A Pennant for the Twin Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins

This volume celebrates the 1965 Minnesota Twins, who captured the American League pennant in just their fifth season in the Twin Cities. Led by an All-Star cast, from Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versalles, and Mudcat Grant to Bob Allison, Jim Kaat, Earl Battey, and Jim Perry, the Twins won 102 games, but bowed to the Los Angeles Dodgers and a herculean performance by Sandy Koufax in Game Seven of the World Series.Included are the life and baseball stories of all 35 roster players, the coaches, and manager of the 1965 Twins, plus team owner Calvin Griffith; broadcasters Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, and Ray Scott; and sportswriters Dick Gordon and Max Nichols. A comprehensive summary of the regular season, as well as meticulous essays highlighting important games and the All-Star Game played in Minnesota, an overview of the 1965 Dodgers, and thorough summaries the World Series games are included. Chapters about how the Griffith family built its pennant winner, the fate of the Twins after 1965, Metropolitan Stadium, and the 1965 season “by the numbers” round out the book.Members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) researched and wrote all of the biographies and essays in this book.

Contents:

Calvin Griffith by Kevin Hennessy
The Last of the Family Owners: The Griffiths Build Their Lone Minnesota Pennant Winner by Daniel R. Levitt and Mark L. Armour
Metropolitan Stadium by Stew Thornley
Spring Training by Stew Thornley
The 1965 Minnesota Twins Regular Season Summary by Ben Klein
Bernie Allen by Chip Greene
Bob Allison by Gregory H. Wolf
Earl Battey by Jack Herrman
Dave Boswell by Gregory H. Wolf
April 12, 1965: Twins Win in Extra Innings on Opening Day by Steve West
Pete Cimino by Jeff English
Jerry Fosnow by Greg Erion
Mudcat Grant by Joseph Wancho
May 12, 1965: Killebrew Belts Two Homers, Including Game-Winner In Eighth Inning by Gregory H. Wolf
Jimmie Hall by Norm King
Jim Kaat by Patrick Lethert
Harmon Killebrew by Joseph Wancho
May 26, 1965: Jim Perry Makes Most of His Opportunity by Joel Rippel
Jerry Kindall by Tom Tomashek
Johnny Klippstein by Gregory H. Wolf
Andy Kosco by Norm King
July 11, 1965: The Killer Clouts Walk-Off Two-Run Round-Tripper by Gregory H. Wolf
Frank Kostro by J.G. Preston
Jim Merritt by Gregory H. Wolf
Don Mincher by Marc Z. Aaron
Mel Nelson by Doug Skipper
Minnesota and 1965 All-Star Game: The Senior Circuit Takes Charge by Greg Erion
Joe Nossek by Rick Schabowski
Tony Oliva by Peter C. Bjarkman
Camilo Pascual by Peter C. Bjarkman
Jim Perry by Joseph Wancho
Bill Pleis by Joel Rippel
September 8 and 9, 1965: The Chicago Showdown: The Twins Take Two at Comiskey Park by Steve Schmitt
Frank Quilici by Norm King
Rich Reese by Chip Greene
Garry Roggenburk by Mark Armour
Rich Rollins by Rick Schabowski
John Sevcik by John Swol
September 25, 1965: “Clinching a Tie is to Beer What Winning the Championship is to Champagne” by Alan Cohen
Dwight Siebler by Gregory H. Wolf
Dick Stigman by Tom Tomashek
Cesar Tovar by Rory Costello
Ted Uhlaender by Joseph Wancho
Sandy Valdespino by Alan Cohen
Zoilo Versalles by Peter C. Bjarkman
September 26, 1965: A Pennant for the Twins by Alan Cohen
Al Worthington by Bill Nowlin
Jerry Zimmerman by Norm King
Sam Mele by Bill Nowlin
Jim Lemon by Gregory H. Wolf
Billy Martin by Jimmy Keenan and Frank Russo
Hal Naragon by Tracy J.R. Collins
Johnny Sain by Jan Finkel
Herb Carneal by Stew Thornley
Halsey Hall by Stew Thornley
Ray Scott by Stew Thornley
Dick Gordon by Steve West
Max Nichols by Steve West
The 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers by Greg Erion
The 1965 World Series Summary by Norm King
By the Numbers: Major League Baseball in 1965 by Dan Fields
A Surprising Disappointment: Twins of the Late 1960s by Daniel R. Levitt