Introduction: A Pennant for the Twin Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins

The roster of the 1965 Minnesota Twins reads like an All-Star team: from Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versalles, and Mudcat Grant, to Bob Allison, Jim Kaat, Earl Battey, and Jim Perry. In just their fifth season in the Twin Cities, the Twins won a major-league high (and as of 2014 still a record for the franchise) 102 games to capture the American League pennant, ending the aging New York Yankees’ five-year grip on the top spot.

The idea of major-league baseball in Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Upper Midwest sounded implausible, even absurd, to many in the late 1950s and early 1960s; a long, snowy winter, followed by a cold, wet spring, transitioning into a short, cool summer, and finally morphing into a frosty autumn with the prospect of snow again. But not to Minnesotans and not to Calvin Griffith, who inherited the Washington Senators from his uncle Clark Griffith in 1955 and relocated the team to the Twin Cities for the start of the 1961 season. A charter franchise of the American League in 1901, the Senators were perennial losers in the nation’s capital. Syndicated sportswriter and humorist Charles Dryden wrote in 1909 following the Senators’ 42-110 season, “Washington: first in war, first in peace, last in the American League.” Save for a brief heyday in the 1920s and early 1930s, when they captured their only World Series title (1924) and appeared in two more fall classics (1925 and 1933), the Senators rarely proved that unflattering aphorism wrong. From their last World Series appearance to their move to Minnesota, the Senators enjoyed only four winning seasons (and one .500 season) and hadn’t finished in the first division (the top four spots of a then eight-team league) since 1946. Washington’s dismal teams translated into poor attendance. In each of their final six seasons in D.C., the Senators ranked last in the AL in attendance; only once in franchise history (1946) did the Senators break the million mark in attendance.

The Senators’ move to Minnesota came during a 10-year period that saw major changes to the baseball landscape and reflected a shift in the demographics of the country. Following the Boston Braves’ move to Milwaukee in 1953, which demonstrated that baseball could thrive in a small-market city in the Midwest, the St. Louis Browns relocated to Baltimore (1954), the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955, and the Brooklyn Dodgers turned their backs on Brooklyn and the New York Giants departed for San Francisco (both in 1958). Besides allowing the Washington franchise to become the Minnesota Twins in 1961, the American League expanded to 10 teams that season, adding the Los Angeles Angels and awarding Washington another team, aptly named the Senators. The following season, the New York Mets and Houston Astros joined the National League.

After decades of frustration in Washington, the newly christened Minnesota Twins transformed into one of baseball’s most successful teams throughout the 1960s. Even though the Twins finished in usual territory in their first season (seventh place), the club set a new attendance record, drawing in excess of 1.2 million, third highest in the league. The Twins played their home games Metropolitan Stadium, located in suburban Bloomington, about 10 miles south of downtown Minneapolis. Since opening in 1956, it had been the home park for the Minneapolis Millers, a Triple-A team in the American Association. The Millers and their league rivals, the St. Paul Saints, ceased operations when the Senators relocated to Minnesota. The original seating capacity of the stadium was expanded from 18,000 to 30,637 in 1960, and expanded again to 40,000 in 1964. The Minnesota Vikings, an NFL expansion team in 1961, also played in the “Met,” as the stadium was affectionately called.

At the end of the 1961 season, Sam Mele, who joined the Senators’ coaching staff in 1959 after a 10-year big-league career, took over as skipper. Under Mele’s guidance, the Twins battled the Yankees for the pennant in 1962, finishing in second place, just five games behind the eventual world champions. The Twins won 91 games for the second consecutive season in 1963, but finished in third, well behind the Yankees; however, they led the AL in attendance. After a disappointing sixth-place finish in 1964, the Twins seemed like a long shot to capture the pennant in 1965.

The Twins’ success throughout the 1960s can be attributed to their excellent scouting and farm system, whose roots extended back to the final decade in Washington. The 1965 club was filled with home-grown players who developed into all-stars. Befitting the Senators’ long tradition of Cuban players, two men from that island anchored the 1965 squad: 25-year-old shortstop Zoilo Versalles, who led the league in runs (126), doubles (45), triples (12), and total bases (308) to earn the AL MVP award; and 26-year-old right fielder Tony Oliva. In his second full season, the eight-time All-Star established himself as one of baseball’s best pure hitters, leading the league in batting average (.321) and hits (185) for the second consecutive year. Former Rookie of the Year (1959) and vocal team leader Bob Allison was a rugged left fielder who blasted 23 round-trippers; center fielder Jimmy Hall chipped in with 20 homers and 86 runs batted in. Arguably the period’s most feared slugger, 11-time All-Star Harmon Killebrew had led the AL in homers in the three consecutive seasons 1962-1964, but suffered an elbow injury on August 2, 1965, that cast a shadow on the team’s title aspirations. But backup first baseman Don Mincher stepped in to belt 22 homers and slug .509. Catcher Earl Battey, who had languished with the Chicago White Sox backing up perennial All-Star Sherm Lollar, was acquired in a trade prior to the 1960 season and developed into one of the best catchers in the AL. The Twins built their reputation as sluggers, smashing 225 and 221 round-trippers to lead the majors in 1963 and 1964. The 1965 squad belted 150 (to rank fourth in the league), but was an all-around team, ranking first in runs, hits, and doubles, while finishing second in triples, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.

