innings, he allowed 2,257 hits and 449 walks while striking out 806. He ERA was 3.60 with a .267 OAV, .306 OOB and a 119-154 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"After a shoulder injury slowed his fastball, Raffensberger became a top control pitcher; over one four-year stretch he threw just two wild pitches. Representing the last-place Phillies in the 1944 All Star game, he was credited with the victory, but finished the season with a league high 20 losses...[He] led with 38 starts in '49. But in 1951, no NL pitcher lost more then Raffensberger's 17. He threw four career one-hitters, two against the Cardinals in 1948." - Norm Macht

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Raffensberger was a pro pitcher from 1937-1957 and he managed in the minors in 1956-57. He died at the age of 85 on Nov. 10, 2002, in York, PA.

Oral Hildebrand was a hurler on the 1941 Saint Paul club. He had a good 10-year MLB career. With the Indians in 1931-1936, he appeared in 5, 27, 36, 33, 34 and 36 games for 27, 129, 220, 198, 171 and 175 innings with ERAs of 4.39, 3.69, 3.76, 4.50, 3.94 and 4.90 and records of 2-1, 8-6, 16-11, 11-9, 9-8 and 10-11. He was named to the 1933 AL All Star team and led the league in shut outs that year.

From 1937-1938, he was a starter on the Browns for 30 and 23 games (201 and 163 innings) with ERAs of 5.14 and 5.69 and 8-17 and 8-10 records. His big league years ended in 1939-1940 with the Yankees in 21 and 13 contests and 127 and 19 innings as he compiled ERAs of 3.06 and 1.86 and records of 8-10 and 10-4.

Over his ten major league seasons, he appeared in 258 games (182 starts) with 1,431 innings as he allowed 1,490 hits and 623 walks while striking out 527. His composite ERA was 4.35 with a .267 OAV, .343 OOB and a 83-78 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"The rangy righthander was a star basketball player at Butler University before turning to baseball. His best season, (16-11, 3.76) in 1933 with the Indians earned him a spot on the AL's first All-Star Game roster." - Morris Eckhouse

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Hildebrand played pro from 1930-1942. Thereafter, he became a tool and die maker for the Link-Belt Division of FMC Corporation and retired in 1972. On Sept. 7, 1977, he died at the age of 70, at his home in Southport, IN, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens in Greenwood, IN.

Bill Clemensen was a pitcher on the 1941 Saints team. He had limited major league chances over three seasons with the Pirates during the 1939, 1941 and 1946 seasons. He got into 12, 2 and one game(s) during those years for 27, 13 and 2 innings with ERAs of 7.33, 2.77 and 0.00. In total, he appeared in 15 games (2 starts) for 42 innings allowing 39 hits and 27 walks while striking out 19. He composite ERA was 5.57 with a .255 OAV, .377 OOB and a 1-1 record.

Clemensen was in the pros from 1937-1941 and 1946-1947. He served in the military from 1942-45 and was a superintendent for the California Youth Authority for 27 years. His death, at the age of 74, was on Feb. 18, 1994, caused by a heart attack. Burial was at Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Sacramento, CA.

Samuel "Dick" Coffman pitched with the Saints for part of the 1941 season. His major league career lasted 15 years with five teams. In 1927, he made 5 appearances for the Senators and finished 16 innings for a 3.38 ERA. From 1928-1932 he was with the Browns for 29, 27, 38, 32 and 9 games for 86, 53, 196, 169 and 61 innings with ERAs of 6.09, 5.98, 5.14, 3.88 and 3.10.

During the remainder of the '32 season, he was with the Senators for 22 contests and 76 innings (4.83). In 1933-1935, Dick was back with the Browns in 21, 40 and 41 games with 81, 173 and 144 innings compiling ERAs of 5.89, 4.53 and 6.14. Then he became a full-time relief pitcher for the Giants from 1936-1939 as he was called into 42, 42, 51 and 28 games with 3.90, 3.04, 3.48 and 3.08 ERAs. He led the league in appearances and saves in 1938.

For the Braves in 1940, he was in 31 games and 48 innings with a 5.40 ERA. His last MLB shot was in 1945 for the Phillies as he was in 14 games and 26 innings (5.13). Dick compiled 472 big league games (132 starts) and 1,460 innings allowing 1,782 hits and 463 walks for a 4.65 ERA, .302 OAV, .357 OOB and a 72-95 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"As a struggling starting pitcher for the lowly Browns, Coffman gained sudden recognition in August 1931 by pitching two 1-0 shutouts. He spent much of his later career in the bullpen and was among the first to log over 300 games as a reliever. With the Giants, he led the NL in relief wins in both 1936 and 1937...Dick was a more successful big leaguer than brother George "Slick" Coffman." - Bob Davids

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Coffman was a pro hurler from 1933-1946. He died at age 65 on March 24, 1972, at the Athens Nursing Home in Althens, AL and was buried at the Athens City Cemetery.

Clarence "Steamboat" Struss pitched for Saint Paul in 1941. On Sept. 30, 1934, he made his only major league appearance, a start for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He lasted 7 innings allowing 7 hits and 6 walks while striking out 3. His ERA was 6.43 with a .250 OAV, .382 OOB and a 0-1 record.

Struss pitched as a professional from 1931-39 and 1941. He died at age 76 on Sept. 12, 1985, in Grand Rapids, MI.

Ralph "Red" Kress managed and played for the Saints in 1941. "Red" played 7 games for the Browns in September 1927 hitting .304 with 23 at bats. That was followed by four years as their starting shortstop and, by 1931, a utility player. He hit .273, .305, .313 and .311 in 150, 147, 154 and 150 games. In 1932, after 14 games (.173) they traded him to the White Sox [April 27] where he played 135 games and hit .285. For the Sox in 1933, he was their first baseman, playing in 129 games and batting .248.

After 8 games for the Sox (.286), in 1934, Kress went to the Senators [May12] for 56 more games with an average of .228. With the Senators in 1935 and 1936, he appeared in 84 and 109 games with averages of .298 and .284. Also in 1935, he pitched in 3 games for 6 innings allowing 8 hits and 5 walks with 5 strikeouts and a 12.27 ERA. Back with the Browns for 150 games in 1938 [obtained Dec. 2, 1937], he batted .302 and led the league in shortstop's fielding percentage. Kress went to the Tigers after 13 Brownie games (.279) on May 13, 1939, and hit only .242 with 51 games and broke his leg.

His position player days ended in 1940, with the Tigers (.222 in 33 games). Red's last MLB performance was as a pitcher for the New York Giants when he relieved in a game for 4 innings giving up 5 hits and 1 walk with 1 strikeout. His ERA was 12.27.

As a major league position player, he played in 1,391 games with 5,087 at bats. His career batting average was .286 with a .347 OBP and .420 slugging %.

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The following is from "Baseball - The Biographical Encyclopedia":

"In his prime, Ralph "Red" Kress was a wide-ranging fielder who hit unusually well for a shortstop. Kress began his professional career in 1927 with Tulsa, where he was dubbed 'the boy wonder of the Western League.' By season's end he had replaced Jim Levey as the Browns' shortstop. In 1928 the 21-year-old Kress hit .273 and led the league in both assets and errors.

"In 1929 Kress came into his own, hitting .305 with 107 RBIs and leading all shortstops in fielding percentage. In 1930 he batted .313 with 16 homers and 112 RBIs and again led the league in errors. Moved to third base in 1931, he hit .311 with 114 RBIs and slammed another 16 home runs. The following season Kress was traded to the White Sox [on Apr. 27] and played a variety of positions . In 1934 he was swapped to the Senators [on May 12], but he never matched his early offensive performance and was farmed out to the minor leagues after the 1936 season. Kress spent 1937 in Minneapolis, where he led the American Association with 157 RBIs.

"The Red Sox drafted Kress but traded him back to St. Louis before the 1938 season. He hit .302 that year but in 1939 was dealt to Detroit [May 13 in a 10-player deal]. After being released by the Tigers in 1940, Kress returned to the minors and began a new career as a pitcher. On September 22, 1945, he pitched 8 1/3 innings of no-hit ball for Baltimore in the International League playoffs, but lost 1-0, in the ninth innings."

