Lexington Park

Located in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lexington Park was originally built in 1897 and rebuilt twice after being destroyed by fire, in 1908 and after the 1915 season. It seated 10,000 and was the home of the St. Paul Saints from 1910 to 1956, when the club moved to Midway Stadium. The park was then demolished, and several businesses today sit on its location. From 1903 to 1909, the Saints used another downtown park as their main home, reserving the out-of-the-way but larger Lexington Park for Sunday games.

Lexington Park was very spacious, with the right field fence starting at 365 feet and moving further out; if that wasn't enough, the fence was 12 feet high and sat atop an embankment, making home runs few and far between. As a result, in 1950, Lou Limmer led the American Association in home runs while playing for the Saints, but hit only one of his 29 homers at home. Along with Nicollet Park in nearby Minneapolis, MN, Lexington park was the last ballpark in the American Association to have permanent lights installed. This came about in 1937. On July 20, 1951, high winds and floods hit the Twin Cities area and destroyed the park's right field fence. It was rebuilt a lot closer to home plate, starting at 330 feet, although there was now a 25-foot fence, but no embankment.

Further Reading

• Stew Thornley: "Twin Cities Ballparks of the 20th Century and Beyond", in Daniel R. Levitt, ed.: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State, The National Pastime, Volume 42 (2012), pp. 94-103.
• Stew Thornley: "The Nights the Lights Went on in the Twin Cities", in Michael J. Haupert, ed.: Baseball in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, The National Pastime, 2024 Edition, pp. 36-39.

Related Sites

• Lexington Park (St. Paul) at the SABR Bio Project