Minnesotan Major Leaguers

This list of Minnesota-raised major leaguers is a work in progress.

The purpose of this list is to catalog the major leaguers who “grew up” in Minnesota. This list does not include players who were born in Minnesota, but moved away at a young age—such as Roger Maris, Tom Kelly, and Aaron Sele (included on second list below)—but does include players who were born in other states and moved to Minnesota at a young age—such as Tim Laudner, and Pat Neshek.

I need your help filling in the blanks—particularly what town(s) the player lived in growing up, what (if any) high school they attended, and when/if they graduated.

The point is to establish where a player “grew up.” In some cases of older players, all I know is where they were born and where they first broke into professional baseball.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP, Ancestry.com is a useful resource for ascertaining where a player spent their formative years. If you have anything to contribute, please use the comment box at the bottom of the page, email me at Matt@TwinsAlmanac.com, or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter.

In most cases I’m aware of so far, the player either moved to or away from Minnesota pretty young, so there’s not much ambiguity about where they “grew up.” George Pipgras is an exception, and possibly Dick Siebert, whose family moved to Minnesota when he was 11.

As I said, this list is a work in progress. Some players included may have in fact moved away from Minnesota at a young age. And there may be more major leaguers out there who grew up in Minnesota. For instance, I just recently became aware of 1942 Watertown graduate Harry Elliott (born in San Francisco). Although I still don’t know when he moved to Minnesota.

Baseball Reference has a list of the 167 major leaguers who were born in Minnesota (click here).

For those interested in learning more about Minnesotan major leaguers, I highly recommend the book Minnesotans in Baseball, written by the members of the Halsey Hall chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

Thanks in advance for any research you can contribute!

