Fargo–Moorhead Graingrowers
The Fargo–Moorhead Graingrowers were a minor league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota in partnership with neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota. From 1914 to 1917, the "Graingrowers" played exclusively as members of the Class C level Northern League, winning league championships in 1915 and 1917 and a pennant in 1916.
The Graingrowers were managed to the 1915 Northern League championship and 1916 pennant by Bob Unglaub, who died in a railroad accident following the 1916 season. After his death, Unglaub was replaced as manager by Denny Sullivan, his former teammate with the Boston Red Sox. Sullivan led Fargo-Moorhead to the 1917 championship.
The Fargo team first began a tenure of Northern League playing from 1902 to 1906, before Fargo joined the 1908 Northern-Copper Country League for one season when the Northern League restructured. Following the Graingrowers, the Fargo Athletics played the 1922 season as members of the Class D level Dakota League.
The Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers hosted Northern League minor league home games at Island Park in Fargo beginning in 1914. Fargo hosted early Northern League games at the Fargo field.
History
Early teams
In a meeting held at the Headquarters Hotel on March 31, 1875, the Red River Baseball Club was founded in Fargo. The baseball team was founded just two months after Fargo, North Dakota was formally established as a city. The baseball club name corresponds with the local Red River, which runs between Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, separating the two state border towns.Fargo first hosted minor league baseball in 1897. The Fargo-Moorhead area was represented in the 1897 Class F level Red River Valley League by both the Fargo Divorcees and Moorhead Barmaids teams, who were the first area minor league franchises. The Grand Forks Senators and Wahpeton-Breckenridge Methodists were the other two league franchises. In a shortened season that began on May 26, 1897, Moorhead won the league championship in 1897 with a 32–13 record, while Fargo finished last in the four-team league 15.5 games behind with a 17–29 record. The Red River Valley League ended play on July 31, 1897.
On July 18, 1891, the Fargo Red Stockings and Grand Forks Black Stockings teams played a 25–inning game that ended in a 0–0 tie. The teams were members of the semi-professional Red River Valley League, and the game was played in 4 hours and 10-minutes, as the second game of a doubleheader. The doubleheader was played at neutral site after Grand Forks owner Tom Hill relocated the series to the North Dakota State Militia Training Grounds in Devils Lake, North Dakota, hoping for a large crowd to attend. Pitchers William Gibbs of Grand Forks and George Raymer of Fargo each pitched a record 25 scoreless innings in the game. The game is the longest known scoreless tie in baseball history. The tie occurred when the umpire ended the game after the completion of the 25th inning because both teams had trains to catch. The 25th inning concluded at 8:10 pm.
1902: First Northern League season
Fargo resumed minor league play in 1902, when the "Fargo" team became charter members of the six-team Independent level Northern League. The Cavalier, Crookston Crooks, Devil's Lake, Grand Forks Forkers and Winnipeg Maroons teams joined with Fargo to form the six-team independent league. The league schedule began on May 22, 1902.As was common in the era, the Fargo team had no formal nickname and were sometimes referred to as the "Fargo Nines."
On May 22, 1902, Fargo opened their Northern League season against the Crookston Crooks in the season opener. Crookston won the game by the score of 16–8. Reilly was the losing pitcher for Fargo in their opening game.
In their first season of Northern League play, the 1902 Fargo team ended the season in third place as the league began the season as a six-team league but ended the season with four teams. Ending the season with a 30–26 record, Fargo placed third of the remaining four teams in the Northern League final standings. On July 21, 1902, the Cavalier and Devil's Lake teams folded and the Northern League was left with four remaining teams. On July 26, 1902, the league ended the season. In the final standings when the league stopped play, Fargo ended their season 3.5 games behind the first place Winnipeg Maroons in the final standings. At age 24, the Fargo player-manager was Oscar Bandelin. In part-time duty appearing in 29 games, Bandelin batted.421 in 114 at bats for Fargo.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Oscar Bandelin was the player-manager for Fargo in 1902, while simultaneously serving as the Wisconsin Badgers baseball head coach in 1902 and 1903. Bandelin coached the 1902 Badgers team which captured the Big Ten Conference championship. A military veteran, Bandelin began practicing as attorney in 1908 in Sandpoint, Idaho and resided there until his death.
