The Principal Financial Group® Family Fun Fest Minor League Baseball Museum
What you will find in the minor league baseball museum:
1880s Mushroom Knob Bat
1890s Crescent Pad Catchers Mitt
1910s Split Finger Fielders Glove
1910s Pro Model Catchers Mask
1919 Chicago American Giants Jersey. This was a team managed by Hall of Famer Andrew "Rube" Foster, who in 1920 would form the Negro National League. The team included left fielder Oscar Charleston, himself a future Hall of Famer, and infielder Dave Malarchar, who would become one of the great storytellers of the early days of the Negro Leagues, and an important source for the first great book on the Negro Leagues, "Only the Ball Was White."
1910-20s Baseball, unknown manufacturer. Three quarter sized yellow canvas baseball with blue cross stitching. This was a ball from the game's so-called "deadball" era, before it was clear that fans wanted to see home runs and Babe Ruth was the people's choice.
1930s Buckleback Fielders Glove, JC Higgins. "V" back buckleback glove circa the mid 1930s. The glove is endorsed by outfielder "Indian" Bob Johnson. Johnson, from Pryor, Oklahoma, played from 1933-45 in the American League, for Philadelphia, Washington and Boston. He was a career .296 hitter and 7-time All-Star, who drove in over 100 runs eight times and had a high of 34 home runs.
1930s Catchers Mitt Autographed by Twelve 1930-50s Pacific Coast League Stars. Nice 1930s buckleback style glove autographed by PCL Hall of Famers Bill Raimondi (caught in PCL from 1932-53) and Cece Carlucci as well as Jack "Lucky" Lohrke, Bill Renna, Charlie Silvera, Willie Enos, Bud Watkins, Don Ferrasee, Dino Restelli, Duane Pillette, Sam Kanelos and Con Dempsey.
Les Scarsella, 1930s buckle back mitt. Les batted .313 as the Reds' regular first baseman in 1936. He was an outstanding Pacific Coast League player with Oakland and Seattle during the 1940's. When the Major Leagues were still only 16 teams, one could say that the best players in Triple-A ball were surely Major Leaguers by today's standards, had the jobs been there.
1937 Al Piechota Oakland Oaks Playing Contract, signed twice by Piechota and legendary Oaks owner V.A. Devincinzi, has all the league stamps etc. Piechota also pitched for Boston in the National League, 22 games over 1940-41. The Oaks were part of the Pacific Coast League from 1904-1955.
1938 San Francisco Seals Jersey. Joe DiMaggio had gone from the Seals to the Yankees in 1936, but his fame made the Seals a much watched team in pro baseball, and it was also the long time "home" for the great Lefty O'Doul. The '38 Seals finished fourth in the PCL, but had the league's leading home run hitter in Ted Norbert, with 30, and managed to go to the PCL championship round before losing to Sacramento in five games.
1938 Joe DiMaggio Wheaties. Before the television age, Wheaties was the number one sponsor of sports events on the radio, and gracing a Wheaties box was a high honor. DiMaggio did it in only his third big league season, but in '37, he more than earned it, with a .346 average, 46 homers and 167 RBIs.
Bernie "Frenchy' Uhault autographed 1930-40 spilt finger glove. Uhalt, a high school quarterback star in Bakersfield, CA, had 2798 hits in the Pacific Coast League from 1928-48, mostly for the Oakland Oaks, second all time in the PCL. He also played with the White Sox in 1934. Frenchy, 94, is one of the oldest surviving PCL players.
1930-40s Diamond Spitter Catcher's mask. The best catchers in this era were Mickey Cochrane, Rick Ferrell, Al Lopez, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Lombardi, Harry Danning, Luke Sewell, Rollie Hemsley and Bill Dickey, and this would have been indicative of the type of mask they wore. Cochrane, Ferrell, Lopez, Hartnett, Lombardi and Dickey are all Hall of Famers.
