TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
Today we check out some June 1964 articles about the death of Griffith Stadium by Jimmy McCannon and Max Nichols writes about Minnesota native Dick Stigman, Tony Oliva, Jim Roland and I know you won’t believe it, but back then the manager Sam Mele was complaining about relievers “failing to deliver”. Baseball was different back then but teams had similar problems and these articles give you a look back at Twins players from a time when some of you were not yet born and a perspective on what the MLB was like back then. I hope you enjoy them.
The Twins’ first great closer — and one of baseball’s most principled men
Al “Red” Worthington, the calm, ethical, late-inning anchor of the Minnesota Twins’ first golden era, passed away on June 18, 2026, at the age of 97. Born February 5, 1929, in Birmingham, Alabama, Worthington lived a baseball life that stretched across eras — from the New York Giants of the early 1950s to the pennant winning Twins of the mid-1960s — and he carried a reputation for honesty that became as defining as his pitching.
A Stunning, Unforgettable Beginning
Worthington’s arrival in the Major Leagues in 1953 remains one of the most extraordinary debuts in modern baseball history. In his first two big league starts, he threw back-to-back complete game shutouts, blanking the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies in succession — a feat reflected in his rookie line, which shows 5 complete games and 2 shutouts in just 20 appearances . Eighteen innings. Zero runs. Six total hits. A beginning worthy of a future ace.
But Worthington’s early career was complicated. Even as he showed front-line stuff, he openly objected to sign-stealing practices he witnessed — a stance that cost him favor in clubhouses and front offices. In an era when silence was expected, Red refused to compromise.
