The South Dakota League was a Class D level minor league baseball league that played from 1920 to 1923. The South Dakota League changed its name to the shortened Dakota League for the 1921 and 1922 seasons. The South Dakota League consisted of teams based in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. Franchises from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

were added during the two Dakota League seasons. For the 1923 season, the league was divided into two four–team Class D partner entities, the South Dakota League and the North Dakota League.

History

In 1920, the South Dakota League began play as an eight–team Class D level league, with all franchises based in South Dakota. The league would play four seasons and provided the first professional baseball in South Dakota since Sioux Falls played in the 1902–1903 Iowa-South Dakota League. The 1920 South Dakota League charter franchises were the Aberdeen Boosters,

Huron Packers Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

, Madison Greys, Miller Climbers,

Mitchell Kernels The Mitchell Kernels were a minor league baseball team based in Mitchell, South Dakota. The Kernels played as members of the South Dakota League (1920), Dakota League (1921–1922), South Dakota League (1923), Nebraska State League (1936–1937) ...

, Redfield Reds,

Sioux Falls Soos The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

and Wessington Springs Saints. The league president for the duration of the South Dakota League/Dakota League was Michael E. Cantillon. Cantillon had been president of the minor league

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

from 1907 to 1918 and was the brainchild behind the formation of the South Dakota League. In the first season for the South Dakota League, the Mitchell Kernels won the 1920 South Dakota League Championship, their first of three consecutive championships. Mitchell had a 61–36 record under Manager Hank Scharnweber, finishing 3.5 games ahead of the Sioux Falls Soos in the regular season standings to claim the title, as the league had no playoffs for its duration.

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

member

Jim Bottomley James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Louis ...

, at age 20, played for the 1920 Mitchell Kernels. Bottomley hit .312 with 7 home runs in 97 games. In 1921, the league changed names to the Dakota League, reforming after adding the Wahpeton–Breckenridge Twins, based in North Dakota and Minnesota. Baseball play on Sunday had been illegal in North Dakota until the law was repealed in 1920, a positive for early professional teams, who needed the revenue from large Sunday crowds to remain financially viable.

Wahpeton, North Dakota Wahpeton ( ) is a city in Richland County, in southeast North Dakota along the Bois de Sioux River at its confluence with the Otter Tail River, which forms the Red River of the North. Wahpeton is the county seat of Richland County. The populat ...

newspaper publisher Robert J. Hughes formed the new Wahpeton-

Breckenridge, Minnesota Breckenridge is a city and county seat of Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,430 at the 2020 census. Breckenridge's twin city is Wahpeton, North Dakota. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND—MN Micropolitan Statistical ...

franchise, hiring

Roy Patterson Roy Lewis Patterson (December 17, 1876 – April 14, 1953) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Boy Wonder," he played for the Chicago White Sox from 1901 to 1907. Patterson started his professional baseball career for the Wes ...

as manager. The Dakota league remained an eight–team Class D level league, with 13–player rosters. The 1921 league members were the Aberdeen Grays, Huron Packers, Madison Greys, Mitchell Kernels, Redfield Red Sox, Sioux Falls Soos, Wahpeton–Breckenridge Twins and Watertown Cubs. The Mitchell Kernels won their second consecutive league championship, again finishing ahead of the 2nd place Sioux Fall Soos. Continuing play as an eight–team Class D level league, the 1922 Dakota League season saw the Mitchell Kernels claim the championship, their third consecutive title. The Fargo Athletics, Jamestown Jimkotans and Valley City Hi-Liners became new league franchises in 1922, joining the Aberdeen Grays, Mitchell Kernels, Sioux Falls Soos, Wahpeton-Breckenridge Twins and Watertown Cubs. H.E. Ross founded the Jamestown Jinkotas, with former

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

player Wib Smith serving as the Jamestown manager. J.H. Sampson served as president the Valley City Hi-Liners, with

Charlie Boardman Charles Louis Boardman (March 27, 1893 – August 10, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the and seasons and the St. Louis Cardinals during the season. He managed in the Dakota L ...

beginning the season as manager. Fargo attorney William H. Barnett was the founder of the Fargo Athletics and hired former major league player

Ed Whiting Edward C. Whiting (1860 in Philadelphia – ???), was a professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues from to . He would play for the Baltimore Orioles (19th century), Baltimore Orioles and Louisville Eclipse. He was the u ...

to manage Fargo. On August 25, 1922, Roy Birkenstock of Jamestown threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in a 2–0 win over the Sioux Falls Soos. This was the league's first no–hitter. Mitchell finished the 1922 season with a 60–37 record under Manager Hank Scharnweber, 4.5 games ahead of the tied 2nd place teams, the Aberdeen Greys and Fargo Athletics. Baseball Hall of Fame member

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

played for the 1922 Aberdeen Greys. At age 20, Simmons led the Dakota League with 144 hits, while batting .365 with 10 home runs. In their final season of 1923, the Dakota League split into two four–team partner entities to condense travel, with the leagues called the North Dakota League and South Dakota League. The 1923 South Dakota League began play as a four–team Class D level league with the

Aberdeen Grays Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and Watertown Cubs as member franchises. The North Dakota League formed the counterpart four–team Class D league, comprising the returning Jamestown Jimkotas, and three new franchises, the Minot Magicians, New Rockford-Carrington Twins/ Valley City Hi-Liners and

Bismarck Capitals 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'', a 1939 German World War II battle ...

. The 1923 North Dakota League president was Logan Powell. On May 26, 1923, George Dennison of the Minot Magicians threw a no–hitter against the Bismarck Capitals in a 2–1 victory. The South Dakota League folded on July 17, 1923, with the Sioux Falls Soos in 1st place with a 35–22 record, 0.5 games ahead of the Aberdeen Greys. The Minot Magicians led the North Dakota League standings with a 48–21 record at the conclusion of the North Dakota League season, 15.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Jamestown Jimkotas. Both leagues permanently folded after the 1923 season.

Cities represented

Standings & statistics

1920 South Dakota League

1921 Dakota League

1922 Dakota League

Valley City (25–46) moved to Bismarck August 3.

1923 South Dakota League / North Dakota League

New Rockford–Carrington moved to Valley City July 17.

Notable alumni

, (1920)

. Inducted,

(1974). *

, (1922) Aberdeen Greys. Inducted,

(1953)

External links

Dakota League - Baseball ReferenceSouth Dakota League - Baseball ReferenceNorth Dakota League- Baseball Reference

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball in South Dakota Baseball leagues in South Dakota 1920 establishments in the United States 1923 disestablishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1920 Sports leagues disestablished in 1923