Minnesotan Major Leaguers
(in order of major league debut)
Name Birthdate Birthplace High School Grad Year MLB Yrs From To Games
Bill Barnes 4/13/1858 Shakopee 1 1884 1884 8
Joe Werrick 10/25/1861 St. Paul 4 1884 1888 392
Lou Galvin 4/23/1863 St. Paul 1 1884 1884 3
Joe Visner 9/27/1859 Minneapolis 4 1885 1891 238
Elmer Foster 8/15/1861 Minneapolis 5 1886 1891 105
Bill Burdick 10/11/1859 Austin 2 1888 1889 31
Jack Crooks 11/9/1865 St. Paul 8 1889 1898 795
Pete Lohman 10/21/1864 Washington County 1 1891 1891 32
Roger Denzer 10/5/1871 Le Sueur 2 1897 1901 23
Bill Phyle 6/25/1875 Duluth 4 1898 1906 61
Henry Thielman 10/3/1880 St. Cloud 2 1902 1903 43
Lew Drill 5/9/1877 Browerville 4 1902 1905 293
Mike Lynch 9/10/1875 St. Paul 1 1902 1902 7
Lou Polchow 3/14/1880 Mankato 1 1902 1902 1
Chief Bender HOF 5/5/1884 Crow Wing County Carlisle Indian School (Carlisle, PA) 16 1903 1925 507
Jack Zalusky 6/22/1879 Minneapolis 1 1903 1903 7
Joe Marshall 2/19/1876 Audubon 2 1903 1906 43
Jack Hickey 11/3/1881 Minneapolis 1 1904 1904 2
Bill Carney 3/25/1874 St. Paul 1 1904 1904 2
Jake Thielman 5/20/1879 St. Cloud 4 1905 1908 70
Charlie Roy 6/22/1884 Beaulieu Carlisle Indian School (Carlisle, PA) 1 1906 1906 8
Frank Jude 11/11/1884 Libby Carlisle Indian School (Carlisle, PA) 1 1906 1906 80
Lee Quillin 5/5/1882 North Branch 2 1906 1907 53
Hank Gehring 1/24/1881 St. Paul 2 1907 1908 25
Andy Nelson 11/30/1884 St. Paul 1 1908 1908 2
Russ Ford 4/25/1883 Brandon, Manitoba Minneapolis Central 7 1909 1915 199
Jim Rutherford 9/26/1886 Stillwater 1 1910 1910 1
Chief Chouneau 9/2/1888 Cloquet 1 1910 1910 1
Hap Morse 12/6/1886 St. Paul 1 1911 1911 4
Hack Spencer 4/25/1885 St. Cloud 1 1912 1912 1
Ralph Capron 6/16/1889 Minneapolis 2 1912 1913 3
Moxie Meixell 10/18/1887 Lake Crystal Lake Crystal                                        1907 1 1912 1912 3
Bert Brenner 7/18/1887 Minneapolis 1 1912 1912 2
Ellis Johnson 12/8/1892 Minneapolis 3 1912 1917 8
Bullet Joe Bush 11/27/1892 Ehime Brainerd 17 1912 1928 580
George Dumont 11/13/1895 Minneapolis Minneapolis North 5 1915 1919 77
George Cunningham 7/13/1894 Sturgeon Lake 5 1916 1921 162
Tony Brottem 4/30/1891 Halstad 3 1916 1921 62
Joe Fautsch 2/28/1887 Minneapolis 1 1916 1916 1
Cy Wright 8/16/1893 Minneapolis 1 1916 1916 8
Rip Conway 4/18/1896 White Bear Lake 1 1918 1918 14
Joe Jaeger 3/3/1895 St. Cloud 1 1920 1920 2
Ollie Fuhrman 7/20/1896 Jordan 1 1922 1922 6
Doc Hamann 12/21/1900 New Ulm New Ulm 1 1922 1922 1
Rip Wade 1/12/1898 Duluth Duluth Denfeld 1916 1 1923 1923 33
Showboat Fisher 1/16/1899 Wesley, IA Albany 4 1923 1932 138
Rube Walberg 7/27/1896 Pine City 15 1923 1937 547
Paul Castner 2/16/1897 St. Paul St. Thomas Acadmey 1 1923 1923 6
Pete Turgeon 1/3/1897 Minneapolis 1 1923 1923 3
Julie Wera 2/9/1902 Winona Winona 2 1927 1929 43
Frank Stewart 9/8/1906 Minneapolis 1 1927 1927 1
Wally Gilbert 12/19/1900 Oscoda, MI Duluth Denfeld 1920 5 1928 1932 591
Dick Siebert 2/19/1912 Fall River, MA Concordia Academy 1928 11 1932 1945 1035
Hy Vandenberg 3/17/1906 Abilene, KS Minneapolis Roosevelt, Minneapolis South 7 1935 1945 90
Lefty Bertrand 2/28/1909 Cobden St. Mary’s (Sleepy Eye) 1 1936 1936 1
Tony Giuliani 11/24/1912 St. Paul St. Thomas Military Academy 7 1936 1943 243
