12-17-2015
12-17-2015
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League
Highlights
Organizational History : The
Beginning
Michael E. ("Mike") Cantillon, who had been an accomplished manager and co-owner of the Des Moines team in the Western League and manager (1907-1908), co-owner and president (1907-1918) of the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, was in a position in the winter of 1919-1920 to tackle another baseball project. He teamed with a group of baseball enthusiasts in South Dakota, who had the financial ability to support professional baseball in the state for the first time since 1903, to create a class "D" minor league. Each franchise owner had to place a deposit with the league of $1,200 promising to finish the 1920 league schedule. Cantillon would run the league out of his office at the Minneapolis Tribune Annex Building in downtown Minneapolis.
M. Cantillon
Sioux Falls was the first choice since it was the most populous city in the state with 25,200 residents. The other seven teams also came from the eastern half of the state:
Madison (under 5,000) was less then 60 miles north of Sioux Falls;
Mitchell (8,500) about 70 miles west of Sioux.Falls;
Wessington Springs (under 5,000) about 65 miles northwest of Mitchell;
Huron (8,300) which is about 125 miles northwest of Sioux Falls;
Miller (under 5,000) located about 30 miles south from Huron;
Redfield (under 5,000) about 50 miles north of Huron;
Aberdeen (14,500) which was the northern most league outpost approximately 200 miles from Sioux Falls.
Making a 200-mile road trip in 1920 using the transportation and roads of the day was a troublesome proposition. Sufficient interest could not be generated in the "large" towns in the area such as Yankton, Vermillion and Brookings. In fact, those three cities never ever hosted professional baseball.
Mike Cantillon still had a interest in the Minneapolis Millers as his brother Joe was their manager, however, the league was operated as a strictly independent one with only loose ties to any of the other baseball organizations. A study of the league transactions, during that time, does not show particular favoritism of the league's clubs making deals with the Millers. But, certainly, since Cantillon still had his interests and many of the league managers were former Millers, they were made aware of players who could help them. As the leagues developed, scouts from all organizations populated the grandstands of the league's cities.
The manager roster for the first season included the following former Millers players. Dave Altizer was at Aberdeen and he had spent time at shortstop in the majors and for many years in Minneapolis and Ollie Pickering managed at Redfield and was a former teammate of Altizer's and an ex-major leaguer. Other managers were: Harry Scharnweber (Mitchell) had played all across the U.S. and in Canada and had settled in Mitchell to run a business; Bill Shipke (Huron) a former big league infielder; Ralph Works (Madison) was an ex-major league pitcher; Fred Carisch (Sioux Falls) was a former major league catcher; Matty McGrath (WS); and "Red" Fisher (Miller) was a former major leaguer.
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The Ball Parks:
Sioux Falls - A park known as "The Prairie" was used in 1884 for games and may have still existed in 1920. It was located at the current corner of 10th St. and Prairie Ave.
Madison - park unknown
Mitchell - park unknown
Wessington Springs - park unknown
Huron - park unknown
Miller - park unknown
Redfield - park unknown
Aberdeen - "Johnson Field" was located at the present site of the Johnson Arts Center on the campus of Northern State University (then Northern Normal and Industrial School). It was also used as a football field and had a wood grandstand with a tiny press box on top of a slanted pavilion roof. Sunday games were played at a second park located South of Wylie Park. At that park, the outfield fence was built in 1910 and it had a wood grandstand. It was built on land owned by the Krueger brothers and the streetcar fare to the park was ten cents.
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In the first season, the league was known as "The South Dakota League" and played a 90-game schedule from May 12 to September 12. Each team had a roster maximum of 13 players and, according to reports, only one team made money in 1920 - Sioux Falls. In a P.R. spin, the league organizers told the press [as published in "The Sporting News"]: "This was the first season of the S.D. League. It was not started to make money for the promoters, but to provide clean sport for the public. Only one club made money...Yet every player received his check in full and every city, with one exception, is ready for the call for 1921. They play in South Dakota because they love the game and a ball player who throws one here would receive horse-thief treatment a la Western..." [a reference to the Black Sox Scandal].
"In many ways the South Dakota League is the most unique organization in baseball. The combined population is less than 100,000 - gate receipts are secondary - the clubs being supported by popular subscription, sale of stock, etc. For instance the Redfield club has $10,000 subscribed for next season, $7,000 being raised in three hours and has a Fans' Association of 100 members who will back the Red Socks to the finish.
"Yet the most remarkable feature of the South.Dakota League and also the most fortunate is that it boosts as it's president one of the best known baseball men. M. E. Cantillon, for a score of years interested in major and minor league clubs and who as owner of the Minneapolis franchise...put that city on the map. In 1919 he sold his interest in the...club and being a free agent, agreed to lead the little league in South Dakota - and M.E. gets a regular salary that might make some minor league presidents take notice.
"Under the guidance of Mr. Cantillon it was possible for the
league to succeed and the eight presidents of the eight clubs in the
league swear by "Mike" as he is popularly known by all. The
faith of the fans and promoters has not been shaken by the recent
baseball scandal. Baseball is an American institution - American made
- it is the king of the sports and will live forever. It will shake
off the gamblers and crooks and continue to thrill the fandom of our
good old U.S.A., South Dakota included." - Jack
Fenton
Hyperbole aside, the league generated enough support
for a second year.
Organizational History: The 1921 Season
After
the conclusion of each league's season, Mike Cantillon led a
reorganization effort to eliminate underperforming teams. He
apparently felt it was far easier to accomplish this by disbanding
the old league each year and reforming with a new league constitution
and roster of cities.
In late November 1920, the league meet, disbanded and reorganized without Huron, Miller and Wessington Springs. Reports indicated that the group was willing to take in teams from Nebraska and Iowa. During the meeting they also distributed $1,000 which was left in the league treasury to the original eight teams. The five remaining cities then made deposits for the 1921 season. Madison's financial situation was a mess as their former manager, Ralph Works, had sold players for $4,500, but on condition that they be kept by their purchasers. This condition would not allow the availability of the funds until May 1, 1921. Works' salary had also been in dispute, but he won his claim and that would have to be paid before the 1921 season began. Needless to say, Madison's owners were looking for new financing.
During a January 23 meeting, Watertown (population 9,400) was granted a franchise. The town is 100 miles southeast of Aberdeen and the park they used is unknown. Huron was also allowed to return to the league and the eighth team was said to be in the process of being chosen from either Candon (SD), Wahepton (ND) or Rock Rapids (IA). The players who were owned by Miller and Wessington Springs were claimed as league property and were apportioned to only the new league cities.
The new league constitution also made the league more competitive by establishing a "talent cap". With the exception of a playing manager, no one would be allowed on a roster who has ever played in a league higher then class "B". The deposit bond, for the season, was raised to $1,500 and the maximum monthly salary, for each team, was set at $2,400 which covered the 13 roster players but did not include the manager. The schedule was set to run from mid-May to mid-September with each team playing 112 games.
In addition to the future battles on the playing fields, legislative and court battles began in order to have an anti-Sunday "amusements" law struck down. A law was on the books prohibiting all entertainment for admission which certainly included baseball. The state legislature was considering repealing it and opponents of the law had petitions signed to have the law repealed by a proposition to be voted on at the next state-wide election.
In the spring, the eighth franchise was co-awarded to the towns of Wahpeton (ND) and Breckinridge (MN). They became the northern most franchise in the league located 45 miles north and 80 miles east of Aberdeen just 25 miles into North Dakota. Wahpeton and Breckinridge (parks unknown) were located on either side of the Minnesota River and had a combined population of under 5,000. With the addition of a non-South Dakota entity, the league changed it's name to "The Dakota League". At that time, they also liberalized the cap on experienced players by allowing each club to carry one player with class "B" or better experience.
The league's schedule was published with Sunday games included
even though the state legislature did not eliminate the prohibition,
the state supreme court had upheld the law and the state attorney
general said he would enforce the statute. In an attempt to skirt the
law, the teams allowed free admission to all on Sundays, but required
a fee to park a car or set in a grandstand or bleacher seat. There
was also talk of organizing fans into stock companies with each fan
becoming a stock holder and allowing only stockholders to be admitted
"free" to ball games. Sioux Falls admitted over 10,000 fans
in their opening three-game series using the "seating-fee"
rule.
