1961 MINNESOTA TWINS "The Pride of the Upper Midwest" 🎥

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

I have a Met story I'm almost sure no one else has. I was 19 years old and hitchhiking from my parent's farm in western MN to a college friend's place near Chicago. I happened to get stalled near the Met and the lights were on so I went a game. Great. It started to rain. I was unprepared, knew nothing about camping, etc. So I slept under the left field bleachers! Remember those old style bleachers, just like a small town stadium? It was cozy under there out of the rain. In the morning I walked out through a turnstile and continued on my journey.

[@sportingpage]

wow!

[@DuaneDorman]

My first major league game was in Metropolitan Stadium, 1972. Camera day. Had my picture taken with Harmon Killebrew. I was seven

[@pheniafilmsthemlbarchiveso9229]

Post that pic if you can et..cool to see

[@b.t.2796]

My wife and I and 2 relatives on HER SIDE had our pictures with Harmon and other players at Tinker Field during spring training. We get back to the hotel and discover the relative on HER SIDE had forgotten to put film in the camera! Oh well, we still laugh about it almost 50 years later😂

[@robertcunningham6476]

Our grade school coach took our baseball team to a night game vs. the (new) Washington Senators in 1962. We were coming from our game and were a tad late but I’ll never forget the green grass under the lights, the white pen strike Twins uniforms and the crowd. It was truly magical. Both Harmon Killerbrew and Bob Allison hit home runs and our pitcher, Don Lee won the game. It seemed like a dream. It would be the first of many Major League games I would go to. ~Bobby Cunningham

[@dansullivan3967]

Excellent video ! Saw my first Twins game at the Met in August of 1962. I had an uncle get married in Minneapolis & our family took the train from Cedar Rapids to Mpls. My brother & I went to the game. Twins were playing the K.C. Athletics. The first player I ever saw bat, Bobby Del Greco for the A's hit a home run off Twins pitcher Dick Stigman. Twins won the game 3-1. We went back to C.R., and the next day, Jack Kralick pitched a no hitter for the Twins. I am still a big Twins fan. Win Twins !

[@anthonypetrozzelli5429]

Awesome video! It brought great memories when I was a young boy growing up in Boston in the 60s. I believe that the 50s and 60s were the golden age of baseball. It was great to live in America then. Baseball was America's pastime! I remember the day night double headers, and hoe I couldn't wait to read the newspaper sports page. To follow all the teams! I always remembered that the Metro stadium where the Twins played had the greenest grass in the Major League! I remember playing softball during recess and baseball and whiffe ball with my friends! Most of the Red Sox games used to be televised for free on UHF or the radio. I remember listening to many day and night games on AM radio! Those were the days!

[@DdR1250]

I never knew "We're Gonna Win Twins" was so old. Beautiful rendition!

[@richardlundberg964]

Saw my first game at the Met in 1963, Twins vs Yankees. 10 years old & sitting in box seats next to Twins dugout. There were so many stars on the field that day that they could have created their own constellation. Mall of America now sits where the Met used to be.

[@markbentz3045]

I played catch with the most valuable player in 1965. I also played second base and he played shortstop in a softball tournament. Zoilo versalles.

[@laudanum669]

In the late 70's my best friend and I were 14-16 years old and we went to as many Twins games as we could. We lived in Wisconsin on the border of Minnesota about an hour away. We were always asking our parents to take us to the Met. They would drop us off and then go out for dinner or go to see a movie and pick us up after the game. Back then the Twins were really bad and we would buy General Admission tickets and then move to the Box Seats. Nobody cared about checking our tickets. in 1980 we turned 16 and got our drivers licenses so we could finally go by ourselves we went to about 35 games that summer. Some days we would sneak into the stadium when the team was on the road, we would hang out in the dugouts, run on the field and explore other areas. Once in awhile someone would see us but they were usually so far away they didn't bother chasing us. I still have most of my ticket stubs and programs from those days. I was a wonderful time, Thanks Twins and Met Stadium.

[@commentingcollector]

As a life long Twins fan and having the privilege of having seen games at the old Met/ this is fantastic! Baseball Gold! I had never seen this before. Thanks for sharing! I posted it on my cardmunity channel and shared this with my fellow Twins/ baseball fans! Thanks, so much 👍❤️

[@briangeary7684]

As a lifelong Twins fan, this video brings back memories of the old Met. My favorite Twins memory is listening to the season openers on the radio, usually in California, ( Oakland, Angels ) coming downstairs for school and my dad asking me the score as he knew I was staying up. I was born in 1961 so my childhood memories are with Tovar, Carew, Tony O, Harmon, Kaat, Dean Chance, Blyleven, etc. - just a tinge later…great video and footage…

[@mndoss1]

Another great video. Thanks for sharing. I have written to, spoke to, or know many of these guys. Wish they were all here.

[@TonyTruth-s9z]

April 26, 1981 doubleheader vs. Angles was my last baseball trip to the Met. Drank beer in the sun in left field upper deck. Carew had four hits, including a pair of doubles in the second game. I saw the Vikings in a fall preseason game later that year. Stayed at the HoJo across the parking lot.

