Tony, the Killer, and Carew

November 28, 1960

Almost immediately following the announcement that the former Washington Senators would be moving to the Twin Cities and the American League would be expanding with a new teams in Washington and Los Angeles, Commissioner Ford Frick temporarily froze major league rosters. None of the clubs were allowed to make any moves, so the first few months of the off season were quiet for the junior circuit.

The first allowance for any player movement came on November 28 in the Flag Room of the Kentucky Hotel in Louisville. All of the teams gathered for an event that combined the Rule 5 draft, first-year minor league player draft, and a special draft for the new Washington club that just became officially recognized at the meeting. After a few opening announcements by Frick, and a challenge to his authority by White Sox owner Bill Veeck, who attempted to sell a player despite the roster freeze, the draft was underway. The first order of business was the Rule 5 draft.

The teams chose in reverse order of the standing alternated by league. Calvin Griffith’s team had finished fifth in the American League, so were scheduled to draft eighth. It became clear that it was going to be an uphill battle for Griffith to make the name “Minnesota Twins” stick when Secretary Charley Sager called out “Minneapolis-St. Paul” when it was Griffith’s turn to draft. Whether the mistake was intentional or not, Griffith made the first official move for the Minnesota Twins when he selected catcher Ron Henry from Toronto of the International League, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves.

Henry did not have a particularly distinguished career for the Twins. He appeared in 20 games in 1961, making just 31 plate appearances. He spent the next two years in the minor leagues before his second and final stint with the team during the latter half of the 1964 season. In all, Henry played in 42 major league games and batted just .130/.176/.261.

Later in the day, Griffith selected pitchers Gerry Arrigo and Gary Dotter as part of the first-year player portion of the draft, but Ron Henry holds the distinction as the original Twin.

Few things have remained the same since the Twins came to Minnesota in 1961. The Met has turned into the Metrodome, which will soon turn into a ballpark-to-be-named-later. The team has had some good seasons (1965, 1987, 1991) and some forgettable ones (1982, the late 1990’s). One of the few things that have remained the same is the theme song that brings the Twins onto the field at each and every home game.

The Twins have attempted to freshen up the kitschy tune, but the hip-hop version that is still occasionally played at the Dome seems to fall a bit flat.

Interestingly, the music now so throughly associated with the Minnesota baseball team was originally designed for an entirely different purpose. Dick Wilson (not that Dick Wilson), now a famous commercial jingle writer (with “Let’s All Go to Dairy Queen” to his credit), was just starting out around the time the Senators moved west to Bloomington. He penned a jingle for Hamm’s beer, with the words:

Sing out for Hamm’s beer,
Sing out the name,
Sing out for Hamm’s beer,
Of sky blue waters fame

While the song never caught on to sell beer, the Twins liked the tune and hired Ray Charles (not that Ray Charles, the one from “The Ray Charles Singers“) to write new words for the old beer jingle.

We’re gonna win Twins,
We’re gonna score,
We’re gonna win Twins,
Watch that baseball soar!

To those of us who grew up in Minnesota, its as much a part of baseball as “Take me out the Ballgame“, only slightly cheesier.

(Article reprinted with permission from