Minnesota Twins Wrap Up Winter Caravan in Oakdale

The Minnesota Twins wrapped up their 2012 Winter Caravan with an Oakdale finale on Monday evening. Tom Kelly, Rod Carew, Ron Gardenhire and Glen Perkins were part of the head table luminaries that attracted nearly 500 people to the for the 72nd Annual Old Timers Hot Stove banquet.

Formed in 1939 by 14 members of the New York Yankees’ farm system that lived in St. Paul, the Baseball Old Timers Hot Stove League has been meeting regularly at the Nickel Joint in St. Paul ever since. The group has come to include members from all corners of baseball who gather to swap stories and share a common passion for the game.

“The whole deal is we want to support baseball, period,” said Brad Drake who chaired the organizing committee for the Oakdale banquet. “It’s just a great group of people that like baseball.”

Drake joined the organization about 15 years ago and still sees people he’s played with through the years at the monthly meetings.

“There’s a guy I used to play ball with,” Drake pointed out as he scanned the gathered crowd. “There’s my coach from high school. The guy talking to him was the best No. 3 hitter in 1977. I mean, where else can you go to see guys that can tell stories about Ted Williams and Willie Mays play for the Saints and Millers. There’s all kinds of stories here.”

Rich Allen, a former St. Thomas Academy standout, was honored during the banquet for his role in baseball. The former Cadet was the first native Minnesotan to sign with Twins after their arrival in the state. Allen signed in 1962 after being recruited for a tryout.

“I had several tryouts with several major league teams,” Allen said. “Angelo Giuliani was my neighbor and he was scouting with the Twins, so it was my neighbor that found me.”

During his senior year at St. Thomas in 1960, Allen compiled a record of 8-1 with 82 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched, pitched two no-hitters and had an ERA of 0.11. Allen said he had fond memories of his St. Thomas days and, as if on cue, shared a few of the stories Drake alluded to.

“I never thought Reggie Jackson would make it to the big leagues unless he learned how to hit left-handed,” Allen said. Allen was a teammate with Jackson, Tony LaRussa, Rollie Fingers and others in California while playing Class A ball. 

“He (Jackson) did,” Allen said, laughing. “That was a real fond memory.”

Allen also recalled his time with the Birmingham Barons in 1964, playing in the south at the height of the civil rights movement.

“That was one of the first integrated baseball teams to play,” said Allen. “No whites came out watch us play for the whole first month. It was only the black community that supported us.”

Now, Allen enjoys swapping those stories with other baseball enthusiasts he’s met as part of the Old Timers Hot Stove League.

“It gives me a chance to meet new friends and reunite with old ones,” Allen said. “It’s a wonderful organization.”

Drake said he appreciates everything the Twins have done to support the organization.

“Obviously, without the Twins, we wouldn’t have a banquet,” he said. “They support us and we like to support them however we can. It means a heck of a lot.”