 In 1937 he played for the Jersey City Giants, and in 1938 he played for the International League Baltimore Orioles (batting .345 with a .604 slugging percentage).In 1939 and 1940 he played for the Minneapolis Millers in the American Association, batting .331 with 33 home runs (2nd in the league behind Vince DiMaggio) and 126 RBIs, and .347 with 27 home runs and 109 RBIs, with slugging percentages of .633 (2nd in the league) and .600.In 1941 he played for the Los Angeles Angels and batted .302 with 18 home runs (3rd in the league) and a .504 slugging percentage, in 1942 he played for the St. Paul Saints (during the season, he fought a verbally abusive fan in Minneapolis, and "clocked" him) and the Toledo Mud Hens, and in 1943 he again played for Toledo, batting .334 with 16 home runs and 96 RBIs (each 3rd in the league) and a .443 on-base percentage and .507 slugging percentage (both 2nd in the league).