There were no arrests in any league city except
Redfield where a Rev. Bowlby of Tulaire, SD, filed a complaint and
the secretary of the club was arrested and brought to trial. A jury
quickly acquitted him and it became oblivious that, law or no, there
would be Sunday professional baseball in South Dakota. This situation
caused the following editorial in June 2 "The Sporting News":
"[proponents of the law say]...it commercializes the Sabbath...[to] pay for parking space for automobiles...It took a jury ten minutes at Redfield to bring in a verdict of 'not guilty'. The arguments were sound enough, the scheme for evasion of the blue laws was so flimsy it made one laugh - but the jury, in this case, represented public sentiment and even the courts cannot forever buck public sentiment. In this country that is the highest law and that is the theory on which we make laws; the majority opinion is supposed to rule so long as it does not inflict undue hardship on the minority.
"But the minority through sinister influence, propaganda, better organization and demagoguery often controls the law making powers and the courts and the big boob majority has to squirm and suffer because it hasn't leadership and organization.
"Meanwhile the Rev. Mr. Bowlby who boldly tells us that the idea of his Sabbatarian band is to close everything on Sunday so people will be compelled to go to church, says there is a 'powerful organization' working to break down the 'sacred Sabbath.' If there is, we'd like to have some data on it."
Toward the end of the season, talk began on the franchise make-up
of the league for 1922. League officials said they were looking at
the possibility of adding Duluth, Superior and Fargo. A promoter in
Winnipeg claimed to be planning another revival of the old Northern
League [1902-1905, 1908, 1913-1917].
Organization History: The 1922 Season
On October 8,1921, in Mitchell, league representatives met and disbanded the 1921 version of the Dakota League and a new league was created with franchises awarded to Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Aberdeen and Watertown. It was reported that the other four former league members "were not able to meet all qualifications" which most certainly included financial stability. The other four franchises were left open for the time being with the understanding that Huron, Madison, Redfield and Wahpeton-Breckinridge could be admitted at a later date. Mike Cantillon was re-elected president and E.Z. Sharp of Sioux Falls was named treasurer replacing J.E. O'Connell of Redfield.
By January, no additional franchises had been awarded and there were doubts about the league's survival because, as "The Sporting News" put it: "Last year was not a financial success, largely due to the fact that the circuit is too widely scattered for the size of the towns represented...together with several long jumps especially the one from the southern half of the circuit to Wahpeton makes the problem a bad one. " It was reported by the press that Huron, Madison and Redfield would not be re-admitted and that without two more teams, the league may to operate at all. A financial audit of the 1921 season disclosed that Sioux Falls was the only team to make a profit ($4,000) and they also spent $3,000 for permanent park improvements with an season attendance of over 50,000. Aberdeen, Mitchell, Watertown and Wahpeton-Breckenridge lost money but had enough funds to field teams in 1922. "TSN" ended their appraisal with optimism: "The sentiment here [in S.D.] is strong for organized baseball. Two seasons of the Dakota League, even though it is only a class "D" organization, have convinced local followers of the pastime with an organized system has dozens of advantages over independent baseball."
Finally, in March, "TSN" had the following item: "Among other announcements...reorganization of the Dakota League...the membership of...included Aberdeen, Watertown, Sioux Falls, Mitchell in SD [all former members] and Valley City, Jamestown, Fargo and Wahpeton-Breckinridge in ND..." Now the league had extended their road trips another 45 miles north of Wahpeton. Fargo, Jamestown and Valley City are approximately 65 miles north of the South Dakota-North Dakota border. Specifically, Jamestown is about 95 miles from Fargo on a west-to-east horizontal line, with Valley City 60 miles (also on that imaginary line) from Fargo. The advantage was that Fargo with a population of 22,000 and Jamestown with 6,600 replaced Redfield and Madison who had much lessor populations. Valley City had 4,680 residents.
The only nationally published rule change, for the league, was one that indicated that none of it's clubs would accept a player under an option/recall agreement from a team in any other league. This change seemed to fly in the face of a recognized practice of the National Association of Minor Leagues since all leagues recognized the legitimacy of "optional releases". The question was whether or not any league had a right to adopt a rule of this type. [there were no later reports in "TSN" stating that the rule had been challenged].
By July, there were disappointing developments with two of the new franchises. President Cantillon found it necessary to transfer the Valley City franchise to Bismarck (population 7,100, located 100 miles west of Jamestown), but delayed the final action until August 3 because V.C. fans requested "another chance." More disappointing was Fargo, whose team was not drawing sufficient attendance, and was placed on Cantillon's "possible transfer" list.
Organization History: The 1923 Season
In December 1922, "The Sporting News" printed the rumor that the Dakota League would be dissolved again, this time into two leagues - one for the South Dakota teams and one for the North Dakota ones. The logic was that road trips would be cut drastically and there would be more rivalry. However, the downside was that both leagues would be left with only four teams.
Nothing official was announced during the winter of 1922-1923, but in March '23 Mike Cantillon along with other representatives of the South Dakota clubs, attended the annual meeting of the Nebraska State League in Lincoln and made a proposal to them that the four S.D. teams merge with four from the Nebraska circuit to form a Dakota-Nebraska League. It was worth the effort, but his idea was turned down because it required the elimination of two of the current teams from the Nebraska League and it was getting too late in the year for an alignment of the type to be consummated. ["TSN" referred to other "obstacles", but was not specific.] The Nebraska League's cold shoulder turned out to the beginning of the end for the Dakota League.
A new "South Dakota League" started the season with their remaining teams - Mitchell, Watertown, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls. A "North Dakota League", led by president Logan Powell, was admitted to the National Association in May with teams in Minot (population of 10,500), Jamestown, New Rockford-Carrington (under 5,000) and Bismarck. Minot is located 110 north of Bismarck [265 miles from Fargo]. New Rockford-Carrington's location is about midway between Minot and Fargo (north of Jamestown by 50 miles).
The longevity of four-team leagues is not lengthy and neither survived the season. The S.D. circuit put up a good front with Cantillon announcing on June 16 that the league was in it's best financial condition ever. However, in the July 26 edition of "TSN" was the following: "Another league which disbanded during the week was the South Dakota which had attempted to operate this season with four clubs. It could not make it so decided to quit. It's players were paid off and the more desirable men have been sold to clubs in other leagues several going to the American Assoiciation." The kaput league did not even bother to release any accumulated season statistics to "TSN".
The North Dakota League survived longer, but moved the New Rockford-Carrington franchise to Valley City on July 17 and played a split-season schedule in an attempt to promote interest. However, they too ended their first and last season prematurely. "TSN" stated that some of the league's score keepers did a poor job of compiling stats and the publication was only able to secure and publish partial data.
No Dakota-Nebraska League was never formed. There was a Sioux Falls team in the Tri-State League for 1924, they were part the Nebraska State League from 1922-38, the Western League in 1939-41 and the Northern League from 1942, 1946-53 and 1966-71. Aberdeen did not return to professional baseball until 1946 when they joined the Northern League and their franchise survived until the league folded in 1971. Huron had a Northern League team from 1965-70, Watertown in 1970-71 and Mitchell had pro ball in the Nebraska City League (1936-37) and the Western League (1939-40). None of the other cities in the "Dakota Leagues" ever were able to attract pro baseball.
The North Dakota cities who had professional baseball again were: Bismarck-Mandan in 1962-64 and 1966 (Northern League), Fargo in 1933-42, 1946-60 (Northern), Jamestown 1936-37 (Northern) and Minot 1958-60 and 1962 (Northern). There were attempts, in the Dakotas, to form independent teams in the 1990s but they meet without much success. The exception was the independent Northern League who has had teams in Fargo since 1993 and Sioux Falls from 1993-2005 [Sioux Falls joined another independent league in 2006].
Mike Cantillon lived until April 12, 1946, when he died of cirrhosis of the liver. It is not known what, if any, involvement he had in baseball after the South Dakota League folded.
Many notable baseball men managed the league teams throughout the four seasons including 11 who were major league veterans. There is a short bio of each in the "Leagues' Notables" pages of this site. Also, a large number of players advanced to higher classifications of pro baseball and they are mentioned in the following section of league highlights.
Short bios of the [at least] 17 league players who reached the major leagues are also included on the "Leagues' Notables" section. In addition, there were at least 6 former MLB players who played in the leagues near the end of their careers. The development of players has always been the proudest accomplishment of minor league baseball particularly those involved in the low minors. By any measure, the fact that so many good players, including two future hall-of-players (Jim Bottomley and Al Simmons), began their careers in the "Dakota" Leagues made everyone's efforts worthwhile.
