The Saints were the name St. Joseph, Missouri kept coming back to. The city fielded Saints teams in the Western League across three separate stretches, with an interlude as the Drummers in the 1910s, when Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance passed through on his way up. The most famous Saint of all arrived in 1930, when the club spent a season as a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate and a 20-year-old farmhand named Dizzy Dean won 17 games on his way to becoming the last National League pitcher to win 30 in a season.
The franchise saved its best for last. The Saints won three consecutive Western League championships in 1933, 1934, and 1935, the first under manager Dutch Zwilling and the next two under Earle Brucker. Then came one of the crueler endings in minor league history: after the 1935 title, the Western League contracted from eight teams to six, and the three-time defending champions were simply cut from the league. St. Joseph went without professional baseball for three years before joining the Western Association, where a later Saints-line club employed a young Earl Weaver years before his Hall of Fame managing career.
The Western League was a Class A circuit for most of its life, operating from 1900 through 1937 and again from 1947 through 1958, fielding teams across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states, including Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, and later Texas and New Mexico. For its first decade it stood just one step below the major leagues. An earlier league of the same name, which ran from 1885 to 1899, renamed itself the American League in 1900 and lives on today as one half of Major League Baseball.
Retro Baseball Revival celebrates historic baseball teams with unique apparel, honoring their legacy and bringing history to one-of-a-kind clothing with our old school retro baseball tees from defunct Minor League Baseball teams. All of our high quality apparel is designed, printed, and shipped within the USA. This collection features 100% original designs based on the history and nicknames of historic minor league teams.
Our premium lightweight shirts are the hugely popular Bella+Canvas brand 3001 tees. They are much lighter and thinner feeling than a traditional heavyweight tee. They also are more form fitting and feel more snug. These are generally 90% to 100% cotton, although please note that heather colors in this item are 52% cotton.
Size Guide: Fit is true to size or a little snug. Considering ordering one size up if you are normally between sizes.
Brand: Bella Canvas | Product ID: 3001
- Made with 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, a lightweight fabric (4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²)) that is easy to layer, breathable. Perfect for active and leisure wear.
- The retail fit that is perfect for casual and semi-formal settings. The crew neckline adds a classic, neat style that's perfect for accessorizing.
- Bella+Canvas manufactures all its products in the US and internationally in humane, no-sweat-shop, sustainable way and is part of the Fair Labor Association as well as Platinum WRAP certified.
- The tear-away label minimizes skin irritations.
- Fabric blends: Ash and Heather Prism colors - 99% cotton, 1% polyester; Heather and Solid Blend colors - 52% cotton, 48% polyester; Athletic Heather and Black Heather - 90% cotton, 10% polyester.