Larry Rosenthal 5/21/1910 St. Paul St. Agnes (St. Paul) 8 1936 1945 579
Les Rock 8/19/1912 Springfield 1 1936 1936 2
Gene Corbett 10/25/1913 Winona In St. Paul? 3 1936 1938 37
Jimmy Pofahl 6/18/1917 Faribault Faribault 3 1940 1942 225
Mickey Rocco 3/2/1916 St. Paul St. Paul Central 4 1943 1946 440
Howie Schultz 7/3/1922 St. Paul St. Paul Central 6 1943 1948 470
Blix Donnelly 1/21/1914 Olivia Olivia 1932 8 1944 1951 190
Loren Bain 7/4/1922 Staples 1 1945 1945 3
Wes Westrum 11/28/1922 Clearbrook Minneapolis South 1940 11 1947 1957 919
Don Wheeler 9/29/1922 Minneapolis Minneapolis South 1 1949 1949 67
Milt Nielsen 2/8/1925 Tyler 2 1949 1951 19
Bob Mahoney 6/20/1928 St. Paul 2 1951 1952 36
Red Hardy 1/6/1923 Marmarth, ND Minneapolis South 1 1951 1951 2
Rip Repulski 10/4/1928 Sauk Rapids Sauk Rapids-Rice 9 1953 1961 928
Fred Baczewski 5/15/1926 St. Paul St. Paul Humbolt 3 1953 1955 63
Walt Moryn 4/12/1926 St. Paul St. Paul Harding 1944 8 1954 1961 785
Paul Giel 9/29/1932 Winona Winona 1950 6 1954 1961 386
Johnny Blanchard 2/26/1933 Minneapolis Minneapolis Central 1951? 8 1955 1965 516
Jerry Kindall 5/27/1935 St. Paul St. Paul Washington 1953 9 1956 1965 742
Gordie Sundin 10/10/1937 Minneapolis Minneapolis Washburn 1955 1 1956 1956 1
George Thomas 11/29/1937 Minneapolis Bloomington 13 1957 1971 685
John Anderson 11/23/1929 St. Paul 3 1958 1962 24
Carl Thomas 5/28/1932 Minneapolis Minneapolis Central 1 1960 1960 5
Bob Johnson 3/4/1936 Omaha, NE Edina Morningside 1954 11 1960 1970 874
Dick Stigman 1/24/1936 Nimrod Sebeka 1954 7 1960 1966 235
Fred Bruckbauer 5/27/1938 New Ulm St. Mary’s (Sleepy Eye) 1 1961 1961 1
Dave Thies 3/21/1937 Minneapolis Minneapolis De LaSalle 1 1963 1963 9
Bill Davis 6/6/1942 Graceville Richfield 3 1965 1969 64
Don Arlich 2/15/1943 Wayne, MI St. Paul North 1961 2 1965 1966 8
Arlo Brunsberg 8/15/1940 Fertile Fertile-Beltrami 1 1966 1966 2
Jerry Koosman 12/23/1942 Appleton West Central School of Agriculture (Morris) 19 1967 1985 612
Tom Burgmeier 8/2/1943 St. Paul St. Cloud Cathedral 1961 17 1968 1984 745
Charlie Walters 2/21/1947 Minneapolis Minneapolis Edison 1965 1 1969 1969 6
Mike Davison 8/4/1945 Galesburg, IL Springfield 2 1969 1970 32
Bob Gebhard 1/3/1943 Lamberton Lamberton 3 1971 1974 31
Bob Fenwick 12/10/1946 Naha, Okinawa, Japan Anoka 2 1972 1973 41
Dave Goltz 6/23/1949 Pelican Rapids Rothsay 1967 12 1972 1983 353
Mike Sadek 5/30/1946 Minneapolis Richfield 1964 8 1973 1981 383
Jerry Terrell 7/13/1946 Waseca Waterville 1964 8 1973 1980 656
Dave Winfield HOF 10/3/1951 St. Paul St. Paul Central 1969 22 1973 1995 2973
Mike Johnson 3/2/1951 Slayton Faribault 1969 1 1974 1974 18
Paul Siebert 6/5/1953 Minneapolis Edina 5 1974 1978 87
Tom Johnson 4/2/1951 St. Paul St. Paul Murray 1969 5 1974 1978 129
Pat Scanlon 9/23/1952 Minneapolis Benilde-St. Margaret’s 1970 4 1974 1977 120
Mike Poepping 8/7/1950 Little Falls Pierz 1 1975 1975 14
Gary Serum 10/24/1956 Fargo, ND Alexandria 1975 3 1977 1979 62
Jack Morris HOF 5/16/1955 St. Paul St. Paul Highland Park 1973 18 1977 1994 549
Paul Molitor HOF 8/22/1956 St. Paul Cretin 1974 21 1978 1998 2683
Greg Thayer 10/23/1949 Cedar Rapids, IA St. Cloud Tech 1 1978 1978 20
