Aug 31, 2008 - 04:07:12 CDT
During the 1950s and early '60s, the Northern League was the spawning ground for many future major league baseball stars.Players like Hank Aaron, Roger Maris, Orlando Cepeda, Jim and Gaylord Perry, Joe Torre, Lou Brock, Willie Stargell, Jim Palmer and Steve Carlton all began their professional careers in the Northern League.
The league was also the place where many future big league managers proved their ability to successfully guide a professional baseball team. Northern League managers who later became big league pilots include Earl Weaver, Cal Ripkin Sr., Charlie Fox, Jim Fanning and Russ Nixon.
Following World War II, the Northern League was the most successful of all the lower classification minor leagues. From 1947 to 1950, the league attendance for games averaged over 600,000. From 1950 to 1954, the average attendance was well over half a million for each season, but, in 1955, the attendance dropped by 90,000 from the previous year.
The Fargo-Moorhead Twins had back-to-back championship years in 1953 and 1954. These were followed by two losing seasons in '55 and '56. In 1957, the Twins finished in fourth place, and, in 1958, they again won the league championship with a 72-51 record. In 1959, they tied for second, and, after dropping to sixth place in 1960, the Twins withdrew from the Northern League.
Between 1955 and 1958, the Grand Forks Chiefs never finished above seventh place, but then began a slow climb, ending up in sixth in 1959, fifth in 1960, fourth in 1961, and finishing in first place in 1962. In 1963, the Chiefs ended the season in fifth place and in 1964 they topped the league in attendance and ended up in second place. Beginning in 1965, it was announced that the Northern League would be reduced to "rookie" status and the number of games would be cut to 66. With this news, Grand Forks withdrew from the Northern League.
The Minot Mallards entered the Northern League in 1958, replacing a team from Wausau, Wis. After three seasons, in which they never had a losing record, they dropped out of the league, along with Fargo, after the 1960 season. Minot returned to the Northern League in 1962, drawing a league high 41,052 fans despite finishing in last place. After the 1962 season, the Mallards again dropped out of the league.
Bismarck had planned to enter the Northern League in 1958, along with Minot, but that effort failed when Wausau withdrew from league competition. Scheduling for a nine-team league became complicated.
In 1962, the Bismarck-Mandan Pards won a league franchise, and Jack Hoeven, father of the current North Dakota governor, was named team president. In 1963, Hoeven was replaced by Roger Higgins, a radio and television sports director and former star pitcher for the Bismarck Barons.
After three straight losing seasons, the Pards withdrew from the Northern League after the 1964 season. The team returned for one season in 1966, but, after compiling a record of 16-47, the Pards decided to end its affiliation with the Northern League.
The Northern League continued operating from 1967 to 1971. However, no team from North Dakota was represented in the league during those years. Because of "the lack of stability, low level of play and the shorter season," fan interest declined. The league folded on Jan. 22, 1972.
During its years of existence, the Northern League became the oldest continuously operating league in the lower minor leagues. Over 100 players from North Dakota teams in the Northern League played major league baseball. Over 80 of these players were with Fargo-Moorhead and Grand Forks, 14 played with the Pards, 12 with the Mallards and one with the Jamestown Jimmies.
For the next 20 years, the Northern League did not exist. In the early 1990s, Miles Wolff, president of the newspaper "Baseball America," began contacting potential baseball team owners in a number of Midwestern cities about the possibility of organizing a new baseball league.
In 1993, the Northern League was reborn as an independent league of six teams made up of college stars and former professional baseball players who were looking for a "second chance." One of those teams, the Rochester Aces, hired Doug Simunic, as their manager. Simunic had been a coach in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
When the league expanded to eight teams in 1996, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks were added to the Northern League. As manager of the new franchise, the RedHawks hired Simunic, who had managed the Winnipeg Goldeyes the past two seasons. Under the leadership of Simunic, the RedHawks built the most successful franchise in Northern League history.
During the 13 years that the RedHawks have been in existence, Simunic has guided the team to seven first-place finishes.
Although a number of independent professional leagues have been established since 1993, most have folded, and the Northern League has proved to be the most successful independent league in professional baseball.
(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens by e-mail at cjeriksmoen@;cableone.net.)
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