The Minneapolis Browns were a minor league baseball team based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. In 1877, the Minneapolis Browns played as members of the

League Alliance The League Alliance was the first semi-affiliated minor league baseball league. Proposed by Al Spalding on January 15, 1877. Independent baseball teams were to affiliate with National League teams, which would honor their respective contracts. The ...

, hosting home games at Athletic Park.

History

Minor league baseball began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1877. The Minneapolis "Browns" became members of the

. The League Alliance affiliation allowed Independent clubs to align with

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

teams, while playing individual schedules. The Browns had been preceded in Minneapolis by the semi–professional Minneapolis Blue Stockings. In January 1877, the

St. Louis Globe-Democrat The ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1852 until 1986. When the trademark registration on the name expired, it was then used as an unrelated free historically themed paper. Orig ...

published an proposal from

Al Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised ...

, manager of the Chicago White Stockings club of the

. Spalding proposed that select Independent clubs affiliate with the League Alliance to secure their player contracts. This was completed by franchises informing the Secretary of the League of contracts, agreeing to play games by National League rules and abiding by the decision of the League Alliance regarding disputes. Copies of the agreement were reportedly sent to select Independent teams. On February 4, 1877, it was reported that

Indianapolis Blues The Indianapolis Blues were a baseball team in the National League for one season (1878), in which they finished fifth in the six-team league with a 24–36 record. They were managed by outfielder/first baseman/catcher John Clapp, and played the ...

and

Milwaukee Cream Citys The Cream City Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was a baseball team in the 1860s, usually known as the Cream Citys. The Cream City Base Ball Club was organized in October 1865, with Henry H. West as its first president, and rose to the upper echelon of ...

had signed the League Alliance agreement, followed by the St. Paul Red Caps, Memphis Red Stockings, Chicago Fairbanks and Brooklyn Chelseas. Other teams subsequently signing the League Alliance agreement were the Binghamton Crickets and Syracuse Stars, Lowell, Minneapolis Browns,

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

, the Mutuals of

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

and Fall River Cascades. National League secretary Nick Young announced in May, 1877, that "league alliance games will not be computed in the official averages." The thirteen franchises are generally recognized as members of the League Alliance. These were the teams represented in "standings" first printed in the

Indianapolis Sentinel ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...

and

New York Clipper The ''New York Clipper'', also known as ''The Clipper'', was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. It covered many topics, including circuses, dance, music, the outdoors, sports, and theatre. It had a ...

in June, 1877 and later the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

. The Minneapolis use of the "Browns" moniker corresponded with their brown stirrups on their uniform. Beginning play on April 21, 1877, the League Alliance teams played against various local teams as well as other teams in the League Alliance. In July, 1877, the Browns played against the Chicago White Stockings, with Chicago sweeping the games. By the end of the season, all players on the Minneapolis roster were professional players who were under contract. The Minneapolis Browns ended the 1877 season with a League Alliance record of 20–23, playing under manager F.W. Chase. The Browns had the 7th best win percentage of the League Alliance teams, who played varying numbers of games against other League Alliance teams. Brothers

Bill Gleason William G. Gleason (November 12, 1858 – July 21, 1932) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from through for three different teams of the American Association. Listed at , 170 lb., Gleason batted and threw right-handed. H ...

and

Jack Gleason John Day "Jack" Gleason (July 14, 1854 – September 4, 1944) was a 19th-century professional baseball player who primarily played third base. His younger brother, Bill Gleason, also was a ballplayer. Gleason appeared in one game for the St. L ...

played together on the 1877 Browns. After the 1877 season, the Minneapolis Browns played in various seasons as a semi–professional team. In 1884, minor league baseball resumed in Minneapolis, when the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

franchise began play as members of the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

The ballpark

The home minor league ballpark for the Minneapolis Browns was Athletic Park. The ballpark was located on 8th Street in south Minneapolis. MilwaukeeRdstation

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

* Mike Brannock (1877) * Dory Dean (1877) * Charlie Eden (1877) *

(1877) *

Sonny Hoffman William A. "Sonny" Hoffman was a professional baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each ...

(1877) * Dan O'Leary (1877) * Bill Phillips (1877)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links