ST. PAUL, Minn.–SPIRE Credit Union’s CEO, Dan Stoltz, also known as King Boreas Rex LXXIX, hosted a special event at CHS Field here during a St. Paul Saints’ baseball game. With nearly 8,500 in attendance, (7,200 is considered a sellout) fans were showered with the Royal Treatment throughout the evening. King Boreas bobbleheads were given out to the first 1,000 fans, and all fans received a SPIRE paper crown.
The event, dubbed A Night of Knighting, resulted in a mass knighting of all 8,445 fans in attendance at the end of the fifth inning. King Boreas Rex LXXIX knighted the Saints Players and staff, including team co-owners Mike Veeck and Marv Goldklang. And not to be outdone, even the Saints’ mascot, Pablo Pigcaso, was knighted.
Shelly Brown, 2015’s Klondike Kate, along with five prior Kates, delivered a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. After driving Archie to the mound, SPIRE’s 1952 work truck and unofficial mascot, King Boreas Rex LXXIX threw out the first pitch of the game.
Other events throughout the Night of Knighting included the St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Guards escorting Pablo Pigcaso onto the field, and the Wind Brothers participating in the SPIRE Tire race. Upon leaving the game, Knighting Certificates and coins were distributed to fans.
SPIRE has an eight-year partnership with the St. Paul Saints minor league baseball franchise at CHS Field. As part of the sponsorship, SPIRE received naming rights to the right field home run porch that sits atop an 18-foot wall at the ballpark. SPIRE CU was long-standing sponsor of the team prior to the new CHS filed opening.
Above right, Mike Veeck, Saints Co-Owner; Patches, SPIRE’s mascot; SPIRE President & CEO/King Boreas Rex LXXIX, Dan Stoltz.