From Rondo to Cooperstown: St. Paul Honors David Winfield With Bronze 

A bronze statue of St. Paul native David M. Winfield now stands at Toni Stone Field at the city’s Dunning Sports Complex.

Designed by Matt Glenn of Big Statues in Utah, the new Winfield statue joins statues of Stone, the first woman and Black female to play men’s professional baseball, who once lived in St. Paul, and three fellow city natives: Jack Morris, Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer on the field’s Hall of Fame Plaza.

Winfield spoke at last Saturday’s statue unveiling during a public celebration at Stone Field.

“It’s a wonderful honor,” he said during an MSR phone interview prior to the event.

Born Oct. 3, 1951, David Mark Winfield and his older brother Steven grew up in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood, the city’s Black community that was virtually divided in half by the construction of Interstate 94 in the 1950s. The two brothers soon became known for their athleticism and played several sports, including baseball at Oxford Playground, located just minutes from their home.

David’s athletic skills grew along with his 6-foot-6 frame, which he carried into high school at St. Paul Central. He went on to the University of Minnesota to play baseball in 1969. The Gophers won the 1972 Big Ten championship, and he was named College World Series MVP the following year as a pitcher.

“I might have been the first African American to get a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Minnesota,” Winfield recalled. He also played basketball and was a member of the Gophers’ 1971-72 Big Ten championship team, the school’s first outright title in 53 years. He played two summers of baseball (1971-72) in Fairbanks, Alaska, helping the Alaska Goldpanners to the 1972 championship and winning MVP that season as a two-way player. A statue was erected in Fairbanks in 2024 in his honor.

Winfield became the only college player drafted by four professional teams in three different sports. “There have been some great multi-sport athletes like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders,” he said, “but they weren’t drafted by four leagues,” referring to San Diego (MLB), Atlanta (NBA), Utah (ABA) and Minnesota (NFL).

Baseball ultimately became his choice. A first-round pick by the Padres, fourth overall in 1973, Winfield said his decision to attend college rather than sign out of high school proved wise.

“I know I made the right choice instead of signing to be a professional baseball player out of high school,” he said. “They would have sent me with a tiny bit of money in my pocket and a bus ride to Bluefield, West Virginia for the Baltimore Orioles, and I would have been a pitcher.”

The Padres instead switched Winfield from pitcher to outfielder because of his bat and strong throwing arm, and immediately after signing him, promoted him to the majors. He played 22 seasons, earning 12 All-Star selections, seven Gold Gloves, six Silver Sluggers, the 1994 Roberto Clemente Award and the 1992 World Series championship.

Winfield played for six clubs: San Diego (1973-80); the New York Yankees (1981-88, 1990), where he signed what was then the richest contract in MLB history; California (1990-91); Toronto (1992), where he earned his only World Series ring; Minnesota (1993-94), where he collected his 3,000th career hit; and Cleveland (1995).

His Yankees tenure was his most turbulent. The late owner George Steinbrenner regularly berated Winfield publicly and once accused him of mismanaging funds from his 501(c)(3) foundation, which Winfield had started during his rookie year in San Diego. Steinbrenner reportedly withheld matching funds he had promised to contribute. The matter was eventually settled in court but left a lasting rift between the two men.

Throughout his career, Winfield became equally known for his philanthropic work. He and his family founded the David M. Winfield Foundation and he regularly donated tickets to kids who could not afford to attend games in every city he played.

“I always was cognizant that I kind of stood on the shoulders of people that came before me,” said Winfield. “I always thought if I ever made something of myself, I would always give back… giving them a hand up, not just a handout.”

The annual Winfield Awards were established in 1977 to recognize Black students and other students of color who excel in academics, athletics and community service. More than 550 graduating high school seniors have been honored since its inception. Last Sunday, Winfield was the keynote speaker at the 50th annual Winfield Awards Banquet.

“Time flies,” he said. “We wanted to recognize the young men and women who have done well coming out of high school in St. Paul. Minority student athletes that have done well … so we created the Awards.”

Winfield was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility and is the first Black player in the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class in 2006.

He credits his upbringing in Rondo as the foundation for everything that followed, and acknowledges the weight of the weekend’s events.

“My family members that took such great care of me starting with my mother, Arlene Winfield, and my grandmother Jesse Allison, would be very proud,” he said. “My grandmother came to Minnesota from Arkansas over 100 years ago. She never could have imagined anything like this, but they would be very proud that I followed my dream and passion.”

For a man with two statues, one in Alaska and one in Rondo, Winfield remains grounded.

“For a guy that came from very humble beginnings,” he said, “I’ve walked the Great Wall of China, swam the Great Barrier Reef, been to Africa six different times… These two days, the statue, the Winfield Awards, that’s very emotional.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.