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As a minor leaguer in 1927, 1937, 1941-1946 and 1950-1951, he played on 9 teams In 1937, for the Minneapolis Millers, he hit .330 and led A.A. shortstops in total chances. He played for the Superior Blues in 1950 as a player(pitcher)/manager in 1950 (1-2, 2.00 ERA). Kress was also a minor league manager for 5 years with Sacramento, El Centro, Juarez and Daytona Beach. He was a major league coach for the Tigers (1940), Giants (1946-1949), Indians (1953-1960). Angels (1961) and the Mets (1962). He died on November 29, 1962, at the age of 55, due to a heart attack at his home in Canoga Park, CA, and was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.

-----1942-----

After the United States had finally entered the war in December 1941, the priority for young, healthy men was, of course, the defense of the country. Since playing professional baseball was a secondary occupation, the talent pool was reduced slowly, but surely over the next four years as more men entered the military service. The American Association, like all minor leagues, faced travel restrictions, some limits on night baseball and a shortage of materials causing the reduction of the quality of baseballs. [Home runs totals for all teams went down through the war years.]

From the 1941 squad, it appears the military took Dwain Sloat, Herm Bauer, Mearl Strachan and Bill Clemensen. Former Saints Leo Wells, Frank Kalin and Jesse Newman followed soon after.

Prior to the season, Red Kress was not invited back to manage the club and he was replaced by Virgil "Truck" Hannah who had been playing pro ball since 1909 and was 53 years old. He had been a catcher on the Yankees from 1918-1920 and had played, since that time, in the Pacific Coast League. Hannah had also managed Portland in 1925 and Los Angeles from 1937-1939. In addition, he was at the helm of the Memphis team in 1940-1941.

The Saints fell to last place with four less wins and again were last in league attendance. Their downward spiral from first to last took four years.

[Library of Congress]

Hannah

The Saints made wholesale changes to their offense which helped lead to the lowest team batting average since 1918, but the poor quality of baseballs contributed. Gil English (.253 for two A.A. teams) was the only regular position player to return and he was stationed in the outfield before being sent to Indianapolis. He was probably in a trade for outfielder Jake Powell (.324 for two A.A. teams) who apparently performed well for the Saints. The other outfield starter was Guy Curtright (.291) who led the team in home runs with 13 and had the best slugging %. Al Hunt (.247 for two A.A teams) also came over from Indianapolis and was a part-time regular. Future long-time major leaguer, Dave Philley (.237) was in 56 games for the Saints and may have left the team before the end of the season to enter the military.

Other players to see action in the outfield were long-time Saint George Stumpf who left after hitting .177 in 38 games, Keith Bissonnette (.237), who was in 42 contests, and Art Graham (.164) who went down to Memphis after 40 games.

The starter for most of the year at first base was former big league slugger Phil Weintraub (.268 for two A.A. teams) who left for Toledo during the season. Then taking over at first base was Bill Schalow who only hit .177 in 68 games and Saint Paul native-son Howie Schultz who got into 12 games batting .288.

Included on the year's All Star team was new second baseman Frank Drews (.256) who hit 11 homers. The best hitting newcomer was Jimmy Grant, at third, who led the club in hitting at .312 and in RBI (70). Newbie Dick Culler (.260) completed the infield regulars at shortstop. Sig Gryska (.189) returned as a seldom-used backup.

Stan Andrews (.240) was the catcher in 119 games and the back-up was again Norm Schlueter (.194 for two A.A. teams) before he was included in a deal to Indianapolis. From the Indians came John Pasek who had played on the Saints for four years from 1936-1939. It was that catcher's last pro year.

The pitching stats look good compared to the past couple of years, but with the league's offense reduced, they are probably misleading. The mound corps got a big boast by the return of Bill Swift (12-15) who led the club in ERA (3.15) and WHIP (1.15) in 28 starts and 220 innings. Vedie Himsl (16-13) was right behind him leading the team in wins and was second in WHIP (1.27) with a team-high 253 innings and 28 starts. Art Herring (13-11) also returned for 25 starts and 207 innings with a good 3.30 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Newcomer George Coffman (3-12) completed a good front-four with 145 innings, 3.48 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP and he played in the All Star game.

Dick Lanahan's (4-14) stats improved some (4.72 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) and Clay Smith's (5-11) were about the same as they contributed 139 and 145 innings respectively. A young Morrie Martin (1-4) was the top relief pitcher appearing in 25 games and 71 innings for a 4.69 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. Newcomer Joe Bowman (3-12) had to have had better days as he compiled a poor 6.28 ERA and 1.71 WHIP with the Saints. Howie Belknap (0-5) returned but was shelled for a 7.00 ERA and 2.18 WHIP in 45 frames.

The 1942 roster included the following players who entered the service before the 1943 baseball season: Vedie Himsl, Dick Lanahan, Dave Philley, George Coffman and Morrie Martin.

[St. Paul Pioneer Press]

Packing Dirt at Lexington Park

Phil Weintraub was with the Saint Paul Saints in 1942. In 1933-1934, he played on the Giants part time as an outfielder-first baseman in 8 and 31 games with .200 and .351 averages. In 1935, he was with the club the complete season as a back up first baseman appearing in 64 games with 112 at bats (.241). After 49 games with the Reds in 1937 (.271), he returned to the Giants for 6 games (3-for-9).

During the 1938 year, he was a more-often-than-not starter at first base for the Phillies hitting .311 in 100 games and 351 at bats. He was unable to return to the majors until 1944-45 when he was in 104 and 82 contests with averages of .316 and .272 again for the Giants. In total, he played in 444 major league games with 1,382 at bats for a .295 average, .398 OBP and .440 slugging. He was stationed at first base during 293 games and in the outfield for 81 more (.990 fielding %).

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

A reserve outfielder and platooned first baseman, Weintraub was a heavy hitter in the minors. In 1934, he was helped to the first .400 season in Southern Association history by Nashville manager Chuck Dressen's ability to tip him off to pitches. As a Giant on April 30, 1944, he drove in 11 runs, one short of the ML record. He had the last hit in Philadelphia's Baker Bowl." - Norm Macht

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Weintraub was a professional ballplayer from 1932-1945 including four years in the American Association and also managed in 1946. In his minor league career, he played in 1,403 games and had 4,816 at bats for a .337 average [he hit 33 homers for Minneapolis in 1939 and 27 in 1940.] In 1983, he was diagnosed with lymphoma and lived until Jan. 21, 1987, when he died at age 79 from a heart attack at the Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, CA. Burial was at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, CA.

Dick Culler was a player on the 1942 Saints. His first taste of the big leagues was in September 1936 wen he played second base and shortstop in 9 games for the A's hitting .237. He wasn't back in the majors until 1943 when he appeared in 53 games for the White Sox batting .216. From 1944-47, he was with the Braves for 8, 136, 134 and 77 games batting .071, .262, .255 and .248. He was their starting shortstop in 1945-46.

His last MLB appearances came in 1948 for the Cubs (48 g - .169) and 1949 for the Giants (0-for-1). He was in 472 major league games with 1,527 at bats with a composite .244 average, .320 OBP and .281 slugging. As a fielder, he had a .954 fielding % with 398 games at short, 32 at third and 28 at second.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

An all-conference basketball player at High Point (NC) College, Culler became a good fielder but was a light hitter. His only service as a MLB regular came in 1945-46, when he also did his best hitting (.262, .255) - Norm Macht

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Culler was in the pros in 1936 and from 1938-1950 and he managed in 1939. Thereafter, he operated Autographed Ball, Inc. and Coin Banks, Inc. in High Point, NC. Dick also was director of the nonprofit Downtown Development Corp. After being in declining heath for 15 months, he died at the age of 49 on June 16, 1964, at Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC. His burial was at Floral Garden Park Cemetery in High Point.

Gil English was a regular infielder on the 1939-1942 Saint Paul teams. He split the 1931-1932 seasons between the minors and the Giants getting into 3 and 59 big league games with .000 and .225 averages. He did not get back to the majors until 1936-1937 with one and 18 games for the Tigers (.000 and .262). The rest of his '37 season was spent with the Braves for 79 games (.290).

