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43-630: The Duluth–Superior Dukes were a re-incarnation of previous minor league teams based in the Twin Ports . The Duluth Dukes and Superior Blues both played in earlier versions of the Northern League , with the two teams merging after the 1955 season. Initially the team was called the White Sox, with the team becoming the Duluth-Superior Dukes in 1960. The team would fold after the 1970 season, with

86-509: A battle down the stretch between the Dukes and Madison. Finishing with identical second half records, the two teams would meet in a one-game playoff to determine who would make the playoffs. After losing to Madison in 1996, the Dukes would not let history repeat itself, as they beat the Black Wolf to claim their second ever playoff berth. First baseman Anthony "Big Papa" Lewis (in his third season with

129-640: A half years before moving to Gilbert, Arizona in 2008. She was a firefighter and emergency medical technician in the Gilbert Fire Department , before becoming a firefighter-paramedic for the Cornelius Fire Department in Cornelius, Oregon . As of 2017, she lives in Beaverton, Oregon . In 2017, her biography, Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey , which she wrote with Jean Ardell,

172-400: A men's professional baseball game. In four seasons from 1997 to 2000, she appeared in 52 games and posted a record of 2–4 and 6.75 earned run average while recording 36 strikeouts . Borders played for Southern California College in the 1994–1996 seasons and Whittier College in the 1997 season. In 1995 she was the first woman to start as pitcher in a men's collegiate baseball game. She

215-529: A new manager returned Borders to bullpen duty. They did not see eye-to-eye on her role or pitching style. In three outings for this manager, Borders had a 30.86 ERA (0–0 record, 2.3 innings, 10 hits, 4 walks, 1 strikeout). She requested a trade at this point and was sent to the Madison Black Wolf . Here she posted the best numbers of her career with a 1–0 record, 1.67 ERA, 15 games, 32.3 innings, 33 hits, 10 walks, and 8 strikeouts. In 2000, Borders moved on to

258-598: A radio show stunt in Las Vegas. Borders appeared in the Sports Illustrated magazine published on March 7, 1994, and again in Sports Illustrated for Kids . Borders also made appearances on popular syndicated shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , Today with Joe Garagiola and Good Morning America . Annie Leibovitz and Susan Sontag have Borders featured in their 1999 book Women . Borders' style

301-687: A sixteen team league (Eight in the Central and Eight in the East) with four divisions of four teams: eight playoff teams (GB and Finish reflects place in division) 2001 : East contracted two teams: Eight teams (four team divisions) remain in the Central: eight playoff teams (GB and Finish reflects place in division) 2002 : League expands to eighteen teams: Central expands to ten teams with two divisions of five teams: eight playoff teams (GB and Finish reflects place in division) Former Major League players who appeared with

344-637: A team for long. The Northwoods League , a collegiate summer baseball league , immediately granted Duluth a team to fill the void left by the Dukes. This team would be called the Duluth Huskies and began play in the 2003 season. League notes : 1993–1995 : Northern League founded as a six team league with no divisions: two playoff teams (GB and Finish reflects place in league) 1996–1998 : League expands to eight teams with two divisions of four teams: four playoff teams (GB and Finish reflects place in division) 1999–2000 : Merger with Northeast League to form

387-628: A win in pro men's baseball in a 3–1 home victory against the Sioux Falls Canaries. A baseball from the game and the line-up cards were donated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York by home plate umpire Steve Wammer. That night she went 6 innings, giving up just 3 hits, walking 2, and striking out 2. This was the start of a streak of 12 scoreless innings that stretched into her next no-decision start vs.

