The American Association Almanac

On this date in 1982, American Association standout, Luke (Danny) Boone, born Lute Joseph Boone on May 6, 1890 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died at the age of 92 in Pittsburgh. Boone began playing in the American Association at the age of 26, joining the Toledo Mud Hens and playing second base (78g) and third base (20g) in 1917. Boone's career was highlighted by the seven consecutive years he played for the St. Paul Saints (1919-1925). These were the halcyon seasons of the Saints when they won championships in 1919, 1920, 1922 and 1924 with some of the strongest teams ever fielded in the American Association's 61-year history. During his time with St. Paul, Boone was primarily a shortstop who owned a hot bat his first few seasons as a Saint. In 1922, the 5'9" Pittsburgher played in all 167 games leading the club in that department as well in several other key offensive categories. Batting .287 that year, Boone was St. Paul's leader in hits (181-tied with outf...

Eighty years ago this week the American Association put its first cadre of All-Stars on display. The event took place July 19, 1934 at hitter-friendly Nicollet Park in Minneapolis. Interesting how this anniversary corresponds with MLB's 2014 All-Star game to be played tomorrow night at Target Field in Minneapolis, just a few miles due north of where Nicollet Park once stood. The Millers defeated the All-Stars, 13-6. The 1934 American Association All-Star Team The contest pitted the American Association All-Stars against the Minneapolis Millers, the club which was in first-place on the pre-selected date. In the photo above are (with position played during game): BACK ROW:   GEORGE HOCKETTE (lhp), ALLAN SOTHORON (mgr), EARL WEBB (rf), MEL ALMADA (lf-cf), LIN STORTI (2b), ERNIE WINGARD (1b), FRED BEDORE (3b), and JACK KLOZA (lf). FRONT ROW:   TONY RENSA (c), GENE TROW (rhp), MILT GALATZER (cf), BILL BRENZEL (c), JOSE OLIVARES (ss), GARLAND BRAXTON (lhp), and AL NIEMIC (ss)...

In celebration of the April 23, 1902 anniversary of the first games played in the American Association (not to be confused with the major league American Association which died out a decade earlier) I’m posting a listing of the first home runs hit by each of the Association’s eight teams, as gleaned from records in Sporting Life. Here is a cursory listing of those home runs, with more details to be added at a later date and posted on my website at www.almanacfield.com. First Home Runs in American Association Franchise History: Columbus Senators: shortstop Billy Nattress against Minneapolis in a 12-2 win at Neil Park in Columbus, Ohio, April 26, 1902. Indianapolis Indians: center fielder Cy Coulter against St. Paul, May 2 in an 8-5 win at East Washington Street Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. Catcher Mike Heydon homered in the same inning (4th) of the same game on May 2, 1902. Kansas City Blues: right fielder Elmer “Mike” Smith against Louisville in a 16-6 win at Eclipse Park in Louis...

Any researcher will tell you to be wary of online sources. I recently discovered this myself when I went to a website created with the intention of listing every game played by the Minneapolis Millers. On the surface it's quite an accomplishment, apparently exhaustive in many ways, with the potential of being a most useful tool for the baseball researcher. An index to its contenst can be viewed at  http://stewthornley.net/millersgames/ I applaud the effort behind such a comprehensive attempt at documenting American Association history. The author of the site, Stew Thornley, is known for his historical expertise on Minneapolis matters, in particular his baseball knowledge. Typically I would have no reason to doubt his work. But in this case he has dropped the ball in a big way. I first became familiar with his site about a year and a half ago when I needed a source to use for the purpose of cross-checking the individual game data I was developing for the American Association riv...