Gil stayed with the Braves as a utility player in 1938 for 53 games with a .248 average and had his last major league games for Brooklyn in 1944 (27 g, .152). His major league experiences came in 240 games and 791 at bats where he compiled a .245 average, .298 OBP and .321 slugging. As a fielder, he was positioned at third in 174 games, at short for 38, second for 16 and in the outfield in 3 contests. His fielding percentage was .950.

English performed as a professional baseball player from 1930-1946 with ten years in the A.A [led league in hitting in 1939]. He had eight minor league seasons when he batted better then .300 and performed in a total of 1,921 games and had 7,095 at bats with a career .306 mark. Gil became a scout for the Braves, Yankees and Giants and died at the age of 87 on August 31, 1996, at the Gray Brier Nursing Center in Trinity, NC. Burial was at the Mount Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery in Archdale, NC.

Guy Curtright was on the Saints roster for the complete 1942 season. From 1943-1946, he was an outfielder on the Chicago White Sox for 138, 72, 98 and 23 games with averages of .291, .253, .281 and .200. In his career, he was in 331 games and had 1,065 at bats with an average of .273 with a .363 OBP and .374 slugging. His fielding % was .973 with 278 games in the outfield.

As a pro, he played from 1934-1947 with seven years of averages over .300. During his minor league days, he earned a Master's Degree and, after baseball, became a high school athletic director in Denver from which he retired in 1983. He died at age 84 on August 23, 1997, at Sun City Center, FL, and cremation followed.

Jimmy Grant was on the Saints for most of the 1942 season. He went up to the White Sox in September 1942 for 12 games with a .167 average. He was back with the Sox in 1943 as he played third in 51 games and 58 in total with a .259 average. Sold to the Indians on Aug. 11, he batted .136 for the Tribe in 15 games.

In 1944 the left handed batter led the league in pinch at bats going 5 for 32 and had an overall .273 for the Indians. He also saw action at second and third bases in 24 games. In his 3-year career, he played in 146 games and had 354 at bats with an average of .246, 5 home runs, a .322 OBP and .367 slugging %. His fielding average was .907 in 70 games at third and 20 at second.

As a minor leaguer from 1937, 1939-42 and 1945-49, he played with 16 teams and hit over .300 for 6 seasons. He played for the 1937 Wausau Lumberjacks and the 1939-41 Grand Forks Chiefs hitting .275 in 1940 and ..331 in 1941.

Grant became a self-employed contractor in Racine before becoming a foreman for the Bukacek Construction Company also in Racine. He retired in 1969 because of ill health and was being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, when he died at St. Mary's Hospital there on July 8, 1970, at the age of 51 . He was buried at the West Lawn Memorial Park in Racine.

Norm Schlueter caught for the 1939-1942 Saint Paul teams. He played 35 and 34 games for the White Sox in 1938-1939 hitting .229 and .232. His final big league year was 1944 with the Indians for 49 contests (.123). In his 118-game and 296 at bats career, his average was .186 with a .230 OBP and .236 slugging. During his 109 games behind the plate, he fielded .974.

Schlueter was a pro player from 1935-1948 including eight years in the A.A. He died on Oct. 6, 2004, in Belleville, IL, at the age of 88.

Dave Philley performed with the 1942 St. Paul Saints. He had a productive 18-year major league career which started with seven games for the White Sox in 1941. After he served three years in the military, he was with the Sox from 1946-1951 in 17, 143, 137, 146, 156 and 7 games with averages of .353, .258, .287, .286, .242 and .240.

During the 1951 year, he was traded to the A's where he completed the season with 125 games (.263). Dave then continued as a full-timer with them in 1952-1953 for 151 and 157 games with .263 and .303 averages. In 1954-55, he played for the Indians in 133 and 43 contests batting .226 and .298. The rest of his 1955 season and the first part of the '54 year, he played for Baltimore in 83 and 32 games (.299 and .205).

The reminder of his 1956 season was spent on the White Sox roster again for 86 games (.265) and he stayed with them for 22 games in 1957 (.324). Again traded during the season, he also appeared in 65 games with the Tigers in '57. In 1958-1959, he had the stability of staying with the same club - the Phillies - for the complete years batting .309 and .291 in 91 and 99 games.

He split the 1960 year between the Phillies (14 g, .333), the Giants (39 g, .164) and the Orioles (14 g, .265). In 1961, he stuck with Baltimore the complete year getting into 99 games with a .250 average. He final big league year was 1962 with the Red Sox with whom he made 38 appearances batting .143.

During his 1,904 major league games he had 6,296 at bats with an average of .270, .335 OBP and .377 slugging %. He was an outfielder in 1,454 games, at first for 125 and at third for 21 all with a composite .981 fielding %.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"Endowed with excellent speed and a fine arm, Philley led AL outfielders in assists three different years. But he is best remembered for his pinch hitting in the late 1950s. In 1958 the switch-hitter had a league-high 18 hits off the Phillies' bench, including eight consecutive pinch hits to end the season. On Opening day of 1959, he poked a pinch double establishing a record of nine straight successful pinch-hitting appearances. In 1961 Philley collected an AL record of 24 pinch hits with Baltimore. Overall, he hit .299 (93-for-311) off the bench." - Rich Marazzi

[As a pinch hitter in 1957, he was 12-for-29 (.413) and in 1958: 18-for-44 (.409)]

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Philley was a pro ballplayer from 1940-1963 and managed from 1963-1966. He became a scout for the Red Sox and was a cattle rancher in Texas. Dave died at his ranch near Paris, TX, on March 15, 2012, at age 91. He was found there slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle apparently dying from a heart attack.

George Stumpf was a steady player with Saint Paul from 1938-1942. He played with the Red Sox from 1931-1933 in 7, 79 and 22 games batting .250, .201 and .341. George ended his major league years in 1936 with the White Sox in 10 games batting .273.

He was in 118 MLB games and had 260 at bats for a .235 average, .302 OBP and .296 slugging. As an outfielder in 77 contests, he fielded .969.

Stumpf played professionally from 1931-1948 which included 13 seasons in the American Association and he managed in 1948. During his minor league career, he played in 2,216 games with 8,254 at bats compiling a .289 average. He died at age 82 on March 6, 1993, in Metairie, LA.

Sig Gryska was with the Saints for part of the 1941-1942 seasons. His only big league appearances were in 1938-1939 when was in 7 and 18 games for the Browns as a shortstop. With 70 at bats, he hit .329 with a .405 OBP and .414 slugging. His fielding mark was .887 in 21 games.

Gryska was a pro player from 1935-1942 and served in the military during WWII. He died at age 79, on August 27, 1994, at Hines Memorial Hospital in Chicago and was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, IL.

Vedie Himsl pitched for Saint Paul from 1939-1942 and in 1946. He never appeared in a major league game, but played professionally from 1938-1942, 1946, 1950-51 and managed in the minors in 1950-51, 1957, 1961 and 1964. He also was a major league scout and major league coach for the Cubs in 1960-1964. During the Cubs "collage of coaches" period in 1961, he was "head coach" (manager) over three different time frames. The team's records, for those periods, were 5-6, 5-12 and 0-3.

Later, Himsl became the Cubs' director of scouting from which he retired in 1985. He died on March 15, 2004, in Chicago two weeks short of his 87^th birthday.

William V. "Bill" Swift pitched for the Saint Paul clubs of 1940-1942. He was an 11-year veteran of the major leagues. From 1932-1939, he was a full-timer with Pittsburgh beginning as a starter and then becoming a reliever in 39, 37, 37, 39, 45, 36, 36 and 36 games with 214, 218, 213, 204, 262, 164, 150 and 130 innings for ERAs of 3.61, 3.13, 3.98, 2.70, 4.01, 3.95, 3.24 and 3.89 and 14-10, 14-10, 11-13, 15-8, 16-16, 9-10, 7-5 and 5-7 records.