Denny Sullivan played for Fargo in 1902, his first professional season at age 19 and his first of three separate stints with the franchise. Sullivan began the 1902 season with Fargo and then remained in the Northern League, playing the rest of the season with Winnipeg. Sullivan batted.331 for the season, second best in the Northern League. After playing for the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Naps between 1905 and 1909, Sullivan later returned to Fargo in 1914 after his time as a player in the major leagues. Sullivan then managed the 1917 Fargo-Moorehead team.
1903 to 1905: Northern League
Fargo continued Northern League play in 1903 as the league became a six-team, Class D level league. The Cavalier and Devil's Lake teams did not return to the league, as the Duluth Cardinals and Superior Longshoremen replaced them and joined the returning Crookston Crooks, Fargo, Grand Forks Forkers and Winnipeg Maroons teams in beginning the Northern League schedule on May 20, 1903. Fargo ended the 1903 season in fifth place with a final record of 36–61, while playing the season under managers Tommy Reynolds, George Pirie and Spencer Abbott. The first place Winnipeg Maroons ended the season 31.0 games ahead of Fargo in the final Northern League standings.File:Spencer Abbott newspaper.png|thumb|left| Spencer Abbott, manager Kansas City Blues. Abbott was a player/manager for Fargo in 1903, his first manager position. Abbott would manage in the minor leagues through 1947, winning over 2,100 games in his career.
After beginning the 1903 season as a player for the Superior Longshoremen, catcher Spencer Abbott was obtained and became the Fargo player/manager, hitting.286 on the season at age 25. His stint as the Fargo manager was his first manager job. In 1904, Abbott became the player/manager of the Topeka Saints of the Missouri Valley League. Beginning with his season in Fargo, Spencer embarked on a lengthy career as a minor league player and manager spanning five different decades, last managing the 1947 Charlotte Hornets at age 69. Overall, Abbott managed in 34 minor league seasons, compiling a record of 2,180–2,037. He also served as a scout for the Washington Senators during his baseball career.
Catcher Jimmy Archer played for Fargo in 1903. In his first professional season at age 20, Archer batted.225 in 20 games for Fargo. Following his 1903 season with Fargo, Archer made his major league debut with the 1904 Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the major leagues for 12 seasons, nine with the Chicago Cubs.
In 1904, Perry Werden became the Fargo player/manager. Following his major league career, Werden continued to play in the minor leagues for a number of years. In 1894, while playing for the Minneapolis Millers of the Western League, Werden batted.417 with 42 home runs. In 1895, he hit.428 with 45 home runs. No professional player would hit more than 29 until Babe Ruth hit 54 for the New York Yankees in 1920. Werden retired with a career.341 batting average with five home run titles in the minor leagues.
On July 14, 1905, Fargo pitcher Hawley Souders pitched a 10-inning no-hitter. Souders defeated the Grand Forks Forkers 1–0 in the game and had 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in his no-hitter.
In mid-July of the 1904 season, Fargo immediately released the team’s five highest-paid players, including Lee DeMontreville, and replaced them with local area players. A few days later manager Perry Werden quit and DeMontreville was brought back to manage Fargo.
In their controversial season, Fargo continued play as members of the 1904 Class D level Northern League and ended the season in last place in the six-team league. Fargo finished the season with a 29–48 record, placing sixth in the Northern League, playing the season under managers Werden and DeMontreville. Fargo ended the season 28.0 games behind first place Duluth White Sox in the final standings.
Replacing Perry Werden as manager during the 1904 season, Lee DeMontreville had played shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1903, his only season of major league baseball, appearing in 26 games with a.243 batting average in 26 games. Following his season with Fargo, DeMontreville became the player/manager of the 1905 Charleston Sea Gulls of the South Atlantic League in his final season in professional baseball at age 30. Following his release by Charleston, DeMontreville left professional baseball. After working as a grocer, he became the postmaster in Bardonia, New York until his retirement. In 1936, he was found guilty of operating a chain of unregistered stills and received a suspended sentence.
Fargo placed third in the 1905 Northern League in 1905, as the league continued play as a six-team Class D level league. With a record of 51–45 in the final Northern League standings, Fargo played the season under managers Charles Traeger and W. J. Price. Fargo ended the season 28.0 games behind the first place Duluth White Sox in the final standings, as Duluth won their second consecutive league championship. Pitcher Peter Hanson of Fargo led the Northern League with 24 wins. The Northern League did not return to play in 1906, with some member teams merging with a new league.