430-439: Is Minnesota's largest county by area. Duluth MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area Ila Borders Ila Jane Borders (born February 18, 1975) is an American former left-handed pitcher in college and independent professional baseball player. As a female pitcher in men's leagues, Borders achieved numerous baseball milestones at the college and professional levels, including being the first female pitcher to start and win

473-716: Is on the National Register of Historic Places . It must be raised each time a vessel enters or leaves Duluth's harbor; the inlet on the Wisconsin side is not similarly obstructed. Together, the cities rank as the 19th-busiest port in the country overall (44.2 million short tons [40.1 million tonnes] per year) as of 2002, though the area is the 7th-busiest port (13.8 million short tons [12.5 million tonnes] per year) when measured on foreign exports alone. The census bureau's Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area, an area much larger than

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516-697: The Apostle Islands , and the Superior National Forest . The area is home to two long bridges: the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge (carrying U.S. Route 2 ) and the John Blatnik Bridge (carrying Interstate 535 and U.S. Route 53 ). Each bridge reaches across more than 1.5 miles (2.5 km) across the mouth of the Saint Louis River . The Aerial Lift Bridge was constructed in 1905 and

559-518: The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks . Following that start, she suffered a severe bout of food poisoning that caused her to miss time, and most of the rest of her outings that season were poor. The Northern League regular season ended the first weekend in September. Her 1998 season totals were as follows: 1–4 record, 44 innings, 8.66 ERA, 65 hits, 14 walks, 14 strikeouts. Returning to the Dukes in 1999,

602-755: The Kansas City T-Bones . The Madison Black Wolf have moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to become the Lincoln Saltdogs , and the St. Paul Saints have since left the Northern League, were in the American Association for several years, and in 2021 has become the Minnesota Twins AAA Affiliate team.) On May 14, 2004, Borders appeared on The Howard Stern Show with comedian Artie Lange during

645-553: The Negro leagues ) when in 1997 she was signed by Mike Veeck of the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League , playing in her first regular season game on May 31, 1997 against the Sioux Falls Canaries . In that debut, she hit the first batter she faced, balked , and gave up three earned runs without recording an out. Her next appearance was much improved; in the one inning she pitched, she walked one but then struck out

688-732: The Sioux City Explorers , the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks and the Rochester Aces (who moved after one season and become the Winnipeg Goldeyes ). The team would play its home games at Wade Stadium, which had been the home to the previous versions of the Dukes/White Sox since it was completed in 1941. Mal Fichman was named the team's first manager. The league employed a split season , with the winner of each half making

731-521: The Twin Ports , is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of Duluth , Minnesota and Superior , Wisconsin . The Twin Ports are located at the western part of Lake Superior (the westernmost part of North America 's Great Lakes ) and together are considered one of the larger cargo ports in the United States. The Twin Ports are close to many natural attractions such as the North Shore ,

774-554: The Western Baseball League , where she played for the Zion Pioneerzz . Halfway into that season, disappointed with her performance so far that year (8.31 ERA, 5 games, 8 innings, 17 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts) and with her inability in the preceding offseason to get a look from any clubs affiliated with the major leagues, she retired from baseball. (The Duluth–Superior Dukes have moved to Kansas City, Kansas and become

817-472: The 79–83 mph range were knocked all around or out of the park. She could, when asked, throw a little over 80 mph, but when she did so the ball's trajectory flattened and became easier to hit. Her best pitch was a screwball . She also threw a curveball , which would break from 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock as it crossed the plate. Borders worked in the Long Beach Fire Department for one and

860-542: The Alworth Building, Historic Old Central High School , Maurices Headquarters , Medical Arts Building. The Bong Bridge leads to from Duluth to Superior. The Bong bridge was built in 1985 and is 11,800 ft (3,600 m) long. The Blatnik Bridge also leads to from Duluth to Superior. The Blatnik Bridge was built in 1965 and is 7,975 feet (2,431 m) long. Canal Park is a heavy tourist area in Downtown Duluth . In Virginia

903-587: The Black Wolf left Madison after the 2000 season and became the Lincoln Saltdogs . 2002 also saw further expansion into the Chicago market, with the addition of the Gary SouthShore RailCats and the Joliet JackHammers . These changes left the Dukes near the bottom of the league in attendance, with the team averaging a league low 1209 fans per game for the 2002 season. Also, the team failed to build off

