From 1896 to 1955, Minneapolis baseball enthusiasts could while away an afternoon at Nicollet Park, a bandbox park nestled in the Lake Street business corridor. Easily accessible on the 10 streetcar line, Nicollet Park was the home of the Minneapolis Millers, a minor league team established in 1884.
At that time, many large cities did not have a major league team. A robust minor league system that predated the farm team system offered great baseball viewing and excitement.
Seven miles across the Mississippi, the St. Paul Saints were their greatest rivals. Popular doubleheaders started in one park in the morning and concluded in the other with rowdy fans riding the #10 between the games.
Path to Nicollet Park
On May 23, 1896, the Millers played their last game in Athletic Park (6th Street and 1st Avenue behind the West Hotel). They had played there since 1889 in terrible conditions as it was prone to flooding. The land was abruptly sold in May. The team took a road trip and hoped for somewhere to play on their return.
Four possible sites were discussed with land across Hennepin from Loring Park being the favorite. When the streetcar company said that it could better serve a Lake Street location, a location at 31st Street and Nicollet Avenue was chosen. Within three weeks the field was ready for baseball. It cost $4,000 and could seat 4,000 fans. The first game in the new park was played against Milwaukee on June 18, 1896.
The first name chosen for the park was Wright Field, after Harry Wright, one of baseball's founding fathers. However, the name was not popular. In 1897, Nicollet Park became the new name.
Advertisers also discovered the ballpark. Wheaties, a longtime sponsor of the Millers on the radio, first unveiled its “Breakfast of Champions” slogan in 1933 on the outfield fence.
Nicollet Park had its drawbacks, but that was part of the charm. Minneapolis Tribune writer Dave Mona described it as “soggy, foul, rotten, and thoroughly wonderful.”
Millers
The Millers found success early in their new home. They had only a short time to enjoy clinching the Western League pennant in 1896 before their best players were pillaged by the major leagues. The Millers fell to last place in 1897
When they joined the American Association in 1902, they found dependable achievement with Mike Kelley at the helm. Although Mike Kelley oscillated between the Saints and Millers, he ultimately chose the Millers when he purchased them in 1923. The team won many pennants and saw great players who enjoyed the small ballfield and the opportunity to hit home runs, some landing in Nicollet Avenue where fans would dodge traffic to get the ball.
In 1933, Joe Hauser hit 50 of his 69 home runs at home. The great Rube Waddell pitched for the Millers in 1911 and 1912. He was not salaried but instead was paid $10 each week if he remained sober. Ted Williams played for the Millers in 1938 and won the American Association Triple Crown (.366, 43 home runs and 142 RBIs) before heading to Boston. Overall, 15 Millers were inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
World Wars and the Millerettes
Although 1917 did not seem to affect the Millers, the 1918 season was different with their smallest opening day crowd. The team weathered the war years. WWII was more disruptive, with many players joining up. Kelley’s shortterm solution was the creation of the “All-Nations” team in 1945. This team fielded players that were of Cuban, Irish, Scandinavian, German and Polish descent.
The shortage also provided an opportunity for women to play professionally. The Millerettes were formed as part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. They also played at Nicollet Park and drew a crowd, many to root for Borgie (Lorraine Borg), the catcher from Minneapolis. In their uniforms of maroon-colored knee socks and a short-skirted dress bearing the Minneapolis city seal, they played a full schedule.
The home games were short-lived as they had to compete with the Millers for spectators and Minneapolis was unpopular, as it was 400 miles from the nearest girls team. On July 23, 1944, the Millerettes became a traveling team throughout the Midwest. “The Orphans,” as they were known, found a new home in Indiana as the Fort Wayne Daisies.
Nicollet Park exclusively belonged to the Millers again.
Corporate Baseball
In 1945, Kelley sold the Millers to the New York Giants, finally succumbing to the farm team system. He scheduled a final doubleheader against the Saints in 1946 with a record crowd of 15,761. He wanted to give the fans one more game with their favorite players, so he opened the game to all. Fans were allowed to stand on the field to watch their team.
The frustration with the new farm system grew as players were moved up and down and traded to other franchises. The days of a player like Yip Owens or Henri Rondeau playing for 10 years for the team were gone.
In 1951, fans excitedly thought that this was their year with the Millers poised to win the pennant. How could they not, with Willie Mays batting .477 playing centerfield? The Giants brought him up to the majors in May. The winning season ended.
Final Days
Even an exhibition game between Giants and Millers, which was ostensibly a win for the Millers, became an overall loss as the Giants left town taking the Millers’ second baseman Wayne Terwilliger with them.
Minneapolis now increased its effort to get a major league team. The task force focused on building a new stadium to entice a team. On June 29, 1955, ground was broken in Bloomington. The Millers opened their last season in Nicollet Park in 1955.
Satisfyingly, the Millers won the pennant for the ninth time their last year in Nicollet Park. They would play a few years in Bloomington as a Red Sox affiliate but folded in 1960 with the arrival of the Twins.
Epilogue
The neighborhood would look quite different in a short time. The streetcar line closed in 1954. Nicollet Park was razed in 1955. In 1978 the Lake Street Kmart cut off access between Lake and Nicollet Streets. One can find the location of Nicollet Park as it is marked by a plaque remembering when “spectators came from all across the upper Midwest to watch the best baseball in the region.”
The Millers played briefly at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington until the quest for a major league team finally succeeded.
Founded in Washington D.C. in 1901, the Washington Senators agreed to move to the Twin Cities and were renamed the Twins, after the Twin Cities. The Twins played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961-1981. In 1982, the Twins moved into the Hubert H.
Humphrey Metro dome in downtown Minneapolis. They played their first season at Target Field in 2010. Minneapolis baseball has come full circle as fans board the light rail to come to the ballpark to spend an afternoon rooting for their home team heroes. Who says that you can’t go back?
