Seasons
SEASON: 20 | YEAR: 1968
HEAD COACH: LAWRENCE F. HAEG
Game 157 | January 22, 1968 | John Roseboro, Bob Miller, Ron Perranoski
In what was the biggest trade in Twins history up to that point, Roseboro, Miller and Perranoski came from the Dodgers in exchange for Zoilo Versalles and Mudcat Grant. Roseboro, a four-time All Star, was the Twins' starting catcher in 1968 and 1969. Perranoski anchored the Twins' bullpen for the next four years, winning 25 games and saving 76 more. Miller, a journeyman who pitched in the majors for parts of 17 seasons, won just five games for the Twins. He was Billy Martin's surprise choice to pitch (and lose) the third and final game of the 1969 American League championship series, and Martin was fired shortly thereafter.
Game 158 | March 5, 1968 | Bill Brown
Making his second Dunkers appearance, Brown talked about sharing time in the Vikings backfield with Dave Osborn and how there was less tension on the team after Bud Grant succeeded Norm Van Brocklin as head coach. A favorite of fans and coaches alike, Brown was to play with the Vikings until he retired after the 1974 season.
Game 159 | April 3, 1968 | Bob Zender
A lanky forward with a great shooting touch, Zender anchored the Edina basketball teams that won three consecutive state championships. The first high school athlete ever to appear at Dunkers, Zender surprised many local basketball fans when he chose to attend college at Kansas State University.
Game 160 | May 16, 1968 | Jim "Catfish" Hunter
Eight days earlier, Hunter, a future Hall of Famer, threw a perfect-game no hitter against the Twins in Oakland. It was the first perfect game in the American League since 1922. Hunter won 224 games for Oakland and New York over his 15-year major league career: Upon his induction to the Hall of Fame, he said he enjoyed his time with Oakland and New York equally and chose to be depicted without either team's insignia.
(LtoR) Howard Fox, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Vic Root (physician)
Game 161 | June 9, 1968 | Frank Howard
An All-American in both basketball and football at Ohio State, Howard was one of the most intimidating players in major league baseball history. Standing 6-8 and weighing close to 300 pounds, he was the National League Rookie of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1960. Traded to Washington before the 1965 season, over the next seven years he hit 237 home runs, the most by any player in Washington team history. In one week in May, just two weeks before his Dunkers appearance, he hit an astonishing 10 home runs in 20 at-bats.
Game 162 | September 11, 1968 | Graig Nettles, Loral Armstrong Delaney
Hailed as possibly the "next Harmon Killebrew," Nettles managed only 12 home runs while playing third base with the Twins from 1967 to 1969. He hit 378 more while playing for Cleveland, New York, San Diego, Atlanta and Montreal. Of his Yankee experience he wrote, "When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees, I accomplished both." Delaney, from Anoka, Minnesota, won numerous state and national shooting championships and was named a National Trapshooting All-American 14 times between 1966 and 1981.
Game 163 | October 1, 1968 | Karl Kassulke, Charley West, Paul Krause
This meeting featured three-fourths of the Vikings defensive secondary. Krause, a safety inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, still holds the NFL record with 81 career interceptions. Kassulke played 10 seasons with the Vikings and suffered a motorcycle accident on the way to training camp in 1973 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. West was a starter for the Vikings from 1968 to 1973 and was also one of the top punt returners in the league.
(LtoR) Standing: Max Winter, Paul Krause, Bill Boyer (physician); Sitting: Charley West, Karl Kassulke
Game 164 | October 30, 1968 | Clarence Campbell
A mere eight years after he told Dunkers to be patient for an NHL expansion team, Commissioner Campbell returned to Minnesota to watch the Minnesota North Stars open their 1968 season. He was to serve as NHL commissioner for another nine years before he was succeeded by John Ziegler.
Game 165 | November 22, 1968 | Nancy Greene
Named Canada's Female Athlete of the 20th Century, Nancy Greene appeared after winning a gold in the giant slalom and a silver in the slalom in the Winter Olympics at Grenoble, Switzerland. She and her husband were instrumental in developing the Whistler-Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, which will host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Game 166 | December 12, 1968 | Denny McClain, Billy Martin
In winning both the Cy Young Award and the American League MVP Award in 1968, McLain had one of the most impressive seasons in modern baseball history. He finished with a record of 31-6 and became the first major league pitcher since Dizzy Dean to win 30 or more games in a season. He won the Cy Young Award again in 1969, but a combination of arm trouble and allegations of bookmaking and associating with gamblers and other underground characters shortened his 10-year major league career. With Cal Ermer fired, Martin was given his first major league managing job, and he made the most of it. The Twins, reflecting Martin's fiery personality, won the American League West and lost to Baltimore in the champion-ship series. Despite his success on the field, Martin proved to be a headache for owner Calvin Griffith, who fired Martin at the end of the season.
(LtoR) Billy Martin, Larry Haeg (physician), Denny McClain