The Duluth Dukes was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, in the Northern League from 1935 to 1942, and from 1946 to 1955. In addition, a separate edition of the Dukes was one of four franchises in the short-lived Twin Ports League, a "Class E" minor league that played for six weeks during the 1943 season.Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007, pp. 59, 89 The Dukes played at Athletic Park from 1935 to 1940. Beginning in 1941, the team played its home games at Wade Stadium.Duluth Huskies web site
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History

Duluth was represented in the Northwestern League (1886, 1887), and

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Weste ...

(1891). The Duluth White Sox began play in 1903. The White Sox were in the Northern League (1903–1905; 1908; 1913–1916; 1934), as well as the Northern-Copper Country League (1906–1907), Minnesota–Wisconsin League (1909–1911), and the

Central International League The Central International League was a four–team minor baseball league that played in 1912. A Class C level league, the Central International League played only the 1912 season, with the Duluth White Sox winning the league championship. In 19 ...

(1912). In 1936, the Dukes affiliated with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and joined the vast Redbird farm system created by

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Branch Rickey. The Dukes would be a Cardinal affiliate through 1950 (although the Northern League team and the league itself suspended operations from 1943–1945 due to World War II). When the Cardinal affiliation ended, the Dukes continued in the Northern League without a Major League parent from 1951–1953. The franchise then signed a working agreement with the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

for 1954–1955. In 1956, the Dukes were merged with the rival

Superior Blues The Superior Blues were a minor league baseball team based in Superior, Wisconsin, USA. From 1933 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1955, the Blues played in the Northern League. In 1937, they were affiliated with the St. Louis Browns. From 1938 to 1940 ...

from neighboring

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

, and played at Wade Municipal Stadium as the Duluth–Superior White Sox from 1956–1959. The "Dukes" name was restored to the Duluth-Superior

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

in 1960. The 1943 Dukes played 19 games in the Twin Ports League, winning nine. The league folded on July 13. An independent Northern League

Duluth–Superior Dukes The Duluth–Superior Dukes were a professional baseball team based in Duluth, Minnesota. The Dukes were a charter member of the modern Northern League, which started play in 1993. The Dukes played their home games at Wade Stadium. After the 20 ...

club existed from 1993 to 2002.

1948 bus accident killed six

On July 24, 1948, the Dukes endured one of the worst transit accidents in minor league history. On Highway 36 near St. Paul, Minnesota, the team's bus, driven by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

br>George Treadwell
collided head-on with a truck.Spink, J.G. Taylor, pub., ''Official 1949 Baseball Guide and Record Book.'' St. Louis:

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

, 1949, page 126 Treadwell, age 42, and four of his players — pitcher Donald Schuchmann, 20; infielder Steve Lazar, 23; and outfielders Gerald "Peanuts" Peterson, 23, and Gilbert Tribl, 19 — were killed, as was the driver of the truck. Thirteen Duluth players were injured, including future Major League manager and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Mel McGaha. The disaster was the second-worst in baseball history, following two years and one month after the June 24, 1946, bus accident that killed nine members of the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

. It left Duluth with one uninjured player, pitcher Sam Hunter, who was not aboard the bus at the time of the crash. The Dukes completed the season with new players and a manager supplied by the Cardinal organization, and $80,000 was raised in contributions to aid the victims' families and survivors.

Major League Players

*1935 -- Wally Gilbert, Les Rock *1936 --

Blix Donnelly Sylvester Urban "Blix" Donnelly (January 21, 1914 – June 20, 1976) was an American professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Donnelly appeared in 190 Major League Baseball (MLB) games between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphi ...

, Wally Gilbert, Fred Martin,

Rip Wade Richard Frank "Rip" Wade (January 12, 1898 – June 15, 1957) was a baseball player for the Washington Senators in 1923 when he was 25 years of age. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was 5' 11" in height and weighed 174 lb. H ...

*1937 --

Marv Felderman Marvin Wilfred Feldman (December 20, 1915 – August 6, 2000) was a Major League Baseball player. Nicknamed "Coonie", Felderman played for Chicago Cubs in the 1942 season. He only played in three games in his one-year career, having one hit and f ...

, Bill Hart, Fred Martin *1938 --

*1939—None *1940 --

Glenn Crawford Glenn Martin Crawford (December 2, 1913 – January 2, 1972) was a Major League Baseball player. He played in and one game in in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. Crawford played at least seven games at four diffe ...

*1941 --

, Eddie Malone *1942 -- Eddie Malone, Wayne McLeland *1946 -- Bob Habenicht, Bert Shepard *1947 --

Cloyd Boyer Cloyd Victor Boyer Jr. (September 1, 1927 – September 20, 2021) was an American right-handed pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball who played between 1949 and 1955 for the St. Louis Cardinals (1949–52) and Kansas City Athletic ...

*1948 -- Mel McGaha *1949—None *1950—None *1951 --

Hank Aguirre Henry John Aguirre (January 31, 1931 – September 5, 1994), commonly known as Hank Aguirre, was an American professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from 1955 to 1 ...

, Orie Arntzen,

Joe Caffie Joseph Clifford Caffie (February 14, 1931 – August 1, 2011), nicknamed "Rabbit", was an American professional baseball player whose 12-year career as an outfielder began in the Negro leagues in 1950, was highlighted by 44 games played as a memb ...

Hal Woodeshick Harold Joseph Woodeshick (August 24, 1932 – June 14, 2009) was an American left-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1956 and 1961), Cleveland Indians (1958), the original modern Washin ...

*1952 --

*1953 -- Steve Gerkin *1954 --

Danny Litwhiler Daniel Webster Litwhiler (August 31, 1916 – September 23, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1940 to 1951 for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelp ...

*1955 -- Red Treadway Note: None of the Duluth Dukes of the 1943 Twin Ports League reached the major leagues.

References

External links

1948 Duluth Dukes team page
at

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duluth Dukes Defunct minor league baseball teams Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Minnesota 1935 establishments in Minnesota 1955 disestablishments in Minnesota Northern League (1902-71) baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1935 Baseball teams disestablished in 1955 Defunct baseball teams in Minnesota Sports in Duluth, Minnesota

History

1948 bus accident killed six

Major League Players

See also

References

External links