[Research will continue on these leagues]
League Highlights From "The Sporting News" - 1920
March 11 and March 18 "TSN" Want Adds: "Wanted - Playing manager; catcher preferred; and Ball Players for all positions for Redfield South Dakota. Only experienced players will be considered. Address C.F. Hansen, care Lyric Theater, Redfield, S.D.
April 8 " TSN": "Redfield is making extensive plans to put a winning team in the field when the opening of the season of the South Dakota State League arrives on May 18. Ollie Pickering for many years prominent in major league clubs, has been secured as manager-player and it is understood that he has already commenced the selection of his team. Pickering has played with Cleveland, Columbus, Louisville, Washington, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia and Minneapolis and was a former teammate of manager Altizer of the Aberdeen team while playing with Minneapolis. Redfield fans are greatly enthused with the prospects of organized ball this season and have pledged all the funds necessary towards carrying out the schedule.
Pickering
"At the organization meeting of the league here, eight clubs were present. Mike Cantillon of Minneapolis, former owner of the Minneapolis club, was elected president, T.E. Rogers of Huron was elected vice-president. Jack O'Connell of Redfield was named treasurer. The selection of secretary was left with the president. One director was chosen from each of the clubs represented in the league as follows: Aberdeen - M.W. Williams; Huron - T.E. Rogers; Redfield - C.F. Hansen; Madison - H. Fairchilds; Sioux Falls - Robert Warner; Mitchell - W.A. Nolz(sp?); Miller - A. Hanson; Wessington Springs - ?. R. Hatch.
"It was decided to open the season May 18 and to run 90 games, closing on September 13. A post-season tournament... deciding the championship will tentatively by played at Huron during the State Fair, September 13 to 18, a tempting offer having been presented to the Sate Fair Board by the league." [The headline for the article states "Each Club Puts up $1,200 As Guarantee to Finish Season."]
Want Add: "Madison S.D., wants ball players for all positions, class D, South Dakota State League. H.N. Fairchild, Madison, S.D. "
"Wanted - Manager for Madison, S.D. Club, South Dakota League. Must have a man with ability. H.N. Fairchild, Madison, SD."
"Wanted - Players and Player-Manager for Sioux Falls team; South.Dakota State League. Opens May 18th: 4-month season. Address Robt. Warner, Sioux Falls, S.D."
June 24 "TSN": "Madison was outhit by Redfield 6 to 10 on June 16 and made 7 errors yet the speed of 'the Works' boys' on the bases won for them 4-3.
"Harry Scharnweber's Mitchell team is setting a pace that has the other teams worried. Bill Shipke still thinks his Huron team will go to the front again and Ralph Works' Madison team has been setting a fast pace here of late. Works has a team of youngsters and it took him some time to get them straightened out and he also had some bad luck through injured players."
Shipke
"The recent Wessington Springs-Aberdeen series was marked by low scores and good pitching. On June 17, Nagalis of Aberdeen won a 1 to 0 game, holding the Springs team to 3 hits. The previous day Lourry [Lowry?]of Aberdeen allowed but three hits and his game was won for him 2 to 1."
July 1 "TSN": "In the double-header of June 20, between Mitchell and Redfield, the Mitchell team made 37 hits and scored 21 runs - 22 hits and 12 runs in the first game and nine runs and 15 hits in the second."
"Manager Ralph Works of the Madison team gives his signals during a game by blowing notes on a whistle - a stunt that causes the fans a great deal of amusement, though it seems to work all right."
"A player writing from the South Dakota League says: 'In this league the scorers charge the batter with a time at bat when he gets a base on balls. Can't you tell them that is wrong, so we can get the batting averages we are entitled to?' "
July 8 "TSN": "Harry Scharnweber's Mitchell team is going so well it hardly can be beaten for the first pennant in the new South Dakota League. Scharnweber has a nicely balanced team of veterans and youngsters. Chief Leroy represents the veterans on his pitching staff and is doing great work with Keyser, Wilkus and Yendes to help share the burden. Two St. Louis boys, Jim Bottomly and Milton Hollocher are doing nicely in the infield and Scharnweber says that in Askand he has the best catcher in the league. The veteran Del Paddock is one of Mitchell's outfield trio but the big factor is the team's success in the pitching of Leroy."
Bottomley
"Dave Altizer, manager of the Aberdeen team of the South Dakota League, and the hero of many battles, got his from catcher Askand of the Mitchell team one night last week. The two had a row and agreed to meet afer the game, so the story goes. They met in an alley back of a hotel and went at it. Dave was badly beaten up before he admitted he had met a better man."
Aug 19 "TSN": "'General dissatisfaction' with the way Ralph Works handled the Madison team of the South Dakota League caused the club directors to release him last week, whereupon the players of the team went on a one-day strike in protest. They got their proper bearings the next day, however, and returned to the job. Works started out well with his Madison team, but was no match for the older and wiser heads of the league. Failure to win led to his going to pieces generally, and he probably has postponed his plans for showing baseball a few new tricks."
"The past week was a busy one for managerial changes in the South Dakota League. First the Madison Club released Ralph Works. The Aberdeen Club then let Dave Altizer out and Dave shifted to Madison to succeed Works. The Miller Club let out J.G. "Red" Fisher as manager and First Baseman Frank Gurney was given his job. The Madison players, who put on a one-day strike when Works was canned were herded together by Altizer who secured consent of the league to cancel the forfeit that had been claimed against Madison by Redfield...and then...Dave took them out and beat Redfield 13-9."
On August 31, Frank Askland of Mitchell hit four home runs in a home game.
Sept 2 "TSN": "Eddie Karger succeeded Dave Altizer as manager at Aberdeen when Dave went to Madison to succeed Ralph Works. The changes seem to have helped both clubs."
Karger
"The leading Mitchell team of
the South Dakota League has several St. Louis youngsters in it's
makeup. One of them, Bottomly, is playing good ball at first and
Hollocher is doing well on second."
"Managers come and go in the SD League. Ollie Pickering has been let out at Redfield and Pitcher Harry Halstead is handling the team. Red Fischer, who quit the management of the Miller team, signed to play outfield for Harry Scharnweber's Mitchell team."
"Harry Scharnweber's Mitchell team, who has been making a runaway race of it in SD, seems to owe it's success to good leadership more then to the presenting of stars on the team, though in outfielder Erwin it is said to have one of the best looking youngsters in class 'D' league dons. He is a left-handed hitter and is batting around .350. While manager Scharnweber was out of the game with a bad leg, Erwin played short and his worth there was as good as it had been in the outfield."
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Weekly standings, during the season, as published in "TSN" (place in standings listed):
Mitch 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
S.F. 4 3 2 2 3 4 3 3 2
Huron 2 2 5 5 4 2 4 5 3
W.S. 6 6 3 3 5 5 2 2 4
Redfld 7 7 6 7 6 6 7 6 5
Madsn 5 4 7 6 7 7 6 7 6
Aber 3 5 4 4 2 3 5 4 7
Miller 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
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[Mitchell led the league from start-to-finish to beat second place
Sioux Falls by 3 ½ games.]
The 1920 Mitchell Kernels
"TSN": "Practically one-third of the players in the league hit for .300 or better. The league leader was G.A. [Showboat] Fisher of Miller
who had the handsome mark of .378. Even your old friend Dave Altizer with the worries of managing two clubs on his shoulders, were able to scratch into the .300 list.."
"Before closing the list of comebacks of the 1920 season take a look at the pitching records of the South Dakota League and consider Joe Wilkus. This veteran minor league performer, working for the Harry Scharnweber's champion Mitchell team, led his league as a winner being credited with 14 victories and only four defeats. Another veteran who worked for the Mitchell club, Chief LeRoy, also ranked high in South Dakota pitching lists."
Sept. 16 "TSN": "The Chicago White Sox have purchased Pete Turgeon, who has been playing shortstop for the Aberdeen team in the South Dakota league this season and hitting better then .400."
Sept. 23 "TSN": "The Minneapolis club has purchased second baseman Walter Nufer for the [W.S]. club of the South Dakota League."