In 1940, Bill was in 4 games for the Braves (2.89) and, in '41, nine for the Dodgers (3.27). Finally, in '43, he appeared in 18 for the White Sox (4.21). His record was 95-82 in 336 games (163 starts) and 1,638 innings as he allowed 1,682 hits and 351 walks while striking out 636. Swift's career ERA was 3.58 with a .263 OAV, .305 OOB and he had 20 saves.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"A sidearming fastball pitcher, Swift was successful his first five seasons with the Pirates, winning 70 games in the years 1932-36. Used mostly in relief his final six years, he won only 25 more. As a late-season pickup in 1941, he chipped in three victories and a save to help Brooklyn beat St. Louis for the NL pennant." - Jack Kavanagh

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Swift was a pro pitcher from 1928-1943 including five years in the A.A. Thereafter, he owned and operated Swift Shoe Repair Company. He died at age 61, on Feb. 23, 1969, at Polk General Hospital in Bartow, FL, and was buried at Oakhill Park in Lakeland, FL.

George "Slick" Coffman was a pitcher on the 1942 and 1945-1948 Saints clubs. He pitched in 28, 39 and 23 games for the Tigers in 1937-1939 completing 101, 96 and 42 innings with ERAs of 4.37, 6.02 and 6.38. His last big league year was 1940 when he was with the Browns for 31 games and 75 innings with a 6.27 ERA.

During his 121-game major league career, he finished 314 innings allowing 400 hits and 132 walks while striking out 89. His ERA was 5.60 with a .309 OAV and .375 OOB.

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From the book "The Ballplayer":

"Although Coffman had more self-confidence than stuff, in the cocky Alabaman's MLB debut, he beat Lefty Grove 4-2..." - Norm Macht

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Coffman was a pro hurler from 1934-1942 and 1946-1949 including eight years in the A.A. His brother, Dick, was also a Saints pitcher. He died at age 92, on May 8, 2003, in Birmingham, AL.

Dick Lanahan pitched for Saint Paul in 1941-1942 and 1945-1946. In 1935 and 1937, he was in 3 and 6 games for the Senators with 5.66 and 12.71 ERAs. He returned in 1940-1941 for 40 and 7 contests with Pittsburgh as he completed 108 and 12 innings for 4.25 and 5.25 ERAs.

In his MLB career, he appeared in 56 games with 13 starts completing 152 innings. He allowed 177 hits and 75 walks while striking out 62 for a 5.15 ERA, .288 OAV, .371 OOB and 6-13 record.

Lanahan performed professionally from 1935-1942, 1946 and 1948. He died at age 61 on March 12, 1975, in Rochester, MN.

Morris "Morrie" Martin ("Lefty") pitched for the Saints in 1942 and 1948-50.

Morrie was taken away from spring training in 1949 for 3 weeks because of an illness and eventual death in his family. However, he did first pitch in the majors that season for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 10 games including 4 starts. He gave up 39 hits, including 5 home runs, and 15 walks for a 7.04 ERA. During the 1950 spring training, he sprained his ankle and played the year in AAA. Martin came back in 1951 with the Philadelphia A's [obtained by a draft] and pitched through the 1953 season with them. During those years, he made 35 (3 starts), 5 (all starts) and 58 (11 starts) appearances with the limited games, in 1952, due to a broken finger. His ERAs were 3.78, 6.39 and 4.43. He had his career year in '51 going 11-4 and beating every AL club at least once before he collided with Indians' catcher Mike Hegan which ended his season.

In 1954, after 12 games with the A's (5.47), they traded him to the White Sox where he played 35 games for 70 innings giving up 52 hits and 24 walks for a 2.06 ERA. Morrie stayed all of the 1955 season with the Sox pitching in 37 games and 52 innings for a 3.63 ERA. Then, after 10 games in 1956, they sent him to the Orioles with whom he appeared in 9 games for a 10.80 ERA.

He went back to the minors for most of 1957, but did make 4 appearances with the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2.53 ERA. Morrie started the 1958 year with the Cards (17 games - 4.74 ERA) and then was traded to the Cleveland Indians where he pitched in 14 games and 19 innings for a 2.41 ERA. He ended his MLB career with the Chicago Cubs in 1959, with 3 games and a 19.29 ERA.

In a well-traveled 10-year journey, Morrie pitched 250 MLB games for 605 innings allowing 607 hits and 249 walks while striking out 245 for a 4.29 ERA and .262 OAV. His record was 38-34.

In the minor leagues from 1941-1942, 1946-1950, 1957 and 1959-1960, he pitched for 12 clubs. He had 5 years with ERAs under 3.00 and had 8 years at the AAA level. He pitched for the Grand Forks Chiefs in 1941 (16-7, 2.05 ERA).

Morrie served from 1943-1945 in World War II as a combat engineer and was wounded twice in action. He was in the first wave on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was awarded the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster along with a EAME ribbon and five bronze stars.

Martin later was a salesman in the meat backing business. He also organized and coached youth baseball. Morrie resided in Washington, MO, where he died at home from lung cancer on May 25, 2010. Burial was at the St. Francis Borgia Cemetery in Washington.

James "Truck" Hannah managed St. Paul in 1942. He had three seasons as a backup catcher for the Yankees in 1918-1920 as he appeared in 90, 75 and 79 games with averages of .220, .238 and .247.

In his major league career, he was in 244 games with 736 at bats for a .235 batting average, .331 OBP and .300 slugging. His fielding average in 239 games was .973.

Hannah was a pro player from 1909-1938 and 1940 and he managed in 1925 and 1937-1942. He also coached from 1929-32 in the PCL. As a player, he was in 2,267 minor league games with 6,652 at bats for a .277 average which included 21 years in the PCL. He died at age 92, on April 27, 1982, in Valley Conv Hospital, Huntington Beach, CA. Death was caused by a chronic urinary infection and heart disease and cremation followed.

-----1943----

St. Paul and the Chicago White Sox discontinued their working relationship after seven years and the Saints were one of three teams in the league who played the season without a "parent" major league club. [Milwaukee and Minneapolis being the others.] Truck Hannah was replaced as manager by 31-year-old Francis "Salty" Parker who had played in the pros since 1927 with only 11 big league games in 1936 with the Tigers as a shortstop. He managed in the West Texas-New Mexico League in 1939, the East Texas League in 1940 and the Texas League in 1941-1942.

Parker's team was an improvement from the '42 club as they won ten more games and finished tied for seventh place only ½ game from sixth place. Attendance was up about 8,000 and they were no longer the worst draw in the American Association. Hitting was still quite poor with no regular hitting above .287 and the team leader in home runs hit only 11.

Parker

Stan Andrews (.242) was back as the most-used catcher (83 games), but he was pushed by Rae Blaemire who hit .301 with 64 starts. Vince Castino (.250) was in 16 games as a receiver.

Native-son Howie Schultz (.285) became the regular first baseman and was second in team RBI (53) and average. In August, he was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers for $40,000 and four players. Frank Drews (.258) was back at second and manager Parker (.247) manned third most of the time. Shortstop was a liability with Don Blanchard (.200) used most often. Joe Orengo (.286) played part of the season with the Giants and Dodgers and got into 35 games as a short. Joe Vitter (.274) was a reserve infielder for 75 games and Ed Patrow (.186) was in 28 contests.

Jake Powell (.283) was the most productive outfielder leading the team in RBI (57) and was third in average. He also had the highest slugging percentage on the club and the most home runs. Another career minor leaguer, Chuck Baron (.287), was a newcomer, but led the team in hitting. Art Rebel (.262 for two A.A. teams) came over from Louisville and Glenn Chapman (.265) joined the team for 86 games. Red Marion (.336) was the best new offensive guy joining the team for 42 games after playing part of the season with the Senators.

After losing pitchers Vedie Himsl, Dick Lanahan, George Coffman and Morrie Martin to the war effort, St. Paul was lucky to find decent replacements. Floyd Speer (15-12) came on board to lead the team in victories, game starts (30), innings pitched (234) and tied for second in best WHIP (1.36). Another newcomer, James "Otho" Nitcholas (13-14), had the club's best ERA of 2.99 and WHIP of 1.17 in 226 innings and 27 starts. Art Herring (13-10) returned for 25 starts and 195 frames finishing second in team ERA (3.37) and tied for second in WHIP (1.36). Ed Weiland (11-16) also came back and had an acceptable year with a 3.80 ERA. Completing the main-line starters was returnee Joe Bowman (9-12) who, in 159 innings, had a 4.02 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.

