The first Dakota baseball players were soldiers who brought the game from the east. By the time North Dakota became a state, nearly every small town had a team.
Documented teams in Dakota Territory include Fargo, Grand Forks, Larimore, Grafton, and Valley City. Teams sometimes traveled as far as St. Paul and Manitoba. The telegraph made it possible for newspapers to print the results of games, and baseball proved to be inexpensive entertainment for settlers on the frontier.
The first known baseball organization in Dakota Territory was the Red River Valley Base Ball Club. It was established in Fargo in 1875. Grand Forks organized a similar club in 1879. The Grand Forks team was called the Dakota Stars. In 1883 newspapers reported the results of games between the Fargo and Grand Forks teams. It was a heated rivalry. When the St. Paul Brown Stockings defeated the Fargo Blues 26-3, the Grand Forks Daily Herald ran a report of the game on the front page. During one game between the two teams, an umpire quit in disgust. The Fargo team once hired a crack pitcher to play for the Wahpeton team in a meeting with Grand Forks.
But local baseball came and went, depending on local support and the money available to support the teams. On this date in 1906, the Evening Times lamented that Grand Forks might not be able to secure a team for the upcoming season. Mr. Stanchfield, the primary backer of the team, said he and his partner could not carry the team any longer. He said he wouldn’t take any further interest in baseball unless other businessmen provided some support. He said he was looking at losses of $2,000 to $3,000 for a season. He was willing to do his part, but said he “will not pay for the sport of the city” out of his own pocket.
Stanchfield came up with a plan to sell stock to raise money for a team. His efforts were successful. On May 24, 1907, the Bottineau Courrant reported that Minnesota defeated Grand Forks “in a ragged baseball game by a score of 17-2.” Baseball remained alive and well in Grand Forks.
Dakota Datebook written by Carole Butcher
Sources:
Grand Forks Evening Times. “People of Grand Forks Must Hustle.” Grand Forks, ND. 3 April 1906. Page 5.
Bottineau Courrant. 24 May 1907. Bottineau, ND. Page 6.
North Dakota Baseball History. “The Quest for the Silver Ball.” https://ndbaseball.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/1/9/21192418/quest_for_the_silver_ball.pdf Accessed 6 April 2018.
