
Minneapolis and St. Paul today are big-league cities for six teamsâfour are in the larger of the two Twin Cities. But an upcoming TPT documentary reminds us that almost 60 years ago, the NBAâs Minneapolis Lakers was the only major league franchise in town. To borrow a line from âAmerican Pie,â the team left town for the (West) Coast and landed in Los Angeles.
âBecoming Big Leagueâ kicks off the second season of âMinnesota Experienceâ on KTCA-TV, TPT2, October 14 at 9 pm. The one-hour production includes on-screen interviews as well as archival footage to illustrate how the year 1960 was the pivotal point in Minnesota sports history. That was the year the Washington Senators moved west to become the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings became an NFL expansion team.
âWe wanted to look at the relevance in a single year,â filmmaker Daniel Bergin said last week at the October 3 screening at the TPTâs St. Paul studio.
Bergin, a Minneapolis native and TPT senior producer and partnership manager, told the invited audience, including the MSR, âSports is something we havenât covered a lot, but we all know someone in our lives who have connections to sports.â
Local broadcaster Lea B. Olsen was among several persons who appeared in âBecoming Big Leagueâ and spoke on Minneapolisâ calculated big move from just a college town to a major-league city. It must be noted that the Lakers was the last pro team to be called âMinneapolis.â Every team that moved here (like the rechristened Twins) or started as expansion clubs (like the Lynx, Timberwolves and Vikings, even the Wild whose home is in St. Paul) are all known as âMinnesotaâ teams.
Olsen, whoâs also Berginâs sister, told the audience during a post-screening Q&A, âSports was such a huge part of my life.â She told us afterwards, âIâm always impressed with the work they do at TPT because it is so thought out.â
See a teaser of âBecoming Big Leagueâ
As Berginâs film historically details the areaâs pro shift in 1960, it wasnât all sweetness and Minnesota Nice. The Twinsâ then-owner Calvin Griffith brought to town some racist views along with his team, one example of which was shown in the film. âGriffith was horrible,â the director pointed out. âI could not show that clip,â though in the end he did decide to include it in the film.
The team later was forced to desegregate its spring training site thanks to the efforts of the late Kwame McDonald, who at the time was the executive director of the Minnesota State Commission Against Discrimination.
âI think 1960 is an important year. I wonât say that we are glorifying it, but [showing] its historical significance. We should always acknowledge the complexitiesâŠand the challenge of history.â
The film also stressed how the University of Minnesota 1960 football team helped change the big-time college football landscape with Sandy Stephens as the first Black quarterback to lead a predominately White institution to a national championship.
âThe University should let us know more who paved the path, who opened doors, and what that looked like,â Olsen, a U of M alum, admitted. Later she added, âI think about Sandy Stephens and what he did in his era. I bet a lot of the athletes donât know that story.â
âBecoming Big Leagueâ is worth watching for sports and non-sports people alike. Bergin justly boasted, âIâm really proud of this work.â
Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.