[@bucksdiaryfan]

I think this marked the end of the Milwaukee Braves. Few people mention it, but the Braves had a lot of fans in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin who would take the train to games, allowing them to set incredible attendance figures in the 1950s. But as soon as the Minnesota market left, along with other factors, the Braves looked for greener pastures.

[@kevinmadden1645]

The biggest reason for the Braves declining support was the rise of Lombardi and the Packers . Football became ascendent over baseball .

[@TimAllen-fs2rg]

I remember seeing a 19 yr old Dutchman pitch for the first time at the Old Met . Even saw him milk a cow on dairy night....lol those are great memories going to 3 dollar knothole games with my grandfather . Driving up on the old cedar avenue Bridge took forever to get there it seems but when we finally got there it was like a cathedral in a huge parking lot with the Met Center and the Thunderbird Motel my only memories of other buildings . GREAT TIMES!

[@Scottshodgepodge]

Thank you for this!! Huge Twins fan of long standing here (but not this long!! lol). You can see the seeds of the really good Twins clubs of the later’60s here.

[@AllanGonnella]

I was 10 years old in 1960 when my family took a trip to Minneapolis to visit family. We stayed 3 weeks and my grandfather took my sister & me to Metropolitan Stadium to see the Minneapolis Millers play the Louisville Colonels. The Met only had a 3 decks from third base to first base at that time with no bleachers down the lines or behind the outfield fences. I just missed the Twins by a year. I was from Southern California and used to go to the Dodger games in the L.A. Coliseum with the left field screen before Dodger Stadium was built. After all those years living in Minneapolis my grandfather finally got to see a major league baseball game when the Senators moved there the following year to become the Twins.

[@davidmurray5399]

It's interesting to see how folks dressed for going to the game back in 1961. The view of Bloomington back then, mostly farm land still, the housing developments hadn't really spread south of the 494 strip back then. Seeing the players without batting helmets and all the protective gear they wear now is certainly different.

[@robertsprouse9282]

No burned down buildings in Minneapolis yet, either, many of them black owned businesses financed through the community development block grant program run by the federal government. Hey! Whadya know? That interference of a taxpayer funded government program designed to lift blacks out of poverty.. why it sounds just like insurrectional behavior from unconstitutional non-peaceable rioting “protestors”(nudge nudge wink wink). Whadya know! Love that ANTIFAscist behavior! Nothin fascist about that.. Noooooo..

[@gregfrank4115]

At that 61 opener, there was a newspaper interview with Paul Gerheart, who owned one of the pieces of farm land that was purchased for the stadium. He talked of what he had grown there, also the 122,000 payment he received in 1955.

[@scottyjohnson3120]

I got to go to quite a few games there as a kid. I miss the old Met!

[@unc23sports]

What history! Go Twins!

[@howie9751]

You can't see much of the stadium from this film, but I remember it from TV back then. I don't know the pros and cons of it, but at least it was baseball, not like the Metro Dome.

[@markko17]

Don Mincher was the only player to play for the original Washington Senators, the Twins, the expansion Senators, and the Texas Rangers.

[@gregfrank4115]

Also had the first Twins home run at the Met on 4/21/61, as well as the Twins first WS home run, off Don Drysdale in game 1 of the 65 WS.

[@paulfitzgerald2673]

Not to mention the Seattle Pilots

[@danbartko164]

​@@paulfitzgerald2673 Yes,and he is and was the only player ever to appear as a Seattle Pilot in an All-Star game.

[@kevinmadden1645]

Horn rimmed glasses.

[@tudormiller887]

I ❤ MLB. Watching in 🇬🇧

[@JammJonKiebon]

I can't believe Whitey Herzog actually played in the majors I never knew. This was about 4 months before I was born.

[@gregfrank4115]

He originally came up with the Yankees as a center fielder. Trouble was, Mickey Mantle already had the job, so Herzog was soon headed around the league to a number of teams. Had the distinction of hitting into the only all Cuban triple play on 7/23/60 - going from Pedro Ramos to Jose Valvielso to Julio Becquer.

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

Harmon Killebrew hit more home runs than Mickey Mantle AND Reggie Jackson! And they gave that dude a candy bar!

[@b.t.2796]

9:10 Batting glove worn by Bob Allison. Hawk Harrelson in the 70's seems to get all of the credit for wearing one though.

[@normrichards2070]

Interesting to see Bob Allison wit a hitting glove on the left hand. Hawk Harrelson has received credit for being the first in 1967, but it’s not true.

[@ralphpussilano]

Bob Allison of the Minnesota Twins wraps up another one.

[@MidKid61]

I'm certain they were adding those additional seats for football as 1961 was the debut year of the Minnesota Vikings.

[@b.t.2796]

Don't forget to leave your hood up if your car doesnt start after the game. And please dont dump your ashtray onto the parking lot.

[@danholm4952]

So in 1961 the Senators went to Minnesota. and the AL Gave Washington a new franchise.. WTF? And the NEW Senators in '61 went to Texas in '72.. Crazy....