Sept 30 TSN: "The Tulsa club has started early to rebuild for next year. One of it's recent purchases is outfielder Erwin from Harry Scharnweber's champion Mitchell team of the SD League. He is a left-handed hitter and hits them frequently as his run of 24 games this season in which he got at least one safe blow testifies."
Nov. 18 "TSN": "Hal Halstead, who was with the Redfield team in the SD league last season, tells an incident of how Ollie Pickering got back at a waif in the bleachers. Ollie, due to some impairment in circulation, has been noted for years for the brilliant color of his nose, which by the way, would be pretty prominent if it was of normal color. For years and years the veteran player and manager has suffered the torment of remarks about his proboscis and it's vermillion hue, generally with rare good nature.
"In a game at [Sioux Falls], on a particularly hot day, Ollie
was out warming up a bit and the weather and his exertions caused
that nose of his to shine like a red-lettered sign on Broadway. Of
course, the fans kidded. Finally it got on Pickering's nerves.
Walking over to the bleachers he singled out a tormentor and
addressing his said: 'Damn you. You two-bit bum, in a hand-me-down
suit and smoking a nickel smoke. If you had the money that [this]
nose cost me, you wouldn't be sitting there in the bleachers. This
nose has cost me more than you could make in a life-time, you
ten-dollar-a-week cheap screw.' No more remarks from that particular
fan about Ollie Pickering's red nose that day."
Nov 25
:TSN:: "Redfield SD, Nov 20 - Up here in the South Dakota League
the quarrels of the magnates over reorganization plans,
the...concerning crooked ball players and so forth have not disturbed
the fans. They know they will get along under any fair scheme of
administration of general affairs and the breath of scandal has not
touched the league. If there are sure-thing gamblers they haven't
dared show themselves and woe to them if they do for baseball is a
sporting proposition and any blackguard who tried to fix it might be
found by his friends, if he had any, hanging at the end of a rope if
discovered in his work."
"Dave Altizer will lead the Madison team next season and is wintering there managing a billiard parlor for one of the local sports. He will have some rebuilding to do, as Brundage and Cullop, pitchers, and Stanage, infield, were sold to Minneapolis s and will probably be retained by that club.
"Eddie Karger, who finished as pilot of the Aberdeen team,
probably will manage it again next season....Scharmweber at Mitchell,
Cariash at Sioux Falls, McGrath of Wessington Springs and Toussant [a
manager in 1920?] of Huron will... with players and with the
exception of Wessington.Springs., which lost catcher Novak through
the draft will present a lineup similar to that of 1920. Nothing is
known of the Miller club as it encountered a bad season, due to a
late start and poor management. Pitcher Harry Halstead will probably
lead the Redfield team. He took over the Reds in late July and made a
garrison finish. Halstead is one of the neatest pitchers in the
league and a smart ball player. Two of the Reds will go up. Shortstop
Bob Stevenson has been sold to Minneapolis and Jack Carr [1b] to
Wichita."
League Highlights From "The Sporting News" - 1921
Jan 27 "TSN": "Aaron, who does not like the South and quit the team [at Charleston SC] has been traded to a club in the South Dakota League for a catcher named Markeson and an outfielder named Reilly."
Feb. 3 "TSN": "Mitchell, S.D. Jan 25 - The South Dakota League in 1921 will have a more compact circuit and better paying towns as a result of the changes made at the meeting held Jan 23, when Miller and WS were formally dropped. One of the vacated franchises was awarded to Watertown and either Canton, Wahepton or Rock Rapids IA will get the eighth club."
"It was ruled by the league that the players under reserve to Miller and WS belong to the league, but that they would be apportioned to the new cities. All the clubs will have about an even break in the way of reserve talent for the new season for it was voted no man shall be a member of any team except the playing manager, who ever has played ball in higher then class "B". That means a number of last year's players will have to be disposed of. The local club has four who are thus made ineligible. They are outfielder Paddock, catcher Askand and pitchers Wilkus and Keiser who were among the best of the champions. Manager Harry Scharnweber will pace them in good berths.
"President Cantillon submitted the new league constitution which was adopted and in which strong regulations were inserted to prohibit betting in ball parks. Cantillon spoke plainly to the club magnates on the evils of allowing any sort of betting in their parks and told them that he would act strictly according to his powers in punishing any offending club. H.L."
Feb 10 "TSN": "Joe Malloy, a Joplin boy who was with Madison in the South Dakota League last year goes to the Bay City Club of the Michigan-Ontario League. Malloy's transfer boosts him two notches..."
Feb 17 "TSN": "The Minneapolis club having sent Yip Owens to St. Joseph will depend on a pair of Bohemians to do it's backstopping. They are George Shestak taken on from St. Joe and Wally Novak a youngster who was in the South Dakota League last season."
May 19 "TSN": "Many new faces will be seen in the league his season. This is due to a rule passed by the clubs last winter allowing each club to carry only one man who had played class "B" baseball or better.
"Sioux Falls has the most experienced team in the league. The manager will again be Fred Carisch, former backstop for the Pittsburg Nationals. Carisch will do most of the receiving with Peters another 1920 player to assist him. Three men from last year's team are in the infield, two in the outfield and three on the pitching staff.
"Although the champion Mitchell Kernels have only two veterans around to build the team, manager Heinie Scharnweber is again after the pennant. He has salvaged several performers from the defunct Wessington Springs and Miller clubs and with these men hopes to build up another pennant winning aggregation.
"Huron is under new management, Jay Andrews having taken the place of Bill Shipke. The new manager spent considerable time in St. Louis lining up his team and brought several men with him from Missouri. With these and a few of last year's men to help, Andrews is ready for the season. He has changed the name of the team from the "Packers" to the "Browns" for the sake of luck.
"Only one team in the league took a training trip, the rest contenting themselves with practice on the home lots. The plutocratic aggregation making the journey was Madison. Under Dave Altizer the team went to Quincy, IL and set up headquarters then toured through Iowa, IL and Mo. Redfield is again under the leadership of Hal Halstead. The pitcher-manager has been carefully lining up his men and is reported to have several new men of class. Some of these came from Chicago.
"The Aberdeen boosters also have a pitcher-manager Eddie Karger Karger has had about 35 candidates working for the team and from these expects to get a pennant winning lineup. The team was greatly strengthened by the return of Pete Turgeon from the White Sox. Turgeon failed to make the grade there and after the spring trip was returned to the South Dakota League for further seasoning.
"Both of the new teams are working hard. Watertown will be piloted by Matty McGrath last season manager of Wessington.Springs while Wahpeton - Breckenridge is managed by Roy Patterson for years known as the iron man of the Ameican Association. Pat has obtained several players released from the Minneapolis and St. Joseph clubs by the Cantillons. Everything points to a successful season in the league under Mike Cantillon as president. The only drawback is the fact that the blue law in this state may result in the banning of Sunday baseball. - Garrett Breckenridge"
"From all indications the season is to be a great success. Sioux Falls with almost identically the same lineup which finished second last year won its first six games. Wahpeton - Breckenridge under the leadership of Roy Patterson is the runner-up -- Garrett Breckenridge "
June 2 "TSN": "Redfield and Wahpeton - Breckenridge played 19 innings on May 28, the former team winning 8-7. Though each team hit the ball hard and made a multitude of safe drives, but one error was made in 19 innings."
"Earl Keiser, who was one of Mitchell's mainstays in the box last season and helped bring the Dakota pennant to Scharnweber's town has rejoined the team. He had not intended to go out this year, but finally listened to Scharnweber's pleas."
"The alleged 'lively' ball does not seem to bother pitchers in the Dakota League, for two one-hit games were turned in on May 23 and the score in each game was 1-0. Nelson of Sioux Falls held Watertown to a single blow and Chopek of Huron allowed Aberdeen but one safety."
June 30 "TSN": "McCue, who has been with Madison...under option has been recalled..." [by Moline]
July 21 "TSN": "Up at Wahpeton in the Dakota League the veteran Roy Patterson is manager of the team and also does a nifty job of pitching for it now and then. Recently in a close game with Huron the umpire called a Wahpeton player out on a play at the plate. The fans decided their runner was safe, so they started a mob scene to demonstrate their disapproval. After a preliminary barrage. Of pop bottles they began to pour out of the stand.
Patterson
"Patterson had been near
the plate when the decision was given. He rushed to the front of the
stand, and held up his hands. 'I saw that play myself,' he shouted,
'our man was out and the umpire was correct. If you guys are so keen
to fight take it out on the base runner, for he's the one to blame.'