1940s Basemitt Autographed by 2 Pacific Coast League Stars. 1940s "Play Rite" Mize Model autographed by Rugger Ardizioa and Willie Enos. Ardizioa was one of the top hurlers in the Pacific Coast League from 1937-49 playing with Mission, Hollywood, Oakland and Seattle. Willie Enos played on San Francisco's 1946 Championship season, considered by many to be the greatest minor league team of all time. (The team had a 115-68 record, and pitcher Larry Jansen won 30 games with a 1.57 ERA). With the Seals Enos batted .346 in 1945 and .305 in 1943.
1940s "Champion" Baseball Bat Autographed by 12 Pacific Coast League Stars. Hillerich & Bradsby "Champion" model bat autographed by 1930's-40's PCL greats Frenchy Uhalt, Dario Lodigiani, Red Adams, Willie Enos, Con Dempsey, Bill Raimondi (twice), Bill Rigney (twice), Lou Vezilich, Eddie Bockman, Will Hafey, Logan Harper & Jim Westlake. Rigney, a major league infielder, went on to manage the New York and San Francisco Giants, following the lineage of John McGraw-Bill Terry-Mel Ott-Leo Durocher.
Phil Masi, MW Sporting Goods 4257. Beautiful burgundy colored mitt circa the 1940s. Masi played from 1939-49 with the Boston Braves appearing in 4 consecutive All-Star games, and earning notoriety in the 1948 World Series on a celebrated pickoff play at second by Cleveland ace Bob Feller - Masi was ruled safe, but photos in the next day's papers, in the days before instant replay, showed him out. He also played 3 seasons with the White Sox and led the league in fielding 3 times.
Max West, 1940s MacGregor Split Finger Glove. Beautifully autographed on the front by the MVP of the 1940 All-Star game. West played with the Boston Braves from 1938-46 as well as with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. He also played for many years in the Pacific Coast League and is the PCL's second all time leading home run hitter. His 43 home runs for PCL's San Diego Padres in 1947 broke Ted Williams' team record of 23. Max died on New Year's Eve, 2003 at 87.
1947 San Francisco vs Sacramento Seals Program. Bio's and photos of Lefty O'Doul, Joe Brovia, Leo "Doc" Hughes and Robert Jensen. Lefty O'Doul was one of the great stars of baseball, both in the Majors (lifetime average .349) and in the Pacific Coast League, where he was a legend as both a player and as a manager. He was also a pioneer in taking US teams to Japan.
1940-50s Catcher's mask. In this era, the top catchers were Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Wes Westrum, Del Rice, Smokey Burgess, Walker Cooper, Jim Hegan, and Sherm Lollar. This mask is indicative of the type they wore during their careers
1940 San Diego Padres Jersey. Ted Williams began his minor league career with his hometown Padres, but by 1939 was debuting in the Majors. The '40 Padres, fourth in the league, lost the first round of the playoffs to Los Angeles, who features Lou "The Mad Russian" Novikoff - a 41 homer, .363 hitter that year.
1942 Newark Eagles Jersey. Four future baseball Hall of Famers were part of this great Negro League team - Monte Irvin, Ray Dandridge, Willie Wells and Larry Doby. A fifth, Mule Suttles, may one day make it as well. Despite this star-laden roster, the team was only 19-14 in league games and finished third in the Negro National League, so strong was the player pool in this circuit.
Rawlings Del Rice Catchers Mitt. Del Rice had a distinguished 17-year career as a National League catcher, playing for pennant winners in St. Louis (1946) and Milwaukee (1957). He was a defensive specialist and only a .237 lifetime hitter, but a favorite of pitchers to work with. In 1952 he caught 147 games in a 154-game season for the Cards.
Richie Ashburn, MacGregor G22. Nice quality mid size glove circa mid to late 1950s. The G22 model is an enigma, some are full size and very beefy. And some are smaller like this one. Bold facsimile signature. Smooth leather. Fingers and web professionally relaced. Writing on back of small finger. Hall of Famer Ashburn, a beloved Philadelphia Phillies "Whiz Kid" and later a popular team broadcaster, was a lifetime .308 hitter.
