St. Paul Saints

The St. Paul Saints were founded in 1993 by Mike Veeck, Marv Goldklang, and actor Bill Murray as a charter member of the revived Northern League, an independent professional baseball league. Playing at Midway Stadium, a modest 6,069-seat park near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, the Saints immediately set themselves apart with an emphasis on entertainment, irreverence, and community engagement.

Veeck, the son of legendary baseball promoter Bill Veeck Jr., brought his father's philosophy to St. Paul: give fans a great time, and the wins will be a bonus. The Saints staged haircut nights, pig mascots that delivered baseballs to the umpire, and countless other stunts that drew national media attention from ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and The New York Times. Bill Murray's involvement as a minority owner added celebrity cachet.

On the field, the Saints were consistently competitive, winning multiple Northern League championships. The team also served as a gateway back to organized baseball for players like Darryl Strawberry, Jack Morris, and J.D. Drew, who played briefly in St. Paul before returning to or entering the major leagues. The Saints proved that independent baseball could thrive with the right combination of creativity and competitive play.

When the Northern League dissolved after the 2005 season, the Saints moved to the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, where they continued to dominate both on the field and at the gate. The franchise won American Association championships in 2019 and remained one of the most visible independent baseball operations in North America.

The defining moment of this era was the construction of CHS Field, a $63 million, 7,210-seat ballpark in St. Paul's historic Lowertown neighborhood that opened in 2015. The stadium was a transformative project for the city, anchoring a wave of development in the area and giving the Saints a modern facility that rivaled many affiliated teams' parks. CHS Field consistently ranked among the best minor league ballparks in America.

The Saints continued to attract national attention with creative promotions while also providing opportunities for players seeking a path to affiliated baseball. The team's success demonstrated that a well-run independent club could be a significant cultural and economic force in a major metropolitan area. By 2020, the franchise had drawn more than 8 million fans in its history.