West Seventh Street Park

The West Seventh Street Park is a former minor league baseball park in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1884. Its tenant, usually called either the Apostles or the Saints, was initially a member of the Northwestern League, which struggled through the summer and disbanded in early September.

That same year, there was a league called the Union Association. This league's single year of existence and its general volatility make its claim to actual major league status fairly questionable. For comparison, think of the World Football League of the early 1970s. But the league did have some major league caliber "players", so baseball historians classify the league as such.

By September, the "Onion" (as many "contemporary" critics called it) was disintegrating. With its weakest teams folding, the league was looking for other teams to fill out its schedule. So the Apostles signed on, looking to get a little extra cash for its players. They played 8 games before disbanding. Since all their games were on the road, the 1884 St. Paul club has the dubious distinction of being the only "major league" team never to have played a home game.

The exact site of the West Seventh Street Park is uncertain. In any case, the area is now an old residential district along West Seventh Street, a.k.a. Fort Road, with all traces of its early fling with professional baseball long since erased.