Clay Smith (5-12) pitched better finishing with a 3.96 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, but still was unlucky at being credited with wins as he had 17 starts and 116 innings. Howie Belknap (3-5) also returned for 22 games and 73 innings, but did not pitch particularly well (5.79/1.74). Ernie Rudolph (3-3 for two A.A. teams) came over from Minneapolis, but his performance was not memorable.

Rube Melton (2-6) was a boast for the team after arriving from Brooklyn as, in 8 starts and 60 innings, he had a 3.30 ERA. Other pitchers who had mound duties were: LeRoy Hewette (0-1) who had a 3.75 ERA in 10 appearances; Joe Strincevich (1-3) compiled a poor ERA of 7.71 with 13 games/28 innings; Bob Mistele ((0-1, 5.54, 7 g, 26 inn.); Bob Reis, who returned as a pitcher this time (0-0, 13 inn., 2.92 WHIP); Julie Morgan and Norm Dillard.

After the season, Salty Parker, Rae Blaemire, Don Yohe, Ed Weiland, Bob Reis and LeRoy Hewette joined the war effort.

Francis "Salty" Parker managed the St. Paul club of 1943 and also played in the infield. His only big league experience was in 11 games for the Tigers in 1936 when he batted .280 and had a .333 OBP and .360 slugging in 25 at bats. He was stationed at short for 7 games and at first for 2 - all with a .906 fielding %.

Parker was a professional baseball player from 1927-1943, 1945-1950, 1952, 1954 and 1957. He played in 2,105 minor league games with 7,306 at bats for a .278 average and managed in the minors from 1939-1942 and 1946-1957. Salty was a major league coach for the Giants (1958-61), Indians (1962), Angels (1964-66), Giants (1967), Astros (1968-72) and Angels again (1973-74). He also managed the Mets in 1967 for 11 games (4-7) and the Astros for one game (a win) in 1972. Salty died at age 79 on July 27, 1992, in Houston due to pancreatic cancer. Burial was at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery in Houston.

Stan Andrews [born "Andruskewicz"] played for the Saints in 1942-1943. He was a seldom-used backup catcher for the Braves in 1939-1940 playing in only 13 and 19 games with .231 and .182 averages. Stan was back in the majors in 1944 for 4 games (1-for-8) and ended his big league stay in 1945 with 21 games for the Dodgers (.163) and 13 for the Phillies (.333).

He had played in 70 MLB games with 149 at bats compiling an average of .215 with a .259 OBP and .262 slugging. As a catcher in 61 contests, he fielded .938.

Andrews was a pro ball player from 1937-1951 and managed in 1948. He died at age 78 on June 10, 1995, in Bradenton, FL.

Howard "Howie" Schultz played for his hometown Saints in 1942-43 and 1945. The 6'6" Schultz played 45 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943 as a first baseman batting .269. The right hander stayed with the Bums from 1944-1946 for 138, 39 and 90 games hitting .255, .239 and .253. He was reported to be a fan favorite in Brooklyn. However, after 2 games with them in 1947, he was sold to the Phillies for $50,000 on May 10 where he started at first base for 114 games with a .223 average. He was a Phillie for only 6 games in 1948 (.077) before he went to the Reds for 36 games and a .167 average. That was his last MLB year.

As a minor leaguer, he played from 1941-1943 and 1945 for 6 teams hitting over .300 for 2 of them. He played at class AAA for 3 years. He played for the Grand Forks Chiefs in 1941 (.277, 7 HR, 60 RBI) and 1942 (.289, 12, 66).

Howie also played professional basketball for six seasons with the Anderson Packers, Fort Wayne Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers. After he retired from professional baseball, he played for some Minnesota "town" baseball teams during the 1950's. During that time, he also became a high school and university instructor (Hamline U. in St. Paul) while coaching basketball and baseball at those schools. He lived in Stillwater, MN, and after fighting cancer for four months, died in Chaska on Oct. 30, 2009. Burial was at Sunset Cemetery in Minneapolis. .

A more complete biography is available at: http://bioproj.sabr.org/

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Alvin "Jake" Powell was with the Saints in 1942-43. He made appearances in the majors in 11 seasons starting in 1930 when he was 0-for-4 in 3 games with the Senators. He was back with them in 1934-1936 for 9, 139 and 53 games batting .286, .312 and .295. During the '36 year, he was moved to the Yankees where he played 87 games with a .302 average.

Jake then stayed with the Yankees from 1937-1940 with declining playing time and batting averages in 97, 45, 31 and 12 games (.263, .256, .244 and .185). He returned to the bigs in 1943-1945 with Washington for 37, 96 and 31 contests compiling .265, .240 and .194 averages. During the '45 year, he went to the Phillies where he closed out his major league career in 48 games batting .231.

His MLB records in 688 games and 2,540 at bats were an average of .271 with a .320 OBP and .363 slugging. As an outfielder in 645 games, he fielded .975.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"Powell hit his peak with a 10-for-22 showing for the Yankees in the 1936 World Series. Reckless and prejudiced, he broke Tiger first baseman Hank Greenberg's wrist in 1935, continually fought with other players and was suspended in 1938 because of anti-black slurs during a radio interview..." - Fred Stein

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He played baseball from 1931-1945 and in 1948. On Nov. 4, 1948, he was taken to a Washington, DC, police station and interrogated regarding a bad check charge. During his time in the station, he obtained a gun and shot himself in the head killing himself at the age of 40. Burial was at St. John's Cemetery in Forest Glen, MD.

Art Rebel played on the St. Paul club in 1943. He had only two short stints in the majors. In 1938, he was in 7 games for the Phillies (2-for-9) and in 1945 he was with the Cardinals for 26 games and went 25-for-72. However, he never got back.

His MLB career encompassed 33 games and 81 at bats with a .333 average, .386 OBP and .383 slugging %. He fielded .978 in 21 outfield games.

Rebel was a pro ballplayer from 1936-1952 and managed in 1950-1951 and 1953-1955. As a player in the minors, he appeared in 1,920 games and had 6,909 at bats with a .301 average. He died on July 10, 2004, at the age of 89, in Tampa, FL.

Rea Blaemire played on the 1943 Saints. In September 1941, he played in his only two major league games for the New York Giants. As a right handed catcher he appeared in 2 games and had 5 at bats. He had 2 hits, both singles and did not walk or strike out. Defensively, he was perfect with a 1.000 fielding average.

He played on ten minor league teams from 1935-1943 and 1946, including two years in the American Association. Rae hit over .300 in 4 seasons. He played for and managed the 1946 Grand Forks Chiefs (.353, 2 HR, 21 RBI). It was his last professional season.

Blaemire became an executive in the Eastern Illinois Baseball League and was president from 1962-1965. He also was a partner in the Blaemire-Saddoris Implement Company and later worked for the Hannagan Implement Company and Reigel Motors until his retirement in 1975. His death came on December 23, 1975, at the Burnham City Hospital in Champaign, IN, at the age of 64.

Jack Bolling was with the 1943 Saint Paul club for part of the season. In 1939, he was in 69 games hitting .289 for the Phillies and in 56 contests for the 1944 Dodgers (.351). That was the extent of his major league appearances.

He batted a commutative .313 with a .361 OBP and .427 slugging in 125 MLB games with 342 at bats. He fielded .985 in 75 games as a first baseman.

As a pro, he played from 1936-1944 and in 1946. He died at age 81 on April 13, 1998, at a hospital in Panama City, FL.

Joe Orengo was an infielder on the 1943 Saint Paul Saints. He started his big league career with the Cardinals in 1939 for 7 games and then became a regular infielder for them in 129 games during the 1940 season (.287). In 1941, he moved to the Giants for 77 games batting .214. He was back with N.Y. in 1943 for 83 games (.218) before going to Brooklyn (7g, .200).

His major league years ended with 46 games for the Tigers in 1944 (.201) and 17 for the White Sox in 1945 (.067). As a MLB player, he appeared in 366 games with 1,120 at bats with a .237 average, .332 OBP and .346 slugging. He fielded .957 with 117 games at third, 87 at first, 86 at second and he also played at short.

