Aberdeen Pheasants

The Aberdeen Pheasants were a class C minor league baseball team located in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Pheasants were the Class C minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Browns until 1953. When the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 and changed their name to the Orioles, the Pheasants remained in their farm system. The Pheasants reorganized in 1995 and folded again in 1997.

Origins

Aberdeen has always been a baseball town with organized teams playing semi-professional ball as far back as the 1890s. The Dakota League was organized after World War I and offered Aberdeen fans their first taste of professional baseball. That league folded in 1922. After World War II another professional baseball team, the Aberdeen Pheasants, was organized in Aberdeen as part of the Northern League and had their inaugural season in 1947.

Ben Siebrecht, owner of Siebrecht Florist and Greenhouse, was the president of a five-member board charged with the duties of organizing and operating that early Pheasants team. The board raised $25,000 by selling stock to local investors and were able to establish a working agreement with the St. Louis Browns as a source for players. That agreement survived the Browns' move to Baltimore and became the longest working agreement between major and minor league teams in baseball history lasting 26 years.

Games were played at the municipal ball field located on the campus of Northern State University. The original stadium burned down in 1952 and was quickly replaced. Eventually the replacement stadium was torn down to make room for the Barnett Center. Early games during the first season started at 5:30pm because the field wasn't lighted but later during that season, lights were added thanks to contributions from the enthusiastic fans. The Pheasants built a steady fan base drawing crowds of over 3000 by their second season.

Many big name players wore the Aberdeen Pheasants uniform at some time in their careers. Pitcher Don Larsen, famous for pitching a perfect game in the 1956 World Series as a New York Yankee, played for the Pheasants in 1947 and 1948. Bob Turley was a 1949 Pheasant prior to winning the Cy Young Award in 1958 as a New York Yankee. Tito Francona played on the 1953 Pheasants prior to playing on 8 different major league teams. He even married an Aberdeen girl, Roberta Jackson. Earl Weaver managed the club for the 1959 season. Jim Palmer pitched for the Pheasants during the 1964 season. Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer are the only former Pheasants to be named to the baseball hall of fame. Dave Leonhard pitched for the 1963 and 1964 Pheasants and pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from 1967–1972. Mark Belanger was also on the 1964 Pheasants and was eventually named the American League all-star shortstop in 1976 as an Oriole. Lou Piniella played for the 1964 team prior to moving to the majors that same season. Cal Ripken, Sr. was a manager of the Pheasants for the 1963–1966 season.

Mascot

Not to be forgotten is "Philbert" the cartoon pheasant drawn by Gordon Haug, the advertising artist for Aberdeen's Olwin-Angell department store. Philbert appeared on the front page of the Aberdeen American News the morning after each game with an appropriate comment about the game's outcome.

Significant Events

The biggest game in Pheasant history took place in 1964 when the parent team, the Baltimore Orioles, came to town to play their minor league cohorts. The Orioles posted a 6-3 win in front of a capacity crowd.

The Pheasants' final season was 1971.

In 1995, local baseball enthusiasts re-established the Aberdeen Pheasant team and gave Aberdeen fans three seasons of baseball excitement prior to disbanding the organization at the end of the 1997 season. During the 1995 season, the Pheasants ran over their Prairie League competition, setting an all-time minor-league record for winning percentage by going 56-13 (.812) in the league's regular season.

Historic information and photos provided by the Dacotah Prairie Museum^[1]

In 2010, the former Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Canaries team was renamed the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants, presumably to give new life to the Pheasants franchise. The move was not without controversy, as discussed in this editorial from the Aberdeen American News^[2]

Year-by-year record

* Baukol Playoffs based on last 30 days of the season

Major League alumni

• Red Anderson – Pitcher – Washington Senators (1937, 1940–41) ^[3]
• Bob Bailor – OF, SS, 2B, 3B – Baltimore Orioles (1975–76), Toronto Blue Jays (1977–80) New York Mets (1981–83) Los Angeles Dodgers (1984–85)^[4]
• Steve Barber
• Mark Belanger
• Bo Belinsky
• Frank Bertaina
• Bud Black
• Leon Brown
• Al Bumbry
• Rich Coggins
• Jack Crawford
• Perry Currin
• Mike Davison
• Billy DeMars
• Ron Dunn
• Andy Etchebarren
• Mike Fiore
• Tom Fisher
• Tito Francona
• Roger Freed
• Bob Galasso
• Darold Knowles
• Don Larsen
• Jim Palmer
• Lou Piniella
• Bob Turley

References

External links

• Baseball Reference