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Aberdeen Pheasants

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For the Prairie League team also known as the Aberdeen Pheasants, see Aberdeen Pheasants (Prairie League).

Aberdeen Pheasants
Minor league affiliations
Class
League
Major league affiliations
Team
Minor league titles
League titles (3)
  • 1949
  • 1961
  • 1964
Team data
Name
  • Aberdeen Pheasants (1946–1971)
MascotPhilbert the Pheasant
BallparkMunicipal Stadium

The Aberdeen Pheasants were a minor league baseball team based in Aberdeen, South Dakota that played in the Northern League from 1946 until 1971. For their entire existence, the Pheasants were an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise. They played their home games at Municipal Stadium.

At the time of the Pheasants' dissolution, their working agreement was the longest ever between a major and minor league baseball team. Aberdeen won the Northern League championship in 1949, 1961, and 1964.

History

[edit]

In 1946, the Northern League, which had been on hiatus since 1942 due to World War II, restarted and invited Aberdeen to bring the circuit up to eight teams.[1]. The name "Pheasants" was chosen for the club through a local contest.[2] The team was community-owned, which was unusual for the time.[3]

The first Opening Day for the Pheasants drew a crowd of over two thousand people.[2] After missing the postseason in their first year, the Pheasants would go on to play in the league finals three straight years from 1947 to 1949. Aberdeen won the Northern League championship in 1949, defeating the Eau Claire Bears.

1964 exhibition vs. Baltimore

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On 8 June, 1964, the Pheasants' parent club, the Baltimore Orioles, came to Aberdeen to play an exhibition game. Aberdeen, which featured future major leaguers such as Mark Belanger, Jim Palmer, and Lou Piniella, came into the game leading the Northern League with a 31–9 record, while the Orioles were 31–17 and ½ game behind the White Sox for the American League lead.[4]

The Orioles, arriving on a charter plane from Minneapolis, had to bring a ladder along to disembark, as Aberdeen's airport had no portable stairs.[5] Pheasants players were quoted as saying, "We're gonna beat 'em and climb onto that big plane. They can stay here and finish the Northern League schedule."[6][4] Official attendance for the game was 5,130 — one-fifth of Aberdeen's entire population — but local news estimated that another thousand people watched from vantage points outside the ballpark.[5] The Orioles won the game, 6–3.

Demise

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After the 1971 season, the Northern League only had two teams remaining: the Pheasants and the St. Cloud Rox. Unable to find any other teams, the Northern League closed down.[7]. Aberdeen's working agreement with the Orioles franchise had been the longest-running working agreement in baseball, lasting the entirety of the Pheasants' existence.[4]

Aberdeen would be without professional baseball until the Aberdeen Pheasants of the Prairie League began play in 1995.[8]

Mascot

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The team's mascot was a cartoon pheasant named Philbert, drawn by local cartoonist Gordon Haug. Philbert would appear on the front page of the newspaper to comment on the previous day's game.[9][2]

Notable alumni

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Baseball Hall of Fame Alumni[10]

Notable alumni[10]