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946-571: The Brewers at the end of the 2002 season. Pitcher Terry Pearson would sign with the Detroit Tigers organization and would pitch in four games during the 2002 season. The turn of the century brought numerous changes to the league, as teams left struggling markets and moved to more prosperous ones. After the 1998 season, Thunder Bay moved to the Chicago area and became the Schaumburg Flyers , while

989-715: The Central Championship. However, due to the recent merger between the Northern League and the Northeast League the year before, there was an extra round of playoffs to be played. The Dukes would be swept by Adirondack 3 games to 0, ending their season. Two players from this team would go on to make appearances in Major League Baseball. After the season, Rushford was signed to a contract by the Milwaukee Brewers organization and would go on to play 23 games with

1032-405: The Dukes for the 1998 season. After not pitching much in the first half of the season, Borders would become the first woman to start a men's professional baseball game on July 7, 1998. On July 24, she recorded her first and only win of the season, another first for a woman. She again returned to the Dukes for the 1999 season, but the new manager decreased her playing time. She requested a trade, which

1075-743: The Dukes: Players who appeared in Major League Baseball after playing for the Dukes: Note: years in parentheses are when they appeared for the Dukes League leaders 1995: 1996: 1997: 1999: 2000: Players selected to post-season All-Star Team 1995: 1996: 1997: 1999: 2000 Players selected to mid-season All-Star Game 1993–1996 1997: 1998: 1999 2000: 2001: 2002: League Awards: 1997: 2000: Twin Ports The Duluth MN–WI Metropolitan Area , commonly called

1118-565: The Duluth metropolitan area includes all of Wisconsin's Douglas County , and Minnesota's Carlton and Saint Louis counties. With a 2020 census population of 291,638, the Duluth MSA ranked as the 170th largest metropolitan area in the United States. A tourist location that boasts many scenic natural amenities, approximately 6.7 million tourists visit The City of Duluth each year. Populations as of 2020 Census: The four tallest buildings are in Duluth,

1161-455: The East Division. However, the Dukes were much improved in the second half of the season, finishing with a 22–20 record, their first winning half in team history. So despite an overall record below .500, the Dukes claimed a playoff berth by finishing first in the East Division for the second half. The team was powered by Mike Meggers (acquired in a mid-season trade with Winnipeg), who would lead

1204-435: The league (it split into two divisions with four teams each) as well as a turn around for the team. With new manager George Mitterwald , the Dukes would post a 21–21 record in the first half, a game and a half behind East Division winner St. Paul. The playoff race in the second half would go down to the final days of the season with the Dukes battling the Madison Black Wolf (who, along with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks , joined

1247-464: The league as expansion teams for the 1996 season). Coming into the game with identical second half records, Madison would defeat the Dukes in the final game of the season to claim a playoff spot and end the Dukes season. With Mitterwald returning as manager for the 1997 season, along with a number of players, the team was expected to contend. However, the team struggled in the first half and finished six and half games behind St. Paul, who finished first in

1290-493: The league championship. The championship was especially rewarding for McGarity, infielders Al Barsoom and first baseman Jeff Jensen. Each were in their third season and had been a part of the struggles the team had been through previously. League championship series MVP Allen Halley, who was the winning pitcher in the deciding game against Winnipeg, died from a seizure in March 1998. It had been expected that Halley would have returned to

1333-411: The league itself folding one year later. The modern version of the Northern League was founded by Miles Wolf as a minor professional independent baseball league . This means the league was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the organized minor leagues . The Dukes became one of six original teams that began play in the 1993 season, along with the St. Paul Saints , the Sioux Falls Canaries ,

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1376-601: The league with 32 home runs. The pitching staff was led by starter Jeremy McGarity and closer Emiliano Giron. In the playoffs, they would meet St. Paul. The Dukes won the series 3 games to 2 to claim the Eastern Division title. They then moved on to face the Western Division winner, the Winnipeg Goldeyes. With the series tied at 2, the Dukes would win the deciding game 3–1 in front of a sold-out Wade Stadium to claim