Orengo was a pro baseball player from 1934-1946 including six years at AAA. He managed in 1946 and 1948-1950 and was the Giants' director of their Speaker's Bureau for 30 years. Joe died at age 73, on July 24, 1988, at his home in San Francisco from a heart attack. Burial was at Italian Cemetery in Daly City, CA.

Vince Castino was a performer on the 1943 Saints. He was used as a back up catcher from 1943 through the 1945 seasons for the White Sox [he was not in a military draft because of his 4F status]. He played in 33, 29 and 26 games during those seasons and batted .228, .231 and .222. In '43, he was one of only four AL players to hit grand slams. His MLB career encompassed 88 games and 215 at bats. He hit .228 with 2 home runs and 23 RBI. His fielding average was .976.

On October 14, 1945, Castino participated in Huron, South Dakota's "Baseball Pheastival" which combined baseball with pheasant hunting. After reaching their limit of birds, current and former players played a ballgame won by a team managed by Paul Waner over won led by Ted McGrew. Other stars who played included: Phil Cavaretta, Jeff Heath, Bob Swift, Dizzy Trout, Paul Derringer, Mort Cooper, Andy Pafko, Bill Nicholson, Allie Reynolds and others. Gate receipts went to a fund for youth baseball in the city. The day before the game, Kiki Cuyler, McGrew and Tom Greenwade conducted an all-day baseball clinic for young players.

In minor league baseball for the years 1936-43 and 1946-51, Vince played with 23 teams hitting over .300 for 2 of them. Castino's AAA other stops were at Toledo (AA) in 1946-47 and Sacramento (PCL) in 1948 and 1950. He played with the Eau Claire Bears in 1937 (.318, 1, 20) and 1938 (.255, 1, 44). He also played with them and Grand Forks in 1939 (combined .307, 4, 46) and Fargo-Moorhead in 1951 (.263, 4, 34).

He worked for 13 years as the circulation manager for the Sacramento Bee. Castino died in Sacramento, CA, at the Sutter Memorial Hospital on March 6, 1967, of lung cancer. He is buried at the St. Mary's Cemetery in Sacramento.

Floyd Speer pitched for the 1943 Saints. He had two cups of coffee in the majors with one game and one inning for the White Sox in 1943 (gave up one hit, 2 walks and one run) and 2 innings for them in 1944 (2 runs allowed). In his 3 games and 3 innings, he allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2 for a 9.00 ERA, .417 OAV and .500 OOB.

Speer was a professional pitcher from 1938-1953. He became a clerk in a pharmacy and lived in North Little Rock, AR, for 35 years. He died at age 56 on March 22, 1969, in Little Rock. Burial was at Carolan Cemetery in Booneville, AR.

Joe Bowman pitched for 1942-1943 Saint Paul teams and had an 11-year major league career. It began in 1932 when he was in 7 games for the Phillies (8.18 ERA) and continued for 30 games with the Giants in 1934 (3.61 ERA in 107 innings). Joe then was back with the Phillies in 1935-1936 as a starter-reliever in 33 and 40 games (148 and 203 inn.)for ERAs of 4.25 and 5.04. He was a starting pitcher in the first-ever night major league game.

From 1937-1941, Bowman labored for the Pirates in 128, 60, 185, 188 and 69 innings during 30, 17, 37, 32, and 18 games with ERAs of 4.57, 4.65, 4.48, 4.46 and 2.99. He got back to the majors in 1944 for 26 games and 168 innings with a 4.81 ERA. He ended his MLB tenure in 1945 with 3 games for the Red Sox and 25 for the Reds (186 inn., 3.59 ERA).

Joe pitched in 298 big league games and finished 1,465 innings allowing 1,656 hits and 484 walks while striking out 502. His ERA was 4.40 with a .282 OAV, .341 OOB and a 77-96 record. A good hitting pitcher, he batted a career .221 with a .275 OBP in 639 at bats.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"The 6'1" 190-lb Bowman was one of two 20-game losers with the last-place 1936 Phillies and 33-38 in five years with stronger Pirate teams. After a sore arm and a sojourn in the minors, he bounced back with a 12-8 season with the wartime Red Sox. Often used as pinch hitter, he twice batted over .300." - Morris Eckhouse

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Bowman was a pro hurler from 1929-1950 and managed from 1947-1951. Later he became a scout and a baseball executive from which he retired in 1988. He died at age 74 on Nov. 22, 1990, at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City, MO. Burial was at Resurrection Cemetery in Lenexa, KS.

Clay Smith pitched on the 1941-1943 Saint Paul clubs. He had two short tours of duty in major league uniforms. In 1938, for the Cleveland Indians, he was in 4 games and 11 innings with a 6.55 ERA and in 1940, for the Detroit Tigers, he pitched 14 games, including 1 start, for 28 innings and a 5.08 ERA. His career ERA was 5.49 and his OAV was .309. He entered Game 4 of the 1940 World Series, with the Tigers losing in the third inning, and allowed one earned run in 4 innings, but the Tigers did not come back. They eventually lost the Series in 7 games to Cincinnati.

As a minor leaguer from 1935-1943, he pitched for 9 clubs having better then a 3.00 ERA for 2 of them. He was in AAA for 4 years. He pitched for the 1935 (5-3) and 1936 (15-5, 3.13) Fargo-Moorhead Twins and led the Northern League in ERA and win/loss percentage in 1936.

Prior to his pro baseball years, Clay attended Southwestern College and was on the wrestling and track teams. He is a member of the school's Athletic Hall of Fame and, in 2000, was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. After his playing career, Smith returned to Cambridge, KS, where he became a rancher, mail carrier and a father as he and his wife raised two sons and a daughter. He died there on March 5, 2002, at the age of 85.

Rueben "Rube" Melton pitched part of the 1943 season for the Saints. He was with the Phillies in 1941-1942 for 25 and 42 games completing 84 and 209 innings with ERAs of 4.73 and 3.70. His final big league games were for the Dodgers in 1943-1944 and 1946-1947 in 30, 37, 24 and 4 contests with 119, 187, 100 and 5 innings compiling 3.92, 3.48, 1.99 and 13.50 ERAs.

During his 6-year MLB career, he was 30-50 in 162 games and 704 innings. He allowed 624 hits and 395 walks with 363 strikeouts. Rube compiled an ERA of 3.62, .241 OAV.and 344 OOB..

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"An independent 6'5" country boy, Melton jumped the Cardinals organization and played two years of semi-pro ball before being reinstated in 1940. When St. Louis forgot to protect him in the draft, he was plucked by the Phillies.. He led NL pitchers in bases on balls in 1942, when he went 9-20. He was a cousin of Cliff Melton [8-year MLB pitcher]." - Jack Kavanagh

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Melton played pro from 1936-1937 and 1940-1951 and later he became a salesman for Chastain's, Inc. On September 11, 1971, he and his wife were killed in an automobile accident in Greer, SC. Rube was 54 years old and burial was at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville, SC.

-----1944-----

As things were looking up for the allies in World War II, the Saint Paul Saints franchise also had an upswing. Most importantly, they became affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers who had teams in seven of the 13 minor leagues that were able to operate in 1944. The only other major league team who had that many players under contract was the St. Louis Cardinals. [The Braves had only one minor league team]. Both the Dodgers and Cards had two teams in the highest classification leagues. The Saints had to share the Dodgers' top prospects with Montreal of the International League.

Ray Blades was named manager and would be the last chosen under Saints owner Walter Seeger's tenure. Blades was 48 years old and had played pro baseball from 1920-1934 with appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1922-28 and 1930-32 as an infielder and outfielder. He obtained much managerial experience at the helm of Columbus from 1933-35 and Rochester (IL) from 1936-38.

Blades

With limited resources, but also because of the limited resources of their opponents, Saint Paul finished in the first division for the first time since 1938. The fourth-placed club won 18 more games then in the previous season and drew about 34,000 more fans. The Saints fortunes had bottomed out in 1942 and would never reach those depths again.

