Lexington Baseball Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota (1897 - 1956)
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Lexington Park | |
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| City/locality- State/province | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| County- State/province: | Ramsey County, Minnesota |
| State/province: | Minnesota |
| Country: | United States |
| Year Established: | 1897 |
| Year Ended: | 1956 |
| Historic Function: | Athletic fields |
| Current Function: | Commercial district |
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{{Textarea Site |site_intro=Opened in 1897 by Charles Comiskey, the park was the site that spring of disputes with the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly over union cigars, musicians and advertising. After a brief boycott, Comiskey agreed to labor's demands. Stadium grandstand walls are still standing in the southwest corner of the area, occupied by a shopping center since the park was torn down in the 1950s.
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For 60 years the corner of University Ave. and Lexington Parkway attracted fans of the national pastime. Lexington Park was home to minor league baseball's original St. Paul Saints. By the 1950s, the Saints and their cross-river competition, the Minneapolis Millers, had developed a rivalry that mirrored one of the fiercest in the major leagues. The most talented Saints were promoted to the Brooklyn Dodgers, while the Millers were a farm team for the New York Giants. So before they did battle in Gotham, stars like Duke Snider and Willie Mays played at Lexington Park, and tried to hit home runs onto the roof of a roller skating rink that also fronted University. Twin Cities baseball historian Stew Thornley says some of the highlights of the season for local baseball fans occurred on summer holidays. "The St. Paul Saints and Minneapolis Millers would play a doubleheader, with a morning game in one ballpark and an afternoon game in the other," Thornley said. "The fans would get onto the streetcars, and it was probably about a seven-mile ride."
