"I Miss the Mighty St. Cloud Rox" of baseball

The good old days! 

St. Cloud is a vibrant city right in the middle of Minnesota. I had a professor at St. Cloud State who, for the purposes of an assignment, made up the mock name "Dead Center University" with the reference being to SCSU.

Vibrant though it is, the city's college has never had more than a modest type of athletic program - nothing resembling Division I. That's a shame. If any city were a candidate to field a program to challenge the U of M Gophers, it would be St. Cloud.

As it stands, SCSU has an old reputation of a party school that has been a target for eradication the last few years under President Earl Potter III. What took so long? SCSU has even been in the news for cutting some athletic programs.

Oh, but there was a true glory era in St. Cloud for sports, specifically baseball. It was in the years leading up to the creation of our Minnesota Twins. St. Cloud had the "Rox" of the Northern League. St. Cloud was to be commended getting this institution established and built up. The Rox alumni included some of the best in big league ball: Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry and Matty Alou.

At the start, the Rox were made up of local talent along with players cast off by the Minneapolis Millers. You might need some reminding who the Millers were. They were the very high caliber minor league team that preceded the Twins. Once Calvin Griffith brought the Twins here, the Twins totally commanded our baseball attention. This might have contributed to the Rox's eventual demise.

The Rox in their prime were a spectacular Central Minnesota sports attraction. The name "Rox" came from a naming contest. Many submissions were "Rocks," inspired by the area's reputation for granite. The judges chose that name but with the spelling adjusted. The fledgling team played on a converted cornfield on Division Street between 25th and 27th Avenues. They won the pennant their first year, surpassing the "Twins" of Fargo-Moorhead. The Rox then dispatched those Twins in the playoffs for the league title.

The Rox got an actual stadium on their cornfield site in 1948. America was brimming with post-war prosperity. The Rox opened their home season with six games at Fairgrounds Park in Little Falls before playing their first game at Municipal Stadium on May 25. The place filled up and some fans had to be turned away. But capacity was increased with the completion of a grandstand to go with the bleachers.

Municipal Stadium served the city for more than two decades.

The Rox were affiliated with the San Francisco Giants for a time, then switched to the Chicago Cubs in 1961. Lou Brock was a stellar performer with the Rox in 1961, his first season in professional ball. Brock had a .361 average and stole 38 bases for the Rox in 1961. You'll recall that was the first year for our Minnesota Twins. It was the year that Roger Maris hit 61 home runs for the Yankees. Brock got called up to the Cubs but then bounced to the Cardinals where he won great fame.

 

Music in tribute to the Rox

I decided to write a song in tribute to the old St. Cloud Rox. Called "I Miss the Rox," it has a polka tempo, perfect for Central Minnesota with its German base. There is a fine line between polka and disco! I don't know if I'll have this song recorded.
Here are the lyrics:

 

"I Miss the Rox"

by Brian Williams

 

Back before the Twins

Back before their wins

Baseball had a home

Long before the Dome

Right here in St. Cloud

Fans were cheering loud

In the Northern League for sure

 

Future superstars

Came from very far

On our welcome mat

They would set their bats

They were getting trained

In the nation's game

And their talent would endure

 

CHORUS:

I miss the Rox

I miss the Rox

I miss the mighty St. Cloud Rox

Their mem-ry lives

Within us still

Those heroes in the batter's box

We saw Lou Brock

His bat did talk

And Gaylord Perry on the hill

Here in that Granite City

We would hear "play ball!"

I can hear it still

 
 

St. Cloud is a place

Where we can embrace

All the loving style

That we find worthwhile

Granite is our thing

It just makes us sing

But there's room for baseball too

 

By the river wide

Mississippi pride

We can feel our oats

Raise a hearty toast

Back in '58

We had a full plate

Baseball had us on the move

 

(repeat chorus)

 

When the major leagues

All those top-notch teams

Played so far away

We just had to pray

They would someday come

Entertain us some

Put us in the upper tier

 

In that bygone time

Baseball was just fine

Right here in St. Cloud

We were very proud

We were in Class 'C'

In good company

All throughout those precious years

 

(repeat chorus)

 

From an island place

Came a smiling face

Puerto Rico's pride

Skill a mile wide

Giants had an eye

For this special guy

He was on his way no doubt

 

"Cha Cha" he was called

Now he's in the Hall

He had quite the bat

With a St. Cloud cap

We were fortunate

He was in our midst

Showing all his class and clout

 

(repeat chorus)

 

© Copyright 2016 Brian R. Williams