[@timfremstad3434]

Yeah, A buddy at work years ago told me the Senators moved to Minnesota, I said they did????? Then he says " You think the Senators would trade Harmon Killebrew?" I said . Yeah, that doesn't seem likely......so something I didn't know before

[@gregpaspatis9425]

@danholm4952 Washington wasn't given a "new" franchise, the Amer. League owners unanimously let Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith switch places with the new (expansion) franchise that was originally meant for Bloomington, Minn., along with the expansion partners named the Los Angeles Angels who started the same year playing in the old Wrigley Field of Los Angeles that was home to a Pacific Coast League (minors) team before leaving for the new stadium at the Chavez Ravine (Dodger Stad.) site, which was what the tickets for Angels home games named it for the four years, 1962-1965, they played there. Washington was merely relegated with a completely new group of players to replace their entire team that moved to the midwest to become the "new" Minnesota Twins. Over the first few years of the Twins a few of the former Senators players would eventually return back to playing with the "new" Senators team in D. C.

[@randywalsh8383]

Just like Giants & Dodgers a few years earlier & the AFL. Moving west & south to growing cities, and sweetheart deals for owners. Also Met Stadium was built, sat, and was waiting for a pro team,... and political pressure ensued.

[@Jleed989]

Then the Expos moved into Washington as the Nationals

[@robertsprouse9282]

@@gregpaspatis9425, in MLB EXPANSION TEAM best stat RECORDS, it clearly lists WASHINGTON 1961 thru 1971, and TEXAS from ‘72 into the present. WASHINGTON in ‘61 was an EXPANSION TEAM. It makes no difference if MINNY was SUPPOSED to be an expansion team. In the end, the old SENS CONTRACTS were MOVED to MINNY. Minn. did NOT have players awarded it in.. an EXPANSION DRAFT.. WDC did. Clark Griffith NEVER GAVE UP OWNERSHIP. He just moved his team. You are arguing semantics that do not exist.

[@liraloo]

Pride of the upper U.S.

[@bucksdiaryfan]

Have any of you Twins fans in the comments seen the movie "Damn Yankees". It was a fictional tale about a fan of the original Washington Senators. A few scenes show the Senators in 1950s uniform, and they look just like the Minnesota Twins have looked for the last 60 odd years. Its funny how the colors the Senators happened to have worn at the time of relocation became the iconic colors of summer in Minnesota that haven't changed to this day.

[@kevinmadden1645]

The supposed absurd premise of "Damn Yankees" deals with the Yankees losing the American League pennant to the Senators. This actually happened in 1924 when Walter Johnson and company overtook the Yankees in September .

[@hammondegger603]

what is the large pipe running behind the fence...?

[@cowboy68]

I miss that crack of the bat sound

[@harrysachs6969]

When baseball was pure and good, not like the pitiful “modern game” that MLB is trying to shove down our throats.

[@varrick1226]

Minnesota doesn't look like this any longer lol....

[@rstefanie2622]

The Met is now a shopping mall. Minneapolis/St Paul is now Somalian. You cannot make this up.

[@moboutmen]

Imagine if the New York Giants had moved there, as originally planned.

[@mikec6617]

3:24 the last time the Twins beat the Yankees.

[@eternal1blue]

Whitey Hertzog Baltimore ...interesting 😊

[@gregpaspatis9425]

"Whitey Herzog ...interesting" He also had a stint in the late 1950s playing with the Washington Senators, who would become these same Minnesota Twins.

[@timfremstad3434]

I agree......

[@Razorbacks1]

It’s too bad the immortal Walter Johnson and several HOFers with the Senators aren’t recognized by the Twins or most fans.

[@olafbigandglad]

Kind of interesting that the White Sox had names on their uniforms in 1961.

[@kevinmadden1645]

Bill Veeck had last names on the backs of White Sox players in 1960. Veeck introduced the exploding scoreboard the same year.

[@lukeheaton5336]

Love those unis with the numbers on the sleeve. Detroit, Cleveland and ChiSox.

[@44032]

24:28 : Bill Tuttle with a chew of tobacco in his mouth.

[@kc0lif]

is second baseman billy Martin?. the jimmy Pearsall who became white sox announcer?.

[@orbyfan]

The same.

[@GizmoBeach]

Washington was just starting to become a better team when they up and moved, Senators’ fans got a lousy expansion team that never did anything, outside of letting LAD trade Frank Howard to DC. 86 wins was so shocking, Ted Williams won MOY. 😱

[@ericgoldfarb4870]

Minnesota is uppa us

[@jamesbastian3826]

Ver sallies! LOL.

[@marcosjuarez7809]

The Washington Senators relocated to the Twin Cities as the Minnesota Twins in exchange for the expansion Senators which they were relocated to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex for the 1972 MLB season as the current Texas Rangers franchise. DC would not have a MLB until the relocation of the Montreal Expos to DC for the 2005 MLB seasons as the current Washington Nationals franchise.

[@1985OldSkool]

The Nationals were originally the Montréal Expos (1969-2004)