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AA St. Paul Saints

Saints Go Back to a Different Era, Honor Duke Snider

July 27, 2011 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (July 27, 2011) - Baseball history is rich in the St. Paul area. The current form of the St. Paul Saints has been around for 19 seasons, but many in the area remember when the Saints played at Lexington Park where streetcars transported players and fans alike to the ballyard. Many great players donned the Saints cap and roamed that field and one of them was Hall of Famer Duke Snider. The 2011 version of the Saints will honor the man their uniform in 1947.

On Thursday night, August 25 the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a Snider bobblehead, clad in a Saints number 23 uniform and his bat on his shoulder. Snider didn't stay long in St. Paul, playing 66 games for the Triple-A affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers in '47 where he hit .316 with 12 homers and 46 RBI.

The Snider bobblehead giveaway is in conjunction with the Professional Baseball Scout's Hall of Fame Night presented by Killebrew Root Beer. On that night the Saints will honor Cincinnati Reds Senior Director of Professional and Global Scouting Terry Reynolds with a pre-game induction ceremony inside the front gate. Snider had scouts from the Cardinals and Reds chasing after him, but it was Brooklyn scout Tom Downey who was ultimately responsible for signing Snider after seeing him play summer baseball with the Montebello Merchants.

At the age of 17 Snider joined the Montreal Royals in 1944 and spent just two games there before playing the rest of the season with the Newport News Dodgers in the Piedmont League.

In 1945 Snider was out of baseball, instead serving his country as a fireman, third class on the submarine tender USS Sperry at Guam. After 19 months of military service he rejoined the Dodgers organization and spent three more seasons in the minor leagues before getting called up in 1947.

In the Major Leagues Snider spent 16 seasons with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and one season each with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. The eight time All-Star hit .407 career homers and had a career .295 average. He was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Tickets are available for all home games starting at $5 for general admission, $8 for outfield reserved and $12 for infield reserved. Friday Home Games with post-game fireworks (except August 26) are an additional $2 per ticket. August 26 features extended post-game fireworks and are an additional $3 per ticket. Tickets purchased on the Day of the Game are an additional $1 per ticket. Children under the age of 12 and seniors 65 and older receive $1 off the admission price. Children under 2 that don't require a seat are free.

Tickets for all Saints regular season home games are available now in person at the Saints Box Office, by phone at 651-644-6659 or online at saintsbaseball.com.

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