June 8, 2001 – The son of Italian immigrants, Angelo Giuliani was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1912. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound catcher began his professional career in 1932 with his hometown St. Paul Saints of the American Association. Drafted by the St. Louis Browns, he made his major league debut in 1936.

After two years with the Browns, he spent the 1938 and ‘39 seasons with the Washington Senators. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940 and ‘41, then returned to the American Association with the Minneapolis Millers before completing his major league career in Washington in 1943. In his seven-year career, mainly as a backup catcher, he appeared in 243 games and compiled a .233 average.

Beginning in 1948, he worked as a scout for the Giants, Tigers, and Senators, who became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. That same year he established the Twins’ youth clinics, which ultimately operated in nine states and Canada. He is credited with signing thirty players for the Twins, including Kent Hrbek, one of the franchise’s all-time greats.

The interview with Giuliani took place in the basement rec room of his home in St. Paul, which was filled with baseballs, photos, and other memorabilia. On one wall at the end of the room were two photos, one of Babe Ruth and the other of a baby in swaddling clothes. Still spry and spirited at age 88, Giuliani pointed at the photos and said, “See those pictures? That’s me next to the Babe; the two bambinos.”