No one on the pitching staff won more then 14 games, but the front liners had, for the most part, good to very good ERAs and WHIPs. Art Herring (8-5), now 38 years-old, was taken by the Dodgers after he had pitched in 15 games and 103 innings with an excellent 2.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Ernie Rudolph (14-14) returned and made an about-face completing 200 innings with a 2.88 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 27 starts. Otho Nitcholas (14-11) also came back and performed well in 218 innings and 28 starts (2.89 ERA, 1.24 WHIP). Newcomer Cy Buker (11-3) finished 128 frames in 23 starts for a quite good 3.23 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Hank Camp (14-14), a new face and lifetime minor leaguer, led the team in games started (31), but his 4.69 ERA and 1.69 WHIP were high.

New guy, Willie Webb (10-7), filled in for Herring getting 17 starts and also had 16 relief appearances for 144 innings (3.56 ERA, 1.43 WHIP). Longtime Minneapolis Miller Wally Tauscher (6-7) had 13 starts in 36 games and pitched decently for a 43-year-old (139 inn, 3.88 ERA, 1.40 WHIP). Another heavily-used reliever was Frank Pugsley (2-2), a minor league lifer, who got into 30 contests and performed rather poorly (5.81 ERA, 2.03 WHIP).

Joe Strincevich (2-2) was again with the club and had 4 starts and 13 other appearances with an o.k. 4.03 ERA, but poor WHIP of 1.55. Claude Weaver (4-1) pitched acceptably in 48 innings (6 starts in 8 games) and finished with a 3.94 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Gene Werth, Mineapolis-born Dick Furey and Don Ernst also made a few appearances in '44.

Only one-half of the eight regular position players ever played a game in the big leagues. New catcher Dom Castro played full time, but hit only .206. Chuck Baron (.303) was back, this time as a first baseman, and finished third in club hitting and RBI. Frank Drews (.248) continued as the regular second baseman and was an All Star until he was traded to the Boston Braves after 95 games. Lifetime minor leaguer, Bud Kimball (.243), joined the team as the starting third baseman and was second on the team with 16 home runs. Frank Piet (.275 for two A.A. teams) apparently played more at short then any other Saints player, but was traded to Louisville at mid-season.

Catcher Mike Sandlock (.308) was received in the Drews trade from the Braves and played well in 35 games. The back-up catchers were Tom Padden who came over from Minneapolis and Charlie Bates who was obtained from Kansas City. Joe Vitter (.273) returned as the prime infield replacement and played in the All Star game.

Red Marion (.345) became a regular outfielder leading the team in average and slugging percentage. He also was second in RBI. Glenn Chapman (.326) again played well, at age 38, finishing second in average and first in RBI (93). The third outfield regular was newcomer Carden Gillenwater (.296) who led the Saints in homers with 19. Fred Schulte was a reserve until sent to Indianapolis and Ed Badke (.237) made 28 appearances for the club in a season that found him playing in three different leagues.

Having qualified for the post season for the first time since 1938, Saint Paul defeated second-place Toledo four games to three in round one. In the finals, Louisville sweep the Saints winning the first four games.

The Saints stats include appearances, during the year, by five teenagers: Ken Mauer (17), Don Froehle (18), Walt King (19), Dick Furey (19) and Don Ernst (19). There were also five players who were 37 or more years-of-age.

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On July 12, Herman Bauer, who played in 27 games as a reserve catcher for St. Paul in 1941, was killed in action in France. He was 26 years old and was buried at the Normany American Cemetery.

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On September 29, Ardys "Art" Keller, who played for Toledo in 1942-43, died while serving with the 82^nd Airborn in Vosges, France. He was 28 years old.

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Former Saints who were in the service or involved in national defense work through the 1945 season were: Leo Wells, Frank Kalin, Jesse Newman, Vedie Himsl, Dwain Sloat, Mearl Strachan, Bill Clemensen, Dave Philley, Bob Reis, Packy Rogers, Morrie Martin, Rae Blaemire, Jack Bolling, Don Yohe, Ed Weiland, Harry Taylor and Rube Melton.

Frank Drews played on the Saints from 1942-1944. Thereafter, he was in 46 and 49 games for the Braves in 1944-1945 batting .206 and .204 as a second baseman. In his 95 big league games, he had 288 at bats for a .205 average, .306 OBP and .264 slugging. His fielding percentage was .967 during his 94 games at second.

Drews played as a professional in 1938-1939 and 1941-1952. He was also a member of the Western New York Softball Hall of Fame. Frank worked from the Chevrolet Motor Division in their forge plant in Tonawanda, NY, from 1953-1969 and died at age 55 on April 22, 1972, in Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, NY. Burial was at St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Buffalo.

Carden Gillenwater was with the Saints for the 1944 season. He first appeared in a big league uniform in September 1940 for 7 games with the Cardinals (4-for-25). In 1943, with the Dodgers, he played in 8 games and was 3-for-17. Card was an outfield starter in 1945 for Brooklyn getting into 144 games with a .288 average.

In 1946, he moved to the Red Sox for 99 contests batting .228 and he finished his major league time with 77 games for the Senators (.244). For his MLB career, he preformed in 335 games and had 1,004 at bats with a .260 average, .359 OBP and .348 slugging. In 296 games in the outfield, he fielded .979.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

Gillenwater was a glittering defensive outfielder with speed and a strong arm, but disappointing bat. A regular only with the 1945 Braves, he hit a career high .288 and in 1946 tied a major league OF record with 12 putouts in a game." - Ed Walton

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Gillenwater played as a professional from 1937-1954 He died at age 82 on May 10, 2000, in Largo, FL.

Mike Sandlock played on the Saints in 1944 and 1946. He was with the Braves as an infielder for 2 games in 1942 and 30 more in 1944 (.100). In 1945-46, as mainly a catcher, he played for the Dodgers in 80 and 19 contests with averages of .282 and .147. His final big league chances came in 64 games for the 1953 Pirates (.231).

Mike was in a total of 195 MLB games with 446 at bats for a .240 average, .304 OBP and .305 slugging. He caught in 128 games, played shortstop in 31, third in 25 and second in 4 with a composite .989 fielding %. During most of the 1943-44 seasons, Sandlock was in the military.

Sandlock was a pro player from 1938-1954. He is currently living in Old Greenwich, CT, and since the death of Connie Marrero on April 23, 2014, he has been the oldest living former major league player. He was 100 on October 17, 2015. He was an active golfer into old age and stayed active in the BAAT organization, which helps older baseball players who do not have health insurance and may need some medical assistance. Death came on April 16, 2016 in Greenwich, CT.

Fred "Fritz" Schulte [born "Schult"] played for the Saints during part of the 1944 season. He was a regular outfielder with the Browns from 1927-1932 appearing in 60, 146, 121, 113, 134 and 146 games with averages of .317, .286, .307, .278, .304 and .294. Fritz led all AL outfielders in fielding percentage in 1929.

He then move on to the Senators for the seasons of 1933-1935 getting into 144, 136 and 76 games hitting .295, .298 and .265. Fred finished his big league years in 1936-1937 for the Pirates in 74 and 29 contests with averages of .261 and .100.

In his 1,179 MLB games and 4,259 at bats, his average was a good .291 with a .362 OBP and .408 slugging. As an outfielder in 1,060 games, he fielded .976.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"The mild-mannered Schulte was a reliable performer, a top center fielder and a consistent hitter. A Browns regular from 1928 through 1932, he was traded to the Senators and led AL outfielders in putouts as Washington won the 1933 pennant. In the World Series, which the Giants won in five games, Schulte led Washington hitters with a .333 average and four RBI. He later managed in the minors and scouted for four organizations from 1947 to 1964." - Jack Kavanagh

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Schulte was a pro ballplayer from 1924-1944 with seven seasons in the American Association. He managed in 1941, 1942 and 1946. Fritz died at age 82 on May 20, 1983, at the Northwoods Healthcare Centre in Belvidere, IL, after a long illness and was cremated.

Tom Padden was with the Saints for part of the 1944 season. He was mainly a backup catcher for Pittsburgh from 1932-1937 in 47, 30, 82, 97, 88 and 35 games with averages of .263, .211, .321, .272, .249 and .286. His last year was 1943 when he was in 17 games for the Phillies (.293) and 3 for the Senators (0-for-3).

