The Wahpeton–Breckenridge Twins were a minor league baseball team based in Wahpeton, North Dakota and Breckenridge, Minnesota . In 1921 and 1922, the Twins played as members of the Class D level Dakota League . The Twins were preceded in minor league play by the 1897 Wahpeton–Breckenridge Methodists .
17-431: Wahpeton–Breckenridge first hosted minor league baseball in 1897. The Red River Valley League played a partial minor league baseball in 1897 as a Class F level league. The Fargo Divorcees / Fargo Red Stockings , Grand Forks Black Stockings , Moorhead Barmaids , and Wahpeton–Breckenridge Methodists teams were the league members. The league permanently folded on August 8, 1897 with Wahpeton–Breckenridge in third place in
34-414: A minor league baseball team that existed from 1933 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1960, representing the neighboring cities of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota . The Twins won six league championships during their seasons of play. Earlier minor league teams had also represented the cities. Baseball Hall of Fame members Dizzy Dean (1941) and Lloyd Waner (1947) are Fargo-Moorhead Twins alumni, as
51-516: A positive for early professional teams, who needed the revenue from Sunday crowds to be financially viable. Wahpeton, North Dakota newspaper publisher Robert J. Hughes formed the new Wahpeton–Breckenridge franchise. After forming the franchise and being admitted to the league, Hughes hired Roy Patterson to serve as the Twins' manager. The 1921 Dakota League remained an eight–team Class D level league, with 13–player rosters for each team. The Twins joined
68-545: Is 2x AL Most Valuable Player Roger Maris . The Fargo-Moorhead Twins played in the Northern League from 1933–1942 and 1946–1960. The Twins were an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians (1934–1940, 1953–1957), Pittsburgh Pirates (1947–1948) and New York Yankees (1958–1960). The preceding Fargo-Moorhead area teams were the 1897 Red River Valley League members Fargo Red Stockings and Moorhead Barmaids , who were
85-455: The Aberdeen Grays , Huron Packers , Madison Greys , Mitchell Kernels , Redfield Red Sox , Sioux Falls Soos and Watertown Cubs teams in beginning league play on May 20, 1921. In their first season of play, the Twins ended the season in third place. With a record of 55–43, the Twins finished 10.5 games behind the first place Mitchell Kernels in the final standings. Roy Patterson managed
102-541: The 1897 season as a Class F level league. The Four charter teams were the Moorhead Barmaids, Grand Forks Senators /Black Stockings, Wahpeton–Breckenridge Methodists and Fargo Divorcees/ Fargo Red Stockings . The league presidents were Chauncey Wheeler and Senator W. A. Gordon, who also served as manager of Grand Forks. Player salaries were capped at $ 40.00 per month by the league. The Red River Valley League permanently disbanded on August 8, 1897, eight days after
119-523: The 1897 season. The four–team, Class F level Red River Valley League consisted of teams based in North Dakota and Minnesota . The Red River Valley League played just the 1897 season, before permanently folding. The Moorhead Barmaids were league champions. A "Red River Valley League" played several seasons as a semi–pro league before the league evolved to become a full minor league in 1897. The Red River Valley League began minor league baseball play in
136-663: The 1953 Northern League Rookie of the Year. Fargo-Moorhead won Northern League Championships in 1915, 1917, 1934, 1953, 1954, 1958, claiming six overall titles. Baseball would return to Fargo Moorhead in 1996 when the Fargo Moorhead Redhawks joined the new Northern League. From 1936-1960, the Fargo-Moorhead Twins played their home games at Barnett Field in Fargo, North Dakota. It was located at 19th Avenue and Broadway and
153-612: The River Valley League's Fargo Red Stockings and Grand Forks Black Stockings played a 25–inning, 0–0 tie on July 18, 1891 in the second game of a doubleheader, a 4 hour and 10 minute game. William Gibbs of the Grand Forks Black Stockings, and George Raymer of the Fargo Red Stockings, each pitched a record 25 scoreless innings in the game. The game is the longest scoreless tie in baseball history. The umpire ended
170-601: The Twins finished in 7th place. Mitchell defended their championship and ended the 1922 season with a 60–37 record to finish 18.0 games ahead of the Twins in the final standings. The Twins did not return to play in 1923, as the Dakota League split into two four–team partner leagues to condense travel. The new 1923 leagues were called the North Dakota League and South Dakota League . Wahpeton–Breckenridge has not hosted another minor league team. The name and location of
187-489: The Twins. The Twins played their final season in 1922. The Dakota League continued play as an eight–team Class D level league, adding the Fargo Athletics , Jamestown Jimkotans and Valley City Hi-Liners as new league franchises. The Wahpeton–Breckenridge Twins, Aberdeen Grays, Mitchell Kernels, Sioux Falls Soos and Watertown Cubs returned as members. With a record of 42–55, playing under returning manager Roy Patterson,
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#1732876075014204-527: The first area minor league franchises. Fargo (1902–1905), the Fargo Browns (1908) and Fargo-Moorehead Graingrowers (1914–1917) all played as members of the Northern League and the 1922 Fargo Athletics played in the 1922 Dakota League . On May 6, 1953, the Fargo-Moorhead Twins defeated Sioux Falls in their Opening Day game by a score of 12-3. A record crowd of 10,123 fans came to Barnett Field. In
221-562: The first–half of the season had ended. At the time the Red River Valley League folded, on August 8, 1897, the Moorhead Barmaids were in first place in the league standings with a 32–13 record. Moorhead was 10.5 games ahead of the second place Grand Forks Senators / Grand Forks Black Stockings (19–21). They were followed by the Wahpeton–Breckenridge Methodists (16–21) and Fargo Divorcees (17–29). Notably,
238-737: The game