St. Paul Colored Gophers

The St. Paul Colored Gophers was a small club of black baseball players formed in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1907.[1] They were not a formal Negro league team, as the commonly referred-to "Negro leagues" were not created until 1920. However, like other barnstorming teams of the time, they put considerable pressure on the desegregation of baseball. Historians rarely mention the Colored Gophers in Negro baseball history, and statistics are hard to find.

St. Paul Colored Gophers
1907–1914
Saint Paul, Minnesota
League affiliation(s)
  • Independent
Name(s)
  • Twin City Gophers (1911)
Ballpark(s)
1907 St. Paul Colored Gophers
1910 St. Paul Gophers

History

The club lasted several seasons, also playing under the name Twin City Gophers and Minneapolis Gophers.

In 1909, the Colored Gophers defeated what was considered to be the most powerful Negro baseball team, the Leland Giants. They were managed that year by Phil "Daddy" Reid and Williams, they managed to land Taylor brothers Candy Jim Taylor and Steel Arm Johnny Taylor. Candy Jim went on to manage the team in 1910.[2]

Rosters

1907

1908

1909

1910
1910 St. Paul Gophers

1911

Played as the Twin City Gophers.[4]

1913

Played as the "'St. Paul Gophers'".[6]

1914

Played as the "'Minneapolis Gophers'".[7][8]

  • Cy Olsen (Manager)
  • William Binga
  • K. Jones
  • Clarke
  • Nelson
  • John Davis
  • Ivertson
  • Chick Jones
  • C. Jones (not Chick Jones)
  • Kenneson
  • Lee Davis
  • Kay

1916

Played as the "'Minneapolis Gophers'".[9]

MLB throwback jerseys

The Minnesota Twins have honored the club by wearing replica throwback jerseys of the team.

  • The Twins wore 1909 Gophers uniforms at home against Cleveland on July 13, 1997.
  • They wore Gophers uniforms on July 10, 2005, in Kansas City against the Royals,[10] and again on both July 21, 2012 and June 23, 2019.[11]
  • On August 7, 2010, the Twins featured the Gophers uniforms in a game against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. The Indians wore the Negro League's Cleveland Buckeyes 1946 replica jerseys.[12] Announcers carefully referred to the jerseys as the Saint Paul Gophers, leaving out the word colored.

References
  1. "St. Paul Gophers Base Ball Club" The Appeal, St. Paul, Minnesota, August 31, 1907, Page 3, Columns 3 to 5
  2. "Big Base Ball Battle" St. Paul Appeal, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 10, 1909, Page 3, Columns 5 and 6
  3. "Colored Gophers Threw Scare Into the Locals" Bemidji Daily Pioneer, Bemidji, Minnesota, Monday Evening, June 28, 1909, Page 1, Columns 6 and 7 and Page 4, Column 1
  4. "Beach Giants Take Game From Gophers by Narrow Margin" Bismarck Daily Tribune, Bismarck, North Dakota, Tuesday, June 13, 1911, Page 2, Column 3
  5. "Pickets Won First Scramble" Evening Times, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Monday, June 19, 1911, Page 3, Columns 1 and 2
  6. "Local Aggregation Lost Game" Aberdeen Daily News, Aberdeen, South Dakota, Thursday, July 10, 1913, Page 8, Column 1
  7. "Get Best of Colored Gophers" Little Falls Herald, Little Falls, Minnesota, Friday, July 31, 1914, Page 2, Columns 1 and 2
  8. "Take Two From Gophers" Little Falls Herald, Little Falls, Minnesota, Friday, July 10, 1914, Page 2, Columns 1 and 2
  9. "Colored Gophers to Play Carrs in South St. Paul" St. Paul Appeal, St. Paul, Minnesota, Saturday, August 5, 1916, Page 3, Column 3
  10. Associated Press (2005-07-10). "Twins 3, Royals 2, 12 innings". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  11. "What was up with the Twins throwback uniforms Sunday?". WCCO. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  12. Major League Baseball (2010-08-07). "Twins 7, Indians 2, 9 innings". MLB.com. Retrieved 2010-08-07.

Further reading
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