He appeared in 399 MLB games with 1,170 at bats for a .272 average, .345 OBP and .321 slugging. His fielding average was .977 in 379 games as a catcher.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"A singles hitting catcher for six years with the Pirates, Padden was usually platooned with Earl Grace. His .324 was the best BA among NL catchers in 1934." - Morris Eckhouse

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Padden performed as a pro from 1928-1945 and managed in 1948. He then coached baseball before becoming a steward at the Daniel F. O'Connell Club in Manchester, NH. Tom died after a brief illness at the age of 64 on June 11, 1973, in Manchester. Burial was at New St. Joseph's Cemetery in Bedford, NH.

Charles W. "Charlie" Bates was with the St. Paul club of 1944. His only major league experience was in September 1927, with the A's, when he appeared in 9 games and had 38 at bats for a .237 average, .293 OBP and .395 slugging. His fielding % was .857 in 9 outfield games.

Bates played pro from 1924-1944 and 1946-1950 on an amazing 40 teams during those years [8 were in AAA]. He died at age 72 on Jan. 29, 1980, at a hospital in Topeka, KS, after working for the State of Kansas. Charlie lived in Topeka and the Lake Waubaunsee area for 34 years. Burial was at Memorial Park Cemetery in Topeka.

Cyril "Cy" Buker pitched for the 1944 and 1947 Saints. He pitched his only year in the majors in 1945. For the Dodgers, he relieved in 38 games and started 4 more with a decent 3.30 ERA. In 87 innings, he gave up 90 hits and 45 walks with 48 strikeouts. His OAV was .268 with a .356 OOB.

From 1940-44, 1946-48 and 1951-52, he played for 12 minor league teams. He played for the Wausau Lumberjacks in 1940. Buker became a successful high school coach living in Greenwood, WI, and died at age 93 on October 11, 2011.

Art Herring was a trusted Saints pitcher from 1936-1944. He played on the Tigers from 1929-1933 appearing in 4, 23, 35, 12 and 24 games completing 32, 78, 165, 22 and 61 innings for ERAs of 4.78, 5.33, 4.31, 5.24 and 3.84. In 1934, he had his first stint with the Dodgers in 14 games (6.20 ERA in 49 innings).

Art returned to the majors in 1939 with the White Sox getting into 7 games (14 innings) with a 5.65 ERA. After his years with the Saints, he pitched for Brooklyn in 1944-46 in 12, 22 and 35 contests finishing 55, 124 and 86 innings compiling 3.42, 3.48 and 3.35 ERAs. His final big league appearances were with the Pirates for 11 games in 1947 (8.44).

He was in 199 MLB games (56 starts) and completed 698 innings allowing 754 hits and 284 walks while striking out 243. His ERA was 4.32 with a .276 OAV .349 OOB and 34-38 record.

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From the book "The Ballplayers":

"The wiry, 5'7" Herring was at his best in relief. After his first MLB tour, he slipped back to the minors. He resurfaced with Brooklyn at age 37, during the war-caused player shortage to have his best seasons." - Ed Walton

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Herring pitched professionally from 1929-1947 including 13 years at the AAA level. He died at age 89 on Dec. 2, 1995, at Marion General Hospital in Marion, IN, and was buried there at Grant Memorial Park.

-----1945-----

The roster of the St. Paul club, during the last war year, turned over more then any other time in their history. Forty-four players played at least one game. At times, it must have seemed like spring training.

Ray Blades stayed on board and led the team to another fourth place finish even though they won 11 fewer games. The most important sign was an increase, at the gate, of approximately 71,400 fans.

The Saints pitchers allowed lots of base runners as only two ended the year with WHIPs under 1.40. Newcomer Tom Sunkel (13-8) had the most starts with 28 and pitched the second-most innings (170) finishing with an acceptable 4.02 ERA, but a rather high 1.54 WHIP. Dick Lanahan (11-9) returned from the war effort and had 22 starts and 152 innings for a good 3.73 ERA and too-high WHIP of 1.66. The only All Star pitcher, from the Saints, was returnee Claude Weaver (15-10), a lifetime minor leaguer, who was first in innings (186), second in WHIP (1.22), third in ERA (3.19) in 45 games (20 starts). Thirty-seven-year-old Otho Nitcholas (11-6) came back to lead the club in ERA (2.90) and WHIP (1.22) with 19 starts and 143 innings sharing part of his expertise, during the season, with the Dodgers. Before he was brought up to Brooklyn after 15 games, future big league star Ralph Branca (6-5), performed quite well with a 3.33 ERA and 1.51 WHIP as a 19-year-old.

Willie Webb (8-11 for two teams) returned but was traded to Minneapolis apparently for two position players. Ernie Rudolph (3-7) also came back and had a decent year (4.56, 1.69) with 15 games and 77 innings. Bob Tart (3-11), who had a short pro career, pitched in 25 games and 83 innings compiling a 4.55 ERA and 1.84 WHIP. Hank Camp (1-3) returned for 11 games and 56 innings (4.98, 1.73) and short-time pro Gene Kelly (2-3) got into 16 contests and pitched well with a 3.04 ERA.

The hero of the staff had to be 44-year-old Wally Tauscher (8-7) who appeared in 61 games to break the "games appeared in one season" record of Chief LeRoy's that had stood since 1911. Tauscher completed 104 innings with a commendable 3.98 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Another returnee from the war effort was George Coffman who got into 11 contests, but had a bad 1.81 WHIP. The only other double-figure inning eater was John Miller (1-1) who pitched badly (7.65, 2.15) in 10 games. Returnees Gene Werth and LeRoy Hewette got into a few games and George Danniels [some sources show "Daniels"] also got into a couple of games.

The offensive was pretty much of a rag-tag crew with most of the players not ever reaching the majors. Old pros Sam Narron (.253) and Bill Lewis (.292) shared the catching duties and Lou Cardinal (.217) joined the group after being obtained from Minneapolis in the Willie Webb deal. Another veteran, John Dantonio (.407), saw some action in nine games

Paul Schoendienst (.315) finished his military duties and became the starting first baseman and tied for the team lead in average. Saints' vet Joe Vitter (.250) was a regular at second and Bud Kimball (.315) returned to third. Kimball tied for the club lead in average, but led in home runs (22), slugging (.527) and RBI (95). Eighteen-year-old Tommy Brown (.286) split the season between the Saints and the Dodgers as a shortstop [he had more appearances (85) for St. Paul]. Bill Hart was also a Saint/Dodger, but was a sensation in Saint Paul, as in only 38 games and 136 at bats, he hit 17 homers (second on team), had 46 RBI and batted .368. On September 5, he hit four consecutive home runs with nine RBI v. Minneapolis. [He tied a league record set by Dale Alexander (KC) in 1935 and Ab Wright (Mpls) in 1940.]

Infield reserves included first baseman Howie Schultz, who could only play home games and those in Minneapolis because of his draft status. He got into 19 games hitting a cool .366 before the draft board, in June, allowed him to be called back up to the Dodgers [in August they sent him to Montreal]. Long-time minor leaguer, Cecil Dunn (.158), also got into 10 games at first. After being obtained from Minneapolis in the Webb trade, Arnie Berge, played all of the infield positions. Bill "Pete" Boaz (.152) had 43 opportunities at second, old pro Gene Corbett (.312) performed well in 10 games at first and second and Ed Scheiwe (.314) [some sources spell it "Schiewe] got into 64 games and batted well.

Glenn Chapman (.308), now 39, was the best outfielder of an undistinguished lot sharing the field most of the time with minor league lifer, Ed Yaeger (.227) and the returning Red Marion (.256 for two teams) before he was sent to Louisville. Don Lund (.263), Stan Platek (.240) and Frank Powaski (.133) also played as outfielders.

In their second post season in succession, the Saints defeated Indianapolis in round one four games to two. In the finals, Louisville won by the same count.

With the War ending toward the end of the season, minor league baseball would enter it's glory years.

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The National Association [of minor leagues] calculated that about 4,350 minor league players entered the military during the war. In addition, 1,420 players went into voluntary retirement, during those years, with a large number of these being men who worked in defense plants and on farms.

Baseball historians have determined that 41 minor league and two major league players lost their lives during the war.

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