Year-by-year record

[edit]
Year Parent club League W–L Win% Place Manager Postseason Attendance Ref
Aberdeen Pheasants
1946 SLB NOR 57–53 .518 5th Gus Albright[11] - 57,008[12][13] [14]
1947 SLB NOR 82–36 .695 1st Don Heffner Won 1st round 3–2 vs. Fargo–Moorhead
Lost finals 2–4 vs. Sioux Falls		 90,156 [15]
1948 SLB NOR 64–59 .520 4th James Crandall Won 1st round 3–0 vs. Eau Claire
Lost finals 0–4 vs. Grand Forks		 85,942 [16]
1949 SLB NOR 71–54 .568 2nd Irvin Hall Won 1st round 3–1 vs. Superior
Won finals 4–1 vs. Eau Claire		 85,624 [17]
1950s
1950 SLB NOR 62–57 .521 5th Irvin Hall – 61,208 [18]
1951 SLB NOR 61–60 .504 5th Joe King
Jim Post
Bruce Ogrodowski		 – 62,203 [19]
1952 SLB NOR 63–62 .504 5th Bruce Ogrodowski – 87,879 [20]
1953 SLB NOR 60–63 .488 4th Barney Lutz Lost 1st round 0–2 vs. Duluth 54,532 [21]
1954 BAL NOR 60–75 .444 7th Barney Lutz – 62,503 [22]
1955 BAL NOR 70–56 .556 4th Bill Krueger Lost 1st round 1–2 vs. Eau Claire 75,401 [23]
1956 BAL NOR 64–61 .512 4th George Staller Won 1st round 1–0 vs. Winnipeg
Lost finals 2–0 vs. Duluth–Superior		 60,673 [24]
1957 BAL NOR 51–70 .421 7th Bill Capps
Barney Lutz		 – 47,312 [25]
1958 BAL NOR 39–86 .312 8th Barney Lutz
Billy DeMars		 – 36,599 [26]
1959 BAL NOR 69–55 .556 2nd Earl Weaver Won 1st round 1–0 vs. Minot
Lost finals 1–2 vs. Winnipeg		 63,111 [27]
1960s
1960 BAL NOR 63–61 .508 3rd Lou Fitzgerald Lost 1st round 0–1 vs. Winnipeg 45,321 [28]
1961 BAL NOR 74–54 .578 2nd Lou Fitzgerald Won 1st round 1–0 vs. Grand Forks
Won finals 2–0 vs. St. Cloud		 34,136 [29]
1962 BAL NOR 64–60 .516 4th Billy DeMars Won 1st round 1–0 vs. Duluth–Superior
Lost finals 0–2 vs. Eau Claire		 39,101 [30]
1963 BAL NOR 65–55 .542 2nd Cal Ripken Sr. 3rd in Baukol Playoffs[a] 39,949 [31]
1964 BAL NOR 80–37 .684 1st Cal Ripken Sr. 1st in Baukol Playoffs[a] 46,397 [32]
1965 BAL NOR 27–39 .409 4th Ray Rippelmeyer – 23,525 [33]
1966 BAL NOR 47–22 .681 2nd Cal Ripken Sr. – 24,767 [34]
1967 BAL NOR 34–36 .486 4th Owen Friend – 18,555 [35]
1968 BAL NOR 26–44 .371 6th Bill Werle – 15,517 [36]
1969 BAL NOR 28–42 .400 5th Ken Rowe – 15,546 [37]
1970s
1970 BAL NOR 36–33 .522 3rd Ken Rowe – 20,880 [38]
1971 BAL NOR 35–36 .493 2nd Ken Rowe – 17,467 [39]
Totals 1452–1366 .515 1,271,312

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b In the Baukol Playoffs, a team's record over the final 30 games of their season was used to determine their playoff finish.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Webb 2016, p. 144.
  2. ^ a b c Gallagher, Patrick. "Aberdeen Pheasants: Minor League Baseball in the Hub City". Aberdeen Magazine. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  3. ^ Webb 2016, p. 145.
  4. ^ a b c Blumenau, Kurt. "June 8, 1964: Orioles go down on the farm in Aberdeen". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Gallagher, Patrick. "For The Birds: Baltimore Orioles Vs. Aberdeen Pheasants, 60 Years Later". Aberdeen Magazine. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  6. ^ Webb 2016, p. 141.
  7. ^ Webb 2016, p. 164.
  8. ^ Gallagher, Patrick. "Fantastic Voyage: The 1990s Aberdeen Pheasants, Part II". aberdeenmag.com. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  9. ^ Webb 2016, p. 157.
  10. ^ a b "Aberdeen Pheasants Baseball". Dacotah Prairie Museumn. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008.
  11. ^ "1946 Aberdeen Pheasants Roster". statscrew.com. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  12. ^ Webb, Daryl (June 15, 2016). ""Keep Pro Baseball" The Aberdeen Pheasants Baseball Team, 1946–1971" (PDF). South Dakota History. 46 (2): 146. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  13. ^ "Northern League Attendance Totals 478,253 for '46". St. Cloud Times. October 3, 1946. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  14. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1993). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (1st ed.). Baseball America, Inc. p. 221. ISBN 9780963718907.
  15. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 227.
  16. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 234.
  17. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 242.
  18. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 250.
  19. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 257.
  20. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 266.
  21. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 272.
  22. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 278.
  23. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 283.
  24. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 288.
  25. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 291.
  26. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 295.
  27. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 298.
  28. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 301.
  29. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 304.
  30. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 307.
  31. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 311.
  32. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 314.
  33. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 317.
  34. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 320.
  35. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 323.
  36. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 326.
  37. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 329.
  38. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 332.
  39. ^ Baseball America 1993, p. 335.
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