Steve Comer 1/13/1954 Minneapolis Minnetonka 1972 7 1978 1984 176
Brad Gulden 6/10/1956 New Ulm Chaska 1975 7 1978 1986 182
Jerry Ujdur 3/5/1957 Duluth Hermantown 1975 5 1980 1984 53
Kent Hrbek 5/21/1960 Minneapolis Bloomington Kennedy 1978 14 1981 1994 1747
Tim Laudner 6/7/1958 Mason City, IA Park Center 1976 9 1981 1989 734
Jim Eisenreich 4/18/1959 St. Cloud St. Cloud Tech 1977 15 1982 1998 1422
Brian Denman 2/12/1956 Minneapolis Richfield 1974 1 1982 1982 9
Mike Mason 11/21/1958 Faribault Benilde-St. Margaret’s 1977 7 1982 1988 140
Bob Hegman 2/26/1958 Springfield Sauk Rapids-Rice 1976 1 1985 1985 1
Mike Kingery 3/29/1961 St. James Atwater 1979 10 1986 1996 819
Terry Steinbach 3/2/1962 New Ulm New Ulm 1980 14 1986 1999 1546
Gary Mielke 1/28/1963 St. James Mankato West 1981 3 1987 1990 79
Greg Olson 9/6/1960 Marshall Edina East 1979 5 1989 1993 414
Dana Kiecker 2/25/1961 Sleepy Eye Fairfax 1979 2 1990 1991 50
Tim McIntosh 3/21/1965 Minneapolis Hopkins 1983 5 1990 1996 71
Tom Quinlan 3/27/1968 St. Paul Hill-Murray (Maplewood) 1986 4 1990 1996 42
Bryan Hickerson 10/13/1963 Bemidji Bemidji 1982 5 1991 1995 209
Tom Drees 6/17/1963 Des Moines, IA Edina 1981 1 1991 1991 4
Todd Revenig 6/28/1969 Brainerd Brainerd 1987 1 1992 1992 2
Dan Smith 4/20/1969 St. Paul Apple Valley 1987 2 1992 1994 17
Kerry Taylor 1/25/1971 Bemidji Roseau 1989 2 1993 1994 37
Brian Raabe 11/5/1967 New Ulm New Ulm 1986 3 1995 1997 17
Kerry Ligtenberg 5/11/1971 Rapid City, SD Park (Cottage Grove) 1989 8 1997 2005 252
Jim Brower 12/29/1972 Edina Minnetonka 1991 9 1999 2007 354
Dave Maurer 2/23/1975 Minneapolis Apple Valley 1993 4 2000 2004 22
Michael Restovich 1/3/1979 Rochester Rochester Mayo 1997 6 2002 2007 152
Robb Quinlan 3/17/1977 St. Paul Hill-Murray (Maplewood) 1995 8 2003 2010 458
Joe Mauer 4/19/1983 St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall 2001 14 2004 2017 1731
Michael Wuertz 12/15/1978 Austin Austin 1997 8 2004 2011 426
Ben Hendrickson 2/4/1981 St. Cloud Bloomington Jefferson 1999 2 2004 2006 14
Dan Johnson 8/10/1979 Coon Rapids Blaine 1997 (?) 10 2005 2015 443
Jack Hannahan 3/4/1980 St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall 1998 8 2006 2014 614
Pat Neshek 9/4/1980 Madison, WI Park Center 1999 11 2006 2017 494
T.J. Bohn 1/17/1980 St. Louis Park St. Louis Park 1998 2 2006 2008 32
Glen Perkins 3/2/1983 St. Paul Stillwater 2001 12 2006 2017 409
Jamie Hoffmann 8/20/1984 New Ulm New Ulm 2003 (?) 2 2009 2011 16
Brad Hand 3/20/1990 Minneapolis Chaska 2008 7 2011 2017 244
Steve Edlefsen 6/27/1985 Minneapolis Bloomington Jefferson 2 2011 2012 27
Neil Wagner 1/1/1984 Minneapolis Eden Prairie 2002 3 2011 2014 52
Mark Hamburger 2/5/1987 St. Paul Mounds View 2005 1 2011 2011 5
John Gaub 4/28/1985 St. Paul St. Paul South 2003 1 2011 2011 4
Cole De Vries 2/12/1985 St. Louis Park Eden Prairie 2003 2 2012 2013 21
Caleb Thielbar 1/31/1987 Northfield Randolph 2005 3 2013 2015 109
Jake Petricka 6/5/1988 Northfield, IL Faribault 2006 5 2013 2017 181
Seth Rosin 11/2/1988 Fargo, ND Mounds View 2007 2 2014 2015 4
Jake Esch 3/27/1990 St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall 2008 2 2016 2017 4
Players born in Minnesota, but who grew up elsewhere

