The Dickinson Packers were a minor league baseball team based in Dickinson, North Dakota. The Packers played as members of the Independent level Manitoba-Dakota League in 1955 and 1956, reaching the league finals in 1955. Dickinson hosted home minor league games at the ballpark known today as Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark.

History

Minor league baseball began in Dickinson, North Dakota in 1955, when the Dickinson Packers began play as members of the four-team, independent level Manitoba-Dakota League, known as the

Mandak League The Manitoba-Dakota League was an independent baseball league based in Manitoba and North Dakota that was founded in 1950. It became the home for many African-American and Latino players. The league lasted through the 1957 season. It was known inf ...

. The

Bismarck Barons Bismarck most often refers to: * Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), Prussian statesman and first Chancellor of Germany * Bismarck, North Dakota, the capital of North Dakota, U.S. * German battleship Bismarck, German battleship ''Bismarck'', a 1939 G ...

Minot Mallards The Minot Mallards were a minor league baseball team based in Minot, North Dakota. Earlier Minot teams preceded the Mallards and played as members of the 1917 Northern League and 1923 North Dakota League. Beginning play in 1950, the Mallards ...

and

Williston Oilers The Williston Oilers were a minor league baseball team based in Williston, North Dakota. The Oilers played as members of the Independent level Manitoba-Dakota League from 1954 to 1957, winning the 1956 league championship. Williston hosted hom ...

teams joined Dickinson in league play. As a professional independent league not affiliated with the minor league baseball, Mandak League teams often paid players better than minor league teams. Some players left minor league baseball and played for teams in independent leagues like the Mandak League. A player in the lower-level minor leagues earned about $150 per month, while Mandak League salaries in the era may have started at about $275 per month, with some players earning up to $900 per month. The league was also an integrated league, with many former negro leagues players on team rosters. The Dickinson team was also referred to as the "Queen City Packers." In 1955, the Packers finished the regular season in last place in the four-team league, but advanced to the Finals in the four-team playoffs. Dickinson ended the regular season with a record of 30–48, to place fourth in the Manitoba–Dakota League regular season, finishing 13.0 games behind the first place Bismarck Barons. In the Playoffs, the Dickinson Packers defeated Bismarck 4 games to 1 in the first round, before being swept in four games by the Minot Mallards in the championship finals. The Packers were managed in 1955 by Ron Bowen. In 1956, Madak League teams also played some games against teams from the Western Canadian Baseball League. In their final season of play, the 1956 Dickinson Packers again finished last in the regular season standings. The Packers finished in fourth place with a 30–46 record, playing manager Bill Rose. Dickinson finished 11.0 games behind the first place Williston Oilers in the regular season standings. In the first round of the four-team playoffs, the Packers were defeated in the Manitoba–Dakota League playoffs by Williston 4 games to 3. Former major league players

Jerry Fahr Gerald Warren Fahr (December 9, 1924 – February 12, 2010) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who played in the minor leagues from 1947–1956, with the exception of a five-game Major League trial as a relie ...

Rocky Krsnich Rocky Krsnich (born Rocco Peter Krznić; August 5, 1927 – February 14, 2019) was a Major League Baseball third baseman. Biography He was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. Krsnich originally signed as a free agent in 1945 with the Philadelphia ...

and

Garland Lawing Garland Frederick Lawing (August 29, 1918 – September 27, 1996) was an American professional baseball player. He appeared in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and pinch hitter in ten games during the season for the Cincinnati Reds and Ne ...

played for the Packers in 1956. The Dickinson Packers franchise folded from the Mandak League after the 1955 season. Dickinson has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The name of the home ballpark for the Dickinson Packers is unknown. The Packers played at the site of today's Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark. The site first hosted baseball in 1940 and has been in continual operation as a ballpark, undergoing major restoration and renovations in 2020. The ballpark is located at 240 2nd Street NE in Dickinson.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

(1956) *

(1956)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Dickinson - Baseball Reference1956 player photo1955 team photoDickinson Packers' ballpark photo
Professional baseball teams in North Dakota Defunct baseball teams in North Dakota Baseball teams disestablished in 1955 Baseball teams established in 1956 Dickinson, North Dakota Manitoba-Dakota League teams