1419-430: The playoffs. This was done so that teams would have a chance to overcome a bad start and could remain in playoff contention later into the season. However, this system did not help the Dukes, as they were perennial cellar dwellers early on. For only one half during the first three seasons did the Dukes manage to avoid finishing in last place in the six team league (they finished fifth during the first half in 1995). Despite

1462-480: The side. One month into the regular season, she was traded to the Duluth–Superior Dukes . She pitched from the bullpen for both teams, seeing limited use. Her 1997 season totals were a 7.53 ERA , 15 appearances, 14 innings, allowing 24 hits and 9 walks while striking out 11 and with no decisions. She returned to the Dukes for the 1998 season, pitching from the bullpen at first. On Thursday, July 7, 1998, she

1505-552: The struggles of the team, there were a couple of individual highlights. Catcher/outfielder Jeff Grotewold , who was on the Dukes roster in 1994 and had played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1992, would return to the majors in 1995 with the Kansas City Royals. In 1995, catcher Pete Kuld (acquired in a mid-season trade with Thunder Bay) would go on to lead the league in home runs with 24. The 1996 season saw changes for

1548-403: The success of the 2000 season and struggled on the field in 2001 and 2002, especially in the second half. These factors combined led to rumors that owner John Ehlert would move the team. Despite assurances he would keep the team in Duluth, Ehlert announced in September 2002 that the team would re-locate and become the Kansas City T-Bones . However, Wade Stadium and Duluth would not remain without

1591-564: The tallest bridge in Minnesota (Hwy 53 Bridge) connecting Eveleth to Virginia. The Hwy 53 Bridge covers the Rouchleau Mine . The bridge opened in 2017 and is 204 ft. high in the air and spans 1,125 ft. The Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area, an area much larger than the Duluth MN–WI metropolitan area, includes 4 counties, of which 3 are in Minnesota and 1 in Wisconsin. St. Louis County

1634-516: The team for the 1998 season. History was made in the Northern League in 1997 when the St. Paul Saints signed Ila Borders , who became one of the first women to pitch in men's professional baseball. After a few outings with the Saints, Borders was traded to the Dukes about a month into the season. Borders would see limited action during that season, but she would be a member of the championship team. She returned to

1677-427: The team), designated hitter Tony Mitchell, and outfielder Jim Rushford powered the offense. They would lead the team with 33, 26, and 12 home runs respectively. The pitching staff was led by Chris Swaitkiewicz, who led the team with 11 wins. The team went on a roll through the first two rounds of the playoffs, beating St. Paul (3 games to 1) to claim the Eastern Division title and Fargo-Moorhead (3 games to 0) to claim

1720-499: Was also the first woman to receive a baseball scholarship to play men's collegiate baseball and the first woman to earn a win in men's collegiate baseball. Borders was the first woman to play for The Canadian Collegiate Premier Wooden Bat League for the Swift Current Indians in the summer of 1995. Borders became one of the first female pitchers in integrated men's professional baseball (women such as Toni Stone had played in

1763-573: Was granted, with the Dukes sending her to the Madison Black Wolf. The 1998 and 1999 seasons saw a return to losing for the Dukes, as they missed out on the playoffs both seasons. However, the 2000 season saw a resurgence. Under new manager Benny Castillo , the Dukes enjoyed one of their best seasons. The team just missed claiming the first half title in the East division, finishing one and half games behind St. Paul. This season, much like in 1996, would be

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1806-418: Was made a starting pitcher, making her the first female pitcher to start a men's professional baseball game. The game was an 8–3 home loss to the Sioux Falls Canaries. Her line score on that night was 5 innings pitched, 3 runs allowed (all earned), 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. She was credited with the loss. She made further starts, and on July 24, 1998, she became one of the first female pitchers to record

1849-424: Was that of a control pitcher . She attempted to throw breaking pitches and low fastballs to let the hitters get themselves out on ground balls. With enough regular action to stay sharp, such as in her good streaks in 1998 and 1999 when she was a regular starter, she could be very effective in doing this. Without that, such as when she was used irregularly from the bullpen, her control would waver, and her fastballs in

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