Did any of these men live in Minnesota into their formative ballplaying years?

Name Birthdate Birthplace High School (or where raised)
DeMontreville, Gene 3/10/1873 St. Paul, MN Washington HS (Washington, DC)
DeMontreville, Lee 9/23/1874 Washington County, MN Washington HS (Washington, DC)
Hart, Jimmy 11/27/1875 St. Paul, MN Sometime after 1880, family moved to west-central Wisconsin
Remneas, Alex 2/21/1886 Minneapolis, MN Watson Township, MT
Gandil, Chick 1/19/1888 St. Paul, MN Oakland HS (Oakland, CA)
Houck, Byron 8/28/1891 Prosper, MN Attended University of Oregon. Began pro career in Spokane. Played primarily in Pacific Coast League.
Hill, Carmen 10/1/1895 Royalton, MN Corry HS (Corry, PA)
Buckeye, Garland 10/6/1897 Heron Lake, MN Joliet Township HS (Joliet, IL)
Harris, Spencer 8/12/1900 Duluth, MN Broadway HS (Seattle, WA)
Nevers, Ernie 6/11/1902 Willow River, MN Santa Rosa HS (Santa Rosa, CA)
Chozen, Harry 9/27/1915 Winnebago, MN High School in Pasadena, I think
Graham, Jack 12/24/1916 Minneapolis, MN Woodrow Wilson HS (Long Beach, CA)
Mauro, Carmen 11/10/1926 St. Paul, MN Morton HS (Cicero, IL)
Maris, Roger 9/10/1934 Hibbing, MN Bishop Shanley HS (Fargo, ND)
Robinson, Dave 5/22/1946 Minneapolis, MN Clairmont HS (Clairmont, CA), La Jolla HS (La Jolla, CA)
Nordhagen, Wayne 7/4/1948 Thief River Falls, MN Glide HS (Glide, OR)
Foucault, Steve 10/3/1949 Duluth, MN Coral Park HS (Miami, FL)
Kelly, Tom 8/15/1950 Graceville, MN St. Mary’s HS (South Amboy, NJ)
Dimmel, Mike 10/16/1954 Albert Lea, MN Logansport HS (Logansport, IN)
Sularz, Guy 11/7/1955 Minneapolis, MN North Hollywood HS (North Hollywood, CA)
Hargis, Gary 11/2/1956 Minneapolis, MN Cabrillo HS (Lompoc, CA)
Gullickson, Bill 2/20/1959 Marshall, MN Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet, IL)
Niedenfuer, Tom 8/13/1959 St. Louis Park, MN Redmond HS (Redmond, WA)
Sele, Aaron 6/25/1970 Golden Valley, MN North Kitsap HS (Poulsbo, WA)
Schmidt, Jeff 2/21/1971 Northfield, MN La Crosse Central HS (La Crosse, WI)
Crowell, Jim 5/14/1974 Minneapolis, MN Vaparaiso HS (Valparaiso, IN)
Reitsma, Chris 12/31/1977 Minneapolis, MN Calgary Christian HS (Calgary, AB)
Johnson, Josh 1/31/1984 Minneapolis, MN Jenks HS (Jenks, OK)
Davis, Ike 3/22/1987 Edina, MN Chaparral HS (Scottsdale, AZ)
Solis, Sammy 8/10/1988 Minneapolis, MN Agua Fria HS (Avondale, AZ)
Lombardozzi, Steve 9/20/1988 Edina, MN Atholton HS (Columbia, MD)
Morin, Mike 5/3/1991 Andover, MN Shawnee Mission South HS (Overland Park, KS)
Reed, Michael 11/18/1992 Maplewood, MN Leander HS (Leander, TX)
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