The Aberdeen Pheasants was the primary moniker

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

teams located in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen () is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,495. making it the third-most populous city in the state. Aberdeen is home of Northern State University. ...

between 1920 and 1997. The Pheasants played in the Northern League from 1946 until the league folded in 1971. Aberdeen was the Class C affiliate of the St. Louis Browns until 1953, continuing with the franchise when the Browns moved to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1954, with the Pheasants remaining in the Oriole

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

. Aberdeen had a team in the Independent Prairie League from 1995 to 1997, also called the Pheasants.

Origins

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

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, as

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 a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

inductee

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (born Alois Szymanski; May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he had his best years with Connie Mack ...

played for Aberdeen in 1922. 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

and became the longest working agreement between major and minor league teams in baseball history lasting 26 years. 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 The 1956 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1956 Major League Baseball season, 1956 season. The 53rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American Leagu ...

as a

New York Yankee The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

, played for the Pheasants in 1947 and 1948. Bob Turley was a 1949 Pheasant prior to winning the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

in 1958 as a

. Tito Francona played on the 1953 Pheasants prior to playing on 8 different major league teams. He even married an Aberdeen girl, Roberta Jackson, at home plate prior to a home game.

Earl Weaver Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...

managed the club for the 1959 season.

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

pitched for the Pheasants during the 1964 season. Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer are the only former Pheasants to be named to the

Dave Leonhard David Paul Leonhard (born January 22, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . He was a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecuti ...

pitched for the 1963 and 1964 Pheasants and pitched for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

from 1967 to 1972.

Mark Belanger Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998), nicknamed "the Blade", was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through , most notably as a member of the B ...

was also on the 1964 Pheasants and was eventually named the American League all-star shortstop in 1976 as an Oriole.

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals a ...

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. The minor league Pheasants met their demise when the Northern League folded after the 1971 season. The remaining teams, who all folded, were the Aberdeen Pheasants, Sioux Falls Packers, St. Cloud Rox and Watertown Expos.

Ballparks

Games were played at the municipal ball field located on the campus of

Northern State University Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota, United States. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional prog ...

. 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.

Mascot

The team's mascot is Philbert, a 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 a comment about the game's outcome.

Significant events

The biggest game in Pheasant history took place on June 8, 1964 when the parent team, the

, 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.Dacotah Prairie Museum
In 2010, the former Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Canaries team was renamed the

Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translatio ...

. On June 8, 2024 the first SABR Historical Marker in the state of South Dakota was revealed on the campus of Northern State University. It was the 60th anniversary to the day when the Baltimore Orioles played an exhibition game at the ballpark.

Notable alumni

Alumni *

(1964) inducted, 1990 *

(1922) inducted, 1953 * Norm Stewart (1957)

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

, inducted 2007 *

(1959) inducted, 1996 Notable alumni * Bob Bailor (1971) * Steve Barber (1958) 2x MLB All-Star *

(1964) MLB All-Star; 8x Gold Glove shortstop * Bo Belinsky (1958-1959) * Al Bumbry (1971) MLB All-Star; 1973 AL Rookie of the Year *

Andy Etchebarren Andrew Auguste Etchebarren (June 20, 1943 – October 5, 2019) was an American people, American professional baseball player and minor league Manager (baseball), manager. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a catcher in and then ...

(1961, 1963) 2x MLB All-Star * Tito Francona (1953) MLB All-Star * Roger Freed (1967) * Don Heffner (1947) * Chuck Hinton (1959) MLB All-Star * Darold Knowles (1963) MLB All-Star * Don Larsen (1947-1948) 1956 World Series Most Valuable Player *

(1964) MLB All-Star; 1969 AL Rookie of the Year; 3x MLB Manager of the Year * Cal Ripken Sr. (1963-1964) * Wes Stock (1956) * Bob Turley (1949) 3x MLB All-Star; 1958 AL Cy Young Award; 1958 World Series Most Valuable Player * Eddie Watt (1963-1964)

Year-by-year record

* Baukol Playoffs based on last 30 days of the season

References

{{reflist

External links

Baseball Reference
Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams disestablished in 1997 Northern League (1902-71) baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in South Dakota Baseball teams established in 1920 Sports clubs and teams in Aberdeen, South Dakota