1953 St Paul Saints Photo. St. Paul competed in the American Association in 1953, finishing sixth under the managing of Clay Bryant, who pitched for the Cubs against the Yankees in the '38 World Series. On the team: Don Zimmer, promising Dodger infielder, and the slugger Walt "Moose" Moryn.
1954 Bowman "Steve Bilko" card. At 6'1" and 230 pounds, Bilko was a force to be reckoned with, and this card followed his best big league season - 154 games for the '53 Cardinals, in which he hit 21 homers and drove in 84 runs. He was a bigger star in the minors though, and his big league career never took off as hoped, with a lifetime .249 in 600 games.
1956 Los Angeles Angels Jersey. The Pacific Coast League Angels played in one of the most beautiful minor league park of all time - L.A.'s Wrigley Field, constructed by the same Wrigley family which owned the major league version in Chicago. Famous Angels included outfielders Jigger Statz and Smead Jolley first baseman Steve Bilko and future "Rifleman" TV star Chuck Connors. Wrigley Field was the site of the classic TV show, "Home Run Derby," filmed in 1960-61.
1963 Salinas Mets Program. Outstanding California League program. Salinas had Bud Harrelson and Dick Selma, who would go on to star for the Mets and Cubs respectively. Salinas finished last, but Selma led the league with 221 strikeouts and a 2.58 ERA. The California League began play in 1941; Salinas joined in 1954, but '63 was its first year back in the league after a five-year absence. They had fielded a team in 1949 in the now-defunct Sunset League.
Autographed 1967 Portland Beavers vs Vancouver Mounties Program. Autographed on the cover by five members of the Vancouver team including Sal Bando and Ken Sanders. At the end of the season, Bando and Sanders were called up by the Kansas City A's, and Bando would go on to become a vital cog in their late '60s successes. Sanders led the American League in saves with the '71 Milwaukee Brewers. Vancouver was managed by 2-time A.L. hitting champ Mickey Vernon, and finished third in the PCL West, a game behind Portland, two behind Spokane.
1972 Louisville Colonials Scorecard, with team rosters insert, including future Major League stars Dwight Evans, and Cecil Cooper. This team finished first in the International League under manager Darrell Johnson, who three years later would lead the Red Sox to the American League pennant, with Evans and Cooper key players. Louisville debuted in the American Association in 1903, but would drop out of organized ball after the '72 season, to return ten years later.
1974 San Francisco Giants Minor League Scouting Sheet. Interesting inside look on how players are graded and reported. This particular player (Dan Daniel) has 7 reports by 4 different scouts including longtime Giants slugger Hank Sauer. One report recommends his immediate release even though he was leading the league in home runs. P.S. That scout was right; Daniel never made the majors.
1982 Topps Cal Ripken Rookie Card. Cal Ripken joined the Orioles with a pedigree - his father, Cal Sr., was a career minor league manager and coach in the organization, and everyone knew Cal had the good to be a star. He would go on to break Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, win two MVP awards, and become one of the most admired athletes in the nation.
1984 Olympic Baseball Program. This was an amazing collection of players assembled for Team USA at the Los Angeles Games, including Mark McGwire, Will Clark, Barry Larkin, Oddibe McDowell, Cory Snyder, B.J. Surhoff and Bobby Witt. Topps issued a set of team cards from this team, and many of them, especially McGwire's are especially valuable.
Mint condition Michael Jordan / Birmingham Barons rookie card. Michael Jordan stunned the sports world by retiring from basketball after the 1992-93 season to try his hand at baseball. Hitting the ball proved to be a tough challenge for MJ, but he lived out his dream and gave it his best shot. Everything he touched, and all memorabilia associated with his minor league season became an instant collectible.
Columbus Clippers Jersey signed by Derek Jeter, who went on to win Rookie of the Year honors in the American League in 1996 as he took his place among the most popular Yankees of all time. Named the team's captain in 2003, he was a Clipper in 1994 and 1995, and was Minor League Player of the Year in '95.