The Twins’ pitching staff, which had been considered the club’s weakness in its quest for a pennant in 1962, got a big boost from pitching coach Johnny Sain, who joined the coaching staff in 1965. Righty Mudcat Grant, acquired the previous season from the Cleveland Indians, transformed from a league-average hurler to a star, leading the AL wins (21) and shutouts (6). Southpaw Jim Kaat paced the league with 42 starts and notched 18 victories. Two graybeards, 36-year-old Al Worthington (2.13 ERA over 62 appearances) and 37-year-old journeyman Johnny Klippstein (2.24 in 56 outings), anchored a strong relief corps that helped the Twins rank third in team ERA (3.14) despite playing half their games in a hitters’ park.

The Twins’ 11-inning victory over the New York Yankees – in frigid weather and with the Twin Cities plagued by flooding – on Opening Day augured the team’s success in 1965. Battling the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and Detroit Tigers for the top spot over the first 2½ months of the season, the Twins took sole position of first place on July 5 and never looked back. By September 14 the Twins enjoyed a 10-game cushion in the pennant race and cruised to a 102-60 record, seven games in front of the White Sox. Along the way, the Twins led the AL in attendance with a franchise record 1,463,258 (since far exceeded). The Twins were a rough-and-tumble squad, feisty like their first-year third-base coach Billy Martin, who had ended his playing career with the Twins four years earlier, and enjoyed solid seasons from role players like rookie outfielder Sandy Valdespino, swingman Jim Perry (12-7, 2.63 ERA), and hard-throwing 20-year-old Dave Boswell.

The Twins, nominal underdogs against the pitching-rich Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, took the first two games of the fall classic, which opened at the Met. After losing three straight at Dodgers Stadium, the Twins returned to their fans in Minnesota with the Series on the line. Mudcat Grant pitched a six-hitter to win the biggest game in his career, setting up a highly anticipated Game Seven. Unfortunately the Twins had no answer for Sandy Koufax, whose otherworldly performance in Game Seven, a three-hit shutout on two days’ rest, sealed the Twins’ fate and gave the Dodgers their second title in three years.

The year of 1965 was a tumultuous time in American history. The war in Vietnam was escalating and news of casualties was reported on the nightly news; the civil-rights movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., reached a critical moment with the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama; Malcolm X was assassinated; and the race riot in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles resulted in $40 million worth of damage, more than 4,000 arrests, and at least 34 deaths. Major-league baseball, by contrast, perhaps seemed trivial in light of the violence that had seemingly taken over the country. Nonetheless, as it had for decades, baseball – and sport in general – gave Americans a chance to escape, be it ever so briefly, to a place where whites, African Americans, and Latinos competed with and against each other.

This SABR Digital Library volume celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Minnesota Twins. I invite you to read the life and baseball stories of all 35 roster players, the four coaches, and the manager of that team, and relive an exciting era of baseball history. Also included are biographies of team owner Calvin Griffith; broadcasters Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, and Ray Scott; and sportswriters Dick Gordon and Max Nichols. To provide context for the Twins’ accomplishments, a comprehensive summary of the regular season, as well as meticulous essays highlighting important games and the All-Star Game played in Minnesota, an overview of the 1965 Dodgers, and thorough summaries of all seven games of the World Series are included. Feature stories about how the Griffith family built its pennant winner, the fate of the Twins after 1965, Metropolitan Stadium, and the 1965 season “by the numbers” round out this volume.

Members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) researched and wrote all of the biographies and essays in this book.  Their interest in baseball history and commitment to preserving its heritage have made the volume possible.

A lifelong Pirates fan, GREGORY H. WOLF was born in Pittsburgh, but now resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife, Margaret, and daughter, Gabriela. A Professor of German Studies and holder of the Dennis and Jean Bauman Endowed Chair in the Humanities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, he edited the SABR book “Thar’s Joy in Braveland.” The 1957 Milwaukee Braves (2014) and Winning on the North Side. The 1929 Chicago Cubs (2015). He is working on a project about the County Stadium in Milwaukee.