The fans quieted down, but some of them, so the story goes, think
manager Patterson ought to be fired for 'disloyalty' to his own
team."
July 28 :TSN": "George Steueland, the Sioux Falls pitcher who was purchased by the Chicago Cubs is nursing a sore arm on the bench. He had the same ailment last year despite that fact [he] pitched over 250 innings."
"President Mike Cantillion says that at least a dozen Dakota League players are going up this season. [Showboat] Fisher who went to the Western this year, is batting .300 in that loop and Bottomley is going well in the Texas League. Three Dakota pitchers in the Western have won a majority of their games."
"Attendance records for the Mitchell-Sioux Falls series
received a boost when there were 6,400 paid admissions to the four
games. This in spite of two ladies' days. Sioux Falls took three out
of the four games, and made up for the disastrous road trip. There
were two games in which but three hits were allowed in four-hit and
five-hit performances."
The 1921 Sioux Falls Soos
"Red Fisher who last season managed the defunct Miller team has been signed to manage the tail-end Huron aggregation for the remainder of the season. Fisher has been on the umpiring staff of the circuit this season and has made a good arbiter. Huron has had two other pilots this season - Dr. Jay Andrews and Stanley Lang."
Aug. 11 "TSN": "The Minneapolis club...announced the purchase of shortstop Bob Stevenson from Redfield...promptly turned him over to the St. Joseph club where he has already established himself in the...infield."
Aug 25 "TSN": "Harry Wingfield who was at one time with the St. Louis Cardinals as a catcher is now managing Redfield...succeeding Harry Halstead who has returned to his home in Chicago."
"Earl Keiser has found pitching in the Dakota League to his liking. Working for the Mitchell Club, the latest averages show him with 14 won, 2 lost and one game tied. Keiser used to be a spitball pitcher but he has developed a curve and also has a change of pace that is fooling batters."
"Manager Harry Scharmweber of the Mitchell team last week announced the sale of two players to major league clubs. The New York Nationals bought John Albertson a big right-handed pitcher for $3,000 and Carl Pierce, third baseman was sold to the St. Louis Browns. A number of major league scouts have been in the league and it is believed several other players have been selected for advancement whose names are not yet announced."
Sept. 1 "TSN": "Leo Seifert is working his way back to the Far Northwest. He came down from the Western Canada League and had a trial with the Cincinnati Reds. Later he went to the Terre Haute Three-I League club and now has been turned over to Mitchell in the Dakota League. Another pitcher out of the Three-I just impacted into the Dakota circuit is H.H. Mineiree who has joined Sioux Falls where he replaced Audrey Henshaw who returns to the Omaha club."
-----
The weekly standings for each team, during the 1921 season, as shown in "TSN" was as follows:
Mitch 4 6 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SF 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
W-B 1 2 2 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3
Redfld 1 3 5 2 3 3 2 3 4 6 4 4 4 4
Madsn 6 8 6 8 4 6 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5
Water 4 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 7 6 6
Aber 6 5 4 6 6 5 6 6 6 7 7 6 7 7
Huron 6 4 7 4 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
------
[Mitchell won their second pennant in a row by finishing 3 games ahead of Sioux Falls.]
Sept. 15 "TSN": "...A late acquisition to the Cub [Cubs] hurling corps is George Strueland, a right-hander from S.F. He has
been the star flinger in the Dakota League for two years and comes highly recommended by scout Jack Doyle and Charley Hollocher's brother. Holly's brother plays in the Dakota League and says that Stueland has the stuff to develop into a first class major leaguer. His record indicates it. Last season he pitched in 24 ball games, winning 12 and losing only nine. He led the league in strikeouts and has done the same this season. Whether he is ready for the National League will be ascertained before this campaign comes to a close, as manager Killefer intends to use him and he will have to show a lot of ability to get by as he will be meeting the toughest teams in the league."
Oct 27 "TSN": "Lively ball talk did not disturb the pitchers of the Dakota League apparently judging from the batting marks made in Mike Cantillon's circuit. While there were some heavy individual hitters, the team batting is low by comparison with that in most leagues the past season. The champion Mitchell team topped the league with a percentage of .288 and the figures ran from that down to only .216 for the tail end Huron team. A hit on that club must have been occasion for a war dance. The leading individual hitter of the league was Al Nolt of the Mitchell team who batted for .395 in 99 games. He also ranked second in stealing bases, being led by McGuire of Sioux Falls in that department, but when it came to scoring runs, Nolt was in a class by himself and that goes for any league as his record of 121 runs in 99 games shows."
Nov. 3 "TSN": "From the far Dakota League comes...[news] which show that some of the former Reds [Cincinnati] are thriving in that region. LaRoss who...during the Herzog regime hit .343 out there. Thin LaRoss is a man who seems to be a royal player in the minors, but gets dizzy in the fast company. He made a lot of friends while he was here. Dave Altizer who must be around 45 by now, hit .333 out there and played great all around ball. Fine conscientious player was Altizer at all times. Norm Glockson who was briefly a Red catcher hit .277 in the Dakota company. There is probably no small league in the land that doesn't have a flock of former Reds listed on the various payrolls."
Nov 3 "TSN": "the pennant winning team of the Dakota League had to spilt the fielding honors of the 1921 season with Sioux Falls. The official averages of the league showing the two teams a tie in the matter of defensive play with a percentage of .952. It was about the only case where Harry Scharmweber's champions failed to hog the honors. Standing out as features in Dakota League fielding were the work of Peterson, pitcher for Redfield, who handled 123 chances without a skip; Dennis catcher for Aberdeen who had 122 assists indicating a great throwing arm and who also had an unusual number of putouts and the record of Zimmerman second baseman of Wahpeton - Breckenridge who had 606 chances offered all told in 95 games."
"Earl Keiser, veteran right-hander made a remarkable pitching record with the champion Mitchell team of the Dakota League the past season. Pitchers of the league are ranked in the averages according to games won and lost and in this particular Keiser leads with 20 victories and but two defeats. He pitched 212 innings all told and but 73 runs, earned and unearned were made off him in all this work. An even better record for runs allowed was made by Stueland the Sioux Falls star who allowed but 87 scores to register in 291 innings. Being with a team that could not win as often as Mitchell, Stueland managed to land but 22 victories while he suffered nine defeats. Maxwell of Watertown was a pitcher hit hard as his record of 283 safeties allowed in 237 innings shows, yet he managed to win 18 games while losing but seven."
Dec 1 "TSN": "Organizing a team in a new league and winning first out is one test, and when the same manager rebuilds and comes back in the league's second season and show his heels again that's another - enough to establish the fact that there must be some personality in the team's leader. That's what Harry Scharnweber did in the Dakota League. He put a makeshift bunch together in the league in it's first season in 1920and walked to the front. All the other magnates and managers camped on his trail in the league's second season the past year but Scharnweber took on another lot and walked in again. "Two years of such glory, however, he says are enough and he announces his retirement. Managing class "D" ball clubs is not what it is cracked up to be, where a man has an established business on the side that must be handled. And so Scharnweber's out of baseball unless something much better offers, and some other manager can try his hand at making Mitchell repeaters for the third time."
Scharnweber
[Scharnweber changed his mind about managing again.]
Dec 8 "TSN": "Bob Quinn of the Browns found some comfort in glimpsing a group picture of the pennant-winning team of the Dakota League in "TSN". It disclosed to him that a new third base acquisition of the Browns wasn't such a runt after all. The third sacker is Carl Pierce of the Mitchell team. Pierce was bought on good reports without personal inspection of any of the Browns scouts and later Quinn was told hat he wasn't bigger then a minute and never would make the grade because of lack of size.
"Therefore, the business manager of the Browns noted with
some satisfaction that thought Pierce might be short in stature there
still is a lot of him bodily. Also Quinn since has learned that
Pierce plays professional football as a fall and winter pastime which
further indicates he's not of the variety that can be broken to bits
by the sweep of a feather duster. The home town of Pierce is
Atlantic, Iowa and his birth certificate shows he's just about voting
age. With Mitchell in the Dakota League last season he batted for
.276 and scored 75 runs in 97 games and he stole 20 bases. As a
fielder he did not rank high in percentage, but the statistics on
total changes indicate he was not shirking anything - he made a lot
of errors, but he also was going after everything. If one may judge
the dope. He probably won't make the grade next year, but he can be
counted as an addition to the Browns' impressive stock of trading
material."
