The Twins Almanac: Jack Crooks's Biggest Dinger and Don Wheeler's Greatest Achievement

Playing for the National League's St. Louis Browns, St. Paul native Jack Crooks hit a leadoff home run off Cleveland Spiders ace Cy Young on this date in 1892. Young—playing in his third season—led the majors with 36 wins and a 1.93 ERA while only giving up eight home runs that year.

Crooks also hit his 21st and final major-league home run off Young in 1898.

Crooks's most significant home run trivia, however, came back in 1889, when he had the first four-home run game in professional baseball history playing for the visiting Omaha Omahogs in his hometown of St. Paul. 

Former White Sox catcher Don Wheeler was born in Minneapolis on this date in 1922. He was teammates at Minneapolis South High School with fellow major leaguer Red Hardy. Playing for the Minneapolis Millers in 1948, he set an American Association record with a .998 fielding percentage. That record stood for 45 years, until future Twin Matt Walbeck broke it. Of course, the Millers were a New York Giants farm team, but Wheeler was blocked in that organization by fellow Minnesotan Wes Westrum. Hence, his eventual trade to the White Sox organization. 

His most significant achievement came as a member of the United States Army, in the vicinity of Lowenstein, Germany on Apr. 13, 1945.

"Leading his squad forward in an advance, Sergeant Wheeler observed hostile activity on a ridge which was his objective. Aware that a frontal assault might result in severe casualties, he ordered his men to take cover while he advanced along to a vantage point from which he directed mortar fire upon the opposing forces. He then summoned his men forward and led them in an attack in which six hostile riflemen were captured and the position secured without casualty to his squad."

That's a description of what happened drawn from the official citation, when he received the Bronze Star.

Six-year major-league pitcher Paul Giel was born in Winona on this date in 1932. He was on the mound for the first exhibition game in Twins history.

He was runner-up for the Heisman as a Gophers tailback in 1953, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. He did color commentary on Vikings radio broadcasts in the 1960s and was the University of Minnesota Athletic Director from 1971 to 1989. 

Texas Rangers shortstop Danny Thompson connected for his final major-league hit off the Twins' Pete Redfern at Met Stadium on this date in 1976. He died just 72 days later.

Thompson played four seasons after being diagnosed with leukemia in February 1973.

Okay, this is an all-time great piece of trivia from this date in 1986: One year after being sent to Cleveland as part of a trade for Bert Blyleven, former Twins first-round draft pick Jay Bell homered off Blyleven on his very first major-league pitch! But that's not all: It was Blyleven's 47th home run allowed, breaking Robin Roberts's 30-year-old single-season record. (If only Bert had kept the ball down, he really could have been something.)  

The Twins clinched the AL West by virtue of a White Sox loss on this date in 1991. Tom Kelly was enjoying a celebratory cigar as he congratulated his men coming off the bus.

Are you interested in Twins history? Then check out the Minnesota Twins Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Twins uniform!