Aberdeen Pheasants

History

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.. The name "Pheasants" was chosen for the club through a local contest. The team was community-owned, which was unusual for the time.

The first Opening Day for the Pheasants drew a crowd of over two thousand people. 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

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.

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. 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." 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. The Orioles won the game, 6–3.

Demise

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.. Aberdeen's working agreement with the Orioles franchise had been the longest-running working agreement in baseball, lasting the entirety of the Pheasants' existence.

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

Mascot

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.

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame Alumni

• Jim Palmer (1964) inducted, 1990
• Norm Stewart (1957) National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted 2007
• Earl Weaver (1959) inducted, 1996

Notable alumni

• Bob Bailor (1971)
• Steve Barber (1958) 2x MLB All-Star
• Mark Belanger (1964) MLB All-Star; 8x Gold Glove shortstop
• Bo Belinsky (1958-1959) Belinsky had a career record of only 28–51, but threw the first no-hitter in the history of the Los Angeles Angels and the first one at Chavez Ravine (Dodger Stadium), beating the Baltimore Orioles 2–0 on May 5, 1962.
• Al Bumbry (1971) MLB All-Star; 1973 AL Rookie of the Year
• Andy Etchebarren (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
• Lou Piniella (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

Footnotes

References

References

1. "Aberdeen Pheasants: Minor League Baseball in the Hub City".
2. "For The Birds: Baltimore Orioles Vs. Aberdeen Pheasants, 60 Years Later".
3. "June 8, 1964: Orioles go down on the farm in Aberdeen". Society for American Baseball Research.
4. "Fantastic Voyage: The 1990s Aberdeen Pheasants, Part II".
5. "1946 Aberdeen Pheasants Roster".
6. (June 15, 2016). "“Keep Pro Baseball” The Aberdeen Pheasants Baseball Team, 1946–1971". South Dakota History.
7. (3 October 1946). "Northern League Attendance Totals 478,253 for '46". St. Cloud Times.
8. (1993). "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Baseball America, Inc.