League Highlights From "The
Sporting News" - 1922
Jan 26 "TSN": "President of Dakota State League is ME Cantillon, care Tribune Annex, Minneapolis, Minn."
Feb 16 "TSN": "The Terre Haute club of the Three-I L recently...purchased from Mitchell infielders Lou Hollocher and Nick Urban. Hollocher who is a brother of Charley Hollocher of the Chicago Cubs played second baseman and hit .264 for Mitchell last season. Urban was one of the best hitters in the Dakota League with a mark of .312."
March 9 "TSN": "If George Stueland, recruit pitcher with the Chicago Cubs makes good he can give a measure of credit to Vern Clemons catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Stueland came under the notice of Clemons when both were in the Navy in 1916. At that time the lad thought he was a shortstop but Clemons concluded he had the makings of a pitcher and coached him along that line for several months. After his discharge from the Navy, Stueland joined Sioux City of the Western League as a pitcher then went to Sioux Falls in the Dakota League where he did work of such class that the Chicago Cubs
"...Gordon McGuire...of St. Louis...now with Terre Haute" from 1920 and 1921 [Dakota/South Dakota Leagues]
"...Berkinstock now with St. Paul..."
Apr 20 "TSN": "Wilbur F. Smith, former Albion College catcher and later briefly with the St. Louis Browns and Minneapolis has been signed to manage the Jamestown team..."
April 20 "TSN": Presidents of each team were listed - Aberdeen - Samuel Calmenson; Fargo - Judge Barnett; Jamestown - H.E. Ross; Mitchell - Robert Burns; Sioux Falls - W.L. Sharp; Valley City - J.H. Sampson; Wahpeton - Breckenridge - R.J. Hughes; Watertown - T.W. Earee
May 4 "TSN": "Soux Falls, S.D. - Apr 23 - The Dakota League with a reorganized circuit...is getting ready for the season which starts May 18 most of the managers having assembled their teams the past week. Here in Sioux Falls manager Carisch is getting his Braves together and has some likely looking candidates. Among the me signed are catchers Fred Carisch, E.C. Fitzgerald and C. Driggs; pitchers Ole Nelson, Lee Chopek, George [William] Ludolph, H.S. Bell, Stanley Achenbach, Ralph Jackson and Roy Crabb; infielders Frank Naleway, John Tracey, Otto Lehman, George Nigbor, E.Van Siters and Steve Brewer and outfielders Mike O'Leary, Art John, Gene Leahy, Walter Waul, RC Dickmeyer and Chief Smith.
"Of the pitchers Nelson, Chopek and Ludolph are veterans of last year's team and have proved their worth. Bell comes well recommended as does Crabb. Achenbach had a trial last year but was in bad shape having a sore arm. Later in the year he pitched splendid ball with a strong semipro team in Minnesota. If Jack Tracey who came to the team late in the season of 1921 does as well as he did then he will have no competitor for the hot corner. Naleway has played with the team for two years at shortstop and has done fine as a fielder but is not a strong hitter. Lehman is likely to play second base and he is said to be a fine hitter and fielder and understands the game.
"There will be a hot contest for the first base position. It would seem from all reports that Steve Brewer is the most likely candidate, but it is no cinch that he will cop the position. O'Leary has played with the team two years is a fine fielder, knows what to do with the ball when he gets it but is hardly up to standard for an outfielder in the matter of hitting. However, any other man will have to work hard to displace him. He is also a player who can, in case of a pinch, play the infield and for that is worthy of a good deal of consideration. On May 18 the Sioux City Indians will issue from their wigwam, put on their war paint, lift up the tomahawk and start on the Warpath for scalps. They meet Mitchell and Sioux Falls and as Mitchell has won the pennant in both years of the league it is certain that the fans of this city will get a run for their money. FLR"
May 18 "TSN": Charlestown SC - "Pitcher Pipgrass [sic] the big righthander from the Dakota League sent here by the Boston Red Sox has enough stuff to win in any league and all he needs is a little confidence and control."
June 15 "TSN": Nashville - "Keiser, the new righthander from Oakland pitched 23 games with Mitchell...in 1921 and won 20 of them. He was then taken up by Oakland winning 3 and losing 0, giving him a season's record of 28 wins and two defeats."
July 6 TSN: "Saskatoon's reserved players scattered, some of them in Dakota League."
"Critics praise the work of Wee Ludolph of SF. Not only has he won a lot of games as a pitcher, but he has filled utility roles in masterly fashion and he's declared to be one of the most valuable all around men in the whole Dakots League"
Charley Boardman, veteran pitcher resigned as manager of the Valley City team of the Dakota League and Ernie Menne was named to succeed him. Boardman, it was stated, would catch on with the Minneapolis Association team as a relief pitcher."
"Generally the class of ball played in the Dakota League has been up to class "D" average but in a recent Valley City - Wahpeton - Breckenridge game there was a marked decline from that class. Twenty errors were made in nine innings with 16 of them charged to V.C. players. And the scoring was liberal at that."
"President Mike Cantillon...says he will put the whole Fargo team on the bench if it doesn't behave. He fined and suspended manager Harry Wingfield and told him to keep out of the game until he could promise to obey the rules of decorum and decency. Fargo fans have not supported their team and the charge is made that the right sort of people won't come out because of the conduct of the manager and players."
Aug 3 TSN: "Manager Harry Scharmweber of Mitchell is boosting three players for advancement. They are his star pitcher Duff, Dougan his catcher and O'Shaughnessy his third baseman."
"All the South Dakota towns in the Dakota League are reported as drawing well and strong financially, but the North Dakota end of the circuit is not prospering though some of the clubs in that section have been up in the race most of the season.
"After Bill Shipke took charge of the Aberdeen team, succeeding E.B. Harkins, who resigned, the team won 12 straight games stopping when it dropped a double header to Sharmweber's Mitchell team on July 23. Zweifel held Aberdeen to two scratch hits and won 4-0 in the first game and in the second, Duff was the winner in 13 innings by 3-2 allowing Aberdeen but two hits. It was the eleventh straight win for Duff."
August 26: Roy Bergenstock of Jamestown pitched a no-hitter over
Sioux Falls 2-0.
-----
The weekly 1922 standings as shown in TSN:
Mitch 5 7 7 3 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
Aber 2 4 6 7 7 3 4 3 4 3 3 2
Fargo 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 3
SF 1 2 2 2 2 4 3 4 3 4 4 4
James 2 3 3 5 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Water 6 6 4 4 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 6
W-B 6 5 5 6 5 7 6 6 6 6 6 7
VC-Bismk 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
-----
[Mitchell won their third straight pennant by finishing 4 ½
games in front of Aberdeen.]
Sept 7 "TSN": Mitchell, Sept 2: "With the close of the 1922 season in the Dakota League and the third straight pennant won by Harry Scharmweber team, interest of local fans turns to the chances of local players who have been sold to clubs higher up. Manager Scharmweber has been most successful in development of talent for higher company and he received another tribute in his ability to develop new players when he closed a deal selling Venemon and Knox of the Kernels to Des Moines of the Western.
"Venemon has been one of the local's best bets on the pitching staff since the opening of the season and he is expected to make a good showing with Des Moines. During the season...he pitched 20 games winning 13. Venemon pitched for an independent club in Idaho last year. Knox has developed into a wonderful outfielder under manager Scharmweber's tutelage. He has been one of the dependable men on the club all season and is one of the favorites with the fans.
"Don Dougan catcher will report to St. Paul on Sept 1 and Duff, pitcher, will report to the White Sox in Chicago on Aug 31. Those players were sold some time ago. Dougan is recognized as the best catcher in the Dakota League while Duff is one of the best pitchers in the circuit. Duff won 17 of 23 games pitched for the Kernels this season."
Oct 12 "TSN": "The athletic department of the University of Illinois has discovered that another one of its stars has been guilty of playing for money. It seems that Tom McCann, pitcher on the university baseball club and expected to be a football star this fall, played the past season with Aberdeen in the Dakota League and admits it. He said he needed the money to complete his education."
Nov 9 "TSN": "[George "Showboat"] Fisher started as a pitcher in the Dakota League two years ago but his swatting ability was such he soon was convinced that the outfield was the place for him to perform. ...Minneapolis recalled Fisher from St. Joseph and sold him to the Washington club."
