The Downtown Baseball Park (“the Pillbox”) - Commemorative Work Addition Request

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Image. “Downtown Ball Park, St. Paul,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1903. Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. 

On December 18, 2024, Stew Thornley, of the Halsey Hall Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, applied to add a commemorative work memorializing a historic baseball park—the Downtown Baseball Park—on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds. Review of the application is underway at CAAPB, following the process outlined in Minnesota Rules 2400.2703, Subpart 3. 

Description 

The Downtown Baseball Park, colloquially referred to as “the pillbox” or “pillbox park” (due to its small size), was a historic baseball venue located at the corner of 12th and Robert Streets in Saint Paul. Operating from 1903 to 1910, the park hosted the all-white St. Paul Saints and all-Black St. Paul Gophers during the sport's segregated era. Organized baseball leagues excluding Black players until the 1940s. Independent Black teams, like the Gophers, however, played against both amateur and professional white teams, sometimes integrating outside talent for special matchups.  

Beyond baseball, “the pillbox” also housed events like speed skating and professional wrestling on a seasonal basis. Today, the site is occupied by a laboratory building operated by the Minnesota Departments of Health and Agriculture. 

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