Nov 9 TSN: Players reserved are listed:
Fargo: Harry Wingfield (mang), Fred W Hager, Lester Gelhaye, Ed Aaron, Tom Meier, Harry R Laross, Ed Kutina, Steve Chervinko, Frank Schaffer, Robert Lee, RG Shanks, Ed Lenshan, Joe Weidell...Jude Lewis, Gilbert Wilson, Tom Griffin, Al Honeck, Lou Hilliker.
W-B: Milligan, Lane, Albertson, McGlone, Bessio, Schroeder, Stanage, Brown, Runyon, Pederson, Nason, Cassell.
Aber: Huber, Bruski, Benson, Gaffke, Mudluff, Dennis, Farnum, Brindzn, Woock....Clarence Arkeroth, C.R. Chelligerd.
Mitch: Nolt, Pruit, Walters, O'Shaughnessy, Knybel, Skokkke, Morris, Harrison...Frank Askland.
James: Wick, Fitzgerald, Peterson, Hubbard...Matt Kraus, Skip Conway, Ed Hinze.
SF: Bell, Naleway, Tracey, Ludolph, Bye, Griffin, C. Nelson, D. Nelson, Drundage, Bernier, Cleve, Grohwein, Hood...Otto Lehman, Jack Kelly.
VC: Bechant, Michaelson, Delman, Enger, Menne, Lane, Stalker, Hart...Leon Overton.
Water - HV Johnson, McCaffery, Rusler, Conway, MG Anderson, Manohan, Bogue...Bob Rush, Shoulder
"..Elbert Johnson a RHP drafted from Aberdeen..."
League Highlights From "The Sporting News" - 1923
Jan 18 "TSN': "Mitchell SD, Jan 16: At a meeting of stockholders of the Mitchell club of the Dakota League, officers were elected and Harry Scharmweber was reappointed manager. Scharmweber has led Mitchell to three straight pennants and will go after his fourth his year. Besides, he had made the club a profit through development and sale of players. Later in the month a meeting will be held in Minneapolis to decide on the makeup of the Dakota League for the coming season."
Jan 25 "TSN": "Paper circuit makers have been considering the advisability of reaching up into the Dakota to create a new tri-state circuit that would include Sioux Falls and Mitchell in South Dakota. Sioux City in Iowa and five Nebraska cities."
"Both George W. Pipgras and... recently traded to the Yankees by the Red Sox...The Red Sox acquired both in the fall of 1921 getting Pipgras a pitcher from Madison...Neither was kept last season by the Red Sox, Pipgras being farmed out to Charleston...Pipgrass was one of the stars of the Sally circuit. He won 19 games and lost nine pitched the most innings 260 fanned the most batters 175 and passed the most 113..."
Pipgras
Feb 8 "TSN": "Mark Koenig who was in the Dakota League last year is next on the list [of Saint Paul newcomers]. He will play third base. Koenig is not yet 19 years old. He will reach the last of the teens in July and has been playing ball for three years already. He was discovered in San Francisco by Nick Williams who was aide-decamp to Jack Miller last year. A sandlot team mate of his is Elmer O'Shanughnessy who will play for the Des Moines club of the Western League this season. Koenig has a wonderful arm and since he started hitting left-handed seems to have improved in his clouting capacities."
Koenig
March 1 "TSN": "...Birkenstock returns [to St. Joseph] for another whack at a regular job. He unwound some sort of a no-hit no-run game in the Dakota League last year and fans are anxious to see him again. He went South on the 1922 spring training grind with the Saints."
"The Springfield club of the Western Association has purchased first baseman Juok Walters from Mitchell...Juok has the nerve to tackle anything as shown by his migrations of the past several seasons."
March 22 "TSN": "Sioux Falls, March 17 - The Dakota League of last year has undergone a reorganization. The towns in N.D. have dropped out an the league will start the season composed of four cities, Watertown, Aberdeen, Mitchell and Sioux Falls with a chance that Huron and Madison may also conclude to join. The would make a simon-pure SD League.
"Scharnweber will again lead the Mitchell team and try and land his fourth victory. Nig Nolt for the past three years outfielder with the champion Mitchell team will manage Aberdeen. So far it seems uncertain as to who will be manager at Waterown, but it will be some aggressive players as that town is up and coming. Jack Beatty last year first baseman for the San Antonio team in the Texas League will manage and play first for the Sioux Falls team. Mitchell and Watertown have already began signing new players. Sioux Falls has quite a reserve list but will not depend on that and will try out new players as will all the other teams and especially Mitchell as it has only three vets left having disposed of almost the entire team. A large number of the players on the clubs that constituted the Dakota League last season were disposed of to higher ups. In fact, the percentage of players advanced would compare most favorable with any league."
March 17 "TSN" - "Mitchell - Manager Harry Scharmweber has announced the sale of two more members of his 1922 champions...which leaves him but three players of the pennant winners remaining. They are pitchers Morris and Venemon and second baseman Stokke. Though the team is thus shattered, the Mitchell manager expects to go out and win another flag which would give him four in a row. He does not give out any names of new players signed, but says he has a least nine lined up who will do him good, as he expresses it and has as many offers of likely youngsters that he even has turned down lads who offered to pay their own expenses here for training.
"The latest members of the 1922 champions to be sold are first baseman Junk Walters and outfielder Art Pratt. Both go to Rockford in the Three-I League. A deal was on to sell Walters to Springfield of the Western Association but the Rockford's offer was a better one for both the club and player. Not all the players courted as lost to Mitchell have been sold, however. Several were released early under Scharmweber's plans for giving younger players a chance for development. Al Zweifel pitcher was released a short time ago and will join Charleston in the Southern Atlantic League. Frank Knybel a shortstop is still the property of the Mitchell club but he expects to go into business in Chicago and will probably not play this season.
"Jimmy Harrison pitcher was released at his own request in order to attend an athletic coaching school next summer. Harrison is athletic coach at Trinity College in South Carolina this year and has had a very successful season. He expects to return there next year. Nig Nolt the only member of the Kernels who has been with manager Scharmweber since the league was organized...was released a short time ago to go to Aberdeen as manager...
"Cecil Duff, star pitcher of the Dakota League last year is now in Texas with the Chicago White Sox training in preparation for the opening of the season. Duff is getting into good condition and is certain to have a permanent berth with the Sox. Don Dougan popular catcher with Mitchell since the Dakota League was organized, who finished the season with the St. Paul club last year, will report to St. Paul again. Irish O'Shanughnessy, third baseman with the Kernels last year will report to the Des Moines club...to start spring training with that bunch.
"Many Mitchell fans will be interested in a letter recieved by manager Scharmweber from Jim Bottomley who played with the Kernels three years ago and was one of the best-liked men on the club. Bottomley writes modestly but expresses confidence that he can win the regular first base berth with the Cardinals."
March 29 "TSN": "While the Nebraska State League is trying to expand within the state boundaries, the four South Dakota cities who flirted with the Miles' circuit in February have broken away from the North.Dakota and organized a four-city circuit but unless they can interest at least two additional towns there isn't much hope for them. There are still some in Nebraska who still think that ultimately there will be a Nebraska-Dakota league formed - not his this year, but a future possibility."
Apr 5 "TSN": "Karl Walters of Los Angeles bought from the Dakota League and who has played first, second and short will probably be shifted to shortstop if he shows enough goods [with Rockford]."
"There may be some debits as to the makeup of the Dakota League this season - several plans for reorganization are being worked out - but if the past is any indication there won't be any doubt where the pennant will fly whatever the arrangement of the circuit. Harry Scharmweber will attend to that. For three years past - or since the organization of the league - Scharmweber's Mitchell team has come out in front and usually with such decisiveness that little was left for the other teams to boast about. In three years, also he has sold more players probably then ever graduated from class "D" team in the same length of time.
"And the Mitchell club did not have to go out of it's own city to get such a successful manager. Scharmweber lives in Mitchell and is one of it's well respected business men. Until he 'settled' in Mitchell he had played ball from coast to coast almost and from Canada to the Gulf though most of his operations have been in the Northwest. He retired from baseball before the war, then came back when his home town entered the Dakota League. As indicated, it has been some comeback for it is not given to many class "D" managers to establish pennant winning records such as Scharmweber can claim."
April 12 "TSN": "Watertown, Apr 10 - At a meeting held here it was definitely decided that the Dakota League would start the season with four clubs and play a schedule of 114 games stating May 18... M.E. Cantillon of Minneapolis was reelected president. The season will open with Sioux Falls at Mitchell and Watertown at Aberdeen. The season closes Sept. 3."
Apr 19 "TSN": The South Dakota League schedule included the phrase "Weaklings dropped and four strong clubs remain".
"Sioux Falls, SD April 14 - At a meeting held at Watertown on April 7, the old Dakota League was given a decent burial and it is a thing of the past and has been succeeded by the South Dakota League which will start out with four clubs...This will make a compact circuit and in case there is a close contest it should be a successful one on account of the intense rivalry existing between the four clubs. J.P. Beatty, the new manager for Sioux Falls, has arrived on the ground and is at work lining up players. At present there have been signed the following veteran players: Naleway for short, Cleve for second and Ludolph, Bell, Nelson and Hood pitchers.
"At the Watertown meeting, the players belonging to the defunct North Dakota clubs were apportioned among the four clubs remaining and Sioux Falls received it's share. Shanks a pitcher and Meier and Shaffer infielders from Fargo and Runyon a shortstop from the Wahpeton - Breckenridge team. Local fans were much surprised and disappointed to hear that Dave Nelson, catcher on last year's team, has been traded to Rock Island for an outfielder by the name of Gray for Dave was a favorite among the fans and by many was considered to be the best catcher in the league. Any one coming to take his place will have to be there with the goods to satisfy the fans."
May 17 "TSN": "Auburn N.Y., May 15 - John H. Farrell of the National Association announced admission to membership of still another minor league. It is a four-club organization in North Dakota. The cities represented being Jamestown, Bismarck, Minot and [New] Rockford. The league has qualified for membership as class 'D'."
May 24 "TSN": "Ludolph the big ace of Sioux Falls went down to defeat in the opener at Mitchell although he outpointed his opponent."
"Askland, star catcher of the Mitch team broke a leg sliding into third in the second game of the season. He will be out for at least two months."
"Benson, shortstop, and manager Nolt of the Aberdeen Grays were forced out of the games with Watertown on account of injuries. Benson will be back in the game at Watertown."
May 25: George Dennison hurled a no-hitter for Minot in a 2-1 win over Bismarck.
June 7 "TSN": "The baseball world was interested in reading recently of the comeback of Elmer Liefer former Little Rock outfielder who was so badly injured in a game at Atlanta last spring that it was though he never would recover. He went to his home in the Northwest and there under the card of surgeons was patched up. One eye had to be removed. This spring he decided to try baseball again and recently he pitched his first game for Minot in the North Dakota League and won it nicely."
June 21 "TSN": "Sioux Falls, June 16 - It's membership cut to four clubs after futile efforts to form a combination with certain teams of the Nebraska State League is on it's fourth season is what President M.E. Cantillion declared to be the best financial condition it has ever experienced. Three new pilots are seen in the league this season. Harry Scharmweber starting his fourth season as Mitchell's manager and after his fourth pennant. John Beatty who is leading Sioux Falls, last year was in the Texas League. In 1919-1920 he was playing manager of the Kitchener team of the Michigan-Ontario League and in 1921 he was with the St. Joseph team in the Western.
"Nig Nolt whose three years under Scharmweber should have given him a chance to see how a ball club should be run has been a brilliant fielder during his entire Dakota League career. Wilbur Smith on whose shoulders rests the burden of Watertown's problems went to Jamestown last year to manager the club of that place. Financial troubles of the club prevented him from having much success but he was a popular pilot and established himself around the circuit as a shrewd catcher. For some time a catcher for the Minneapolis A.A. club he admittedly is familiar with the game and will make a showing in spite of somewhat gloomy prospects.
"During his three years as a manager of league champions, Scharmweber perhaps has never had the rosy future facing him that he has this year. Drawing last on the North Dakota players, after the four teams of that state were dropped, he brought by far the best of the lot to Mitchell. And early accident however may hurt his chances. Askland veteran of two seasons broke his leg sliding to third in the second game of the season with Sioux Falls and his loss is a heavy blow to the Kernels, for their only weakness is the presence of a staff of young pitchers and Askland was valued of his ability to guide the rookies.
"Beatty's Sioux band has one weakness which may hinder it's pennant chasing; that is rather erratic fielding. They get the base hits in numbers enough to win almost any ball game but frequently connect when the drives don't count while failing in the pinches - G.M. Sessions."
" 'The best utility man ever seen in the S.D. League is the way an admirer writes of Wes (Berry) Clemons of the Aberdeen team. He joined the club as a catcher but has been used in almost every position on the team. He is hitting hard and leading his team as a home run swatter. [Ed] Brandt, a southpaw with Aberdeen also is praised. He scored three shutouts in the first four games he pitched for the team."
Brandt
July 26 "TSN": "Another league which disbanded during the week [July 18] was the South Dakota which had attempted to operate his season with four clubs. It could not make it so decided to quit. It's players were paid off and the more desirable men have been sold to clubs in other leagues several going to the American Association."
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Weekly standings from "TSN" for the South Dakota League:
SF 4 4 3 2 1 1 1
Aber 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
Mitch 1 1 1 3 3 3 3
Water 3 2 4 4 4 4 4
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[Sioux Falls won the short final season by ½ game over Aberdeen.]
July 26 "TSN": "The feature of the North Dakota League race thus far has been the sensational work of the Minot team which easily won the first half of the schedule and bids fair to repeat in the second. The Minot club under the management of Herbert H. Hester, is composed almost entirely of young players farmed out by PCL clubs."
"The North Dakota League decided to split the season's schedule in order to create more interest throughout the circuit and to enable all teams to start again on an even basis. Following the first half, the New Rockford - Carrington club dropped out of the race on account of financial difficulties and the franchise was taken by Valley City."
Aug 9 "TSN": "London Ontario, Aug. 7 - Jack Beatty who managed the Sioux Falls team of the South Dakota League until it disbanded recently, has been made manager of the London team on the Mint League succeeding Leo Mackey who will remain with the team as a catcher. Beatty, former player and manager in this circuit, joined London a week ago and it was expected he would soon be tendered the management."
Aug 23 "TSN": "Sioux Falls, Aug. 8-18 - Players of the South Dakota League which disbanded the middle of July today are scattered among league and independent teams above the middle west. Manager Jack Beatty of the Sioux Falls team is now leading London of the Mint League and playing first base. Pitcher Ludolph was signed by Detroit and farmed out to Bay City. Shortstop Naleway worked out with Detroit for a couple of days; but Minneapolis claimed him and sent him to St. Joseph, where he is now playing along with pitcher Brinzda of Aberdeen.
"Manager Nig Nolt of Aberdeen is playing with Fairbury in the Nebraska League, pitcher Farnum of that club is with Minneapolis, outfielder Guss is at Phillips, Wisc; second baseman Gaffke is at Stephens Point, Wisc; Novak, catcher and leading hitter of the league went to Minot; and pitcher Brandt joined the Butte, Mont. club. Third baseman O'Shaughnessy has become a regular at Minneapolis since leaving Mitchell. Of the remaining players of the old league, the majority are playing independent ball wishing to be free agents when time comes to sign for the 1924 season. Prospects of another league in 1924 are not bright at present. It is certain that the present organization will not be tried again as the four-team plan proved unpopular. - Gordon Sessions"
Jan 31, 1924 "TSN": "Four club class "D"
league organized up in ND last summer did not get so very far, did
not finish it's season nor did all the scorers of the league do their
full duty, but a certain amount of records of players were turned in
and they have been compiled for publication and will be presented for
what they are worth with compliments to Charles D. White of the
Spalding Records Book editorial force for the work of arranging them.
The figures show batting and fielding (no pitching compiled) as
follows:..."
[Stats are shown on page "Leagues'
Stats"]
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Sources:
"The Sporting News" 1920-1924
"On to Nicollet" by Stew Thornley pub. by The Nodin Press
"The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball" - 2nd Edition, edited by Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, pub by Baseball America, Inc.
Stew Thornley
Rex Hamann
Beckett.com
"Four Homers in a Game" by Bob McConnell; printed in SABR's "Baseball Research Journal" #20 [1991]
Jerry Jackson
"Ballparks of North American" by Michael Benson; pub: McFarland (1989)
“Brown County History” by the history committee of the Brown County Museum and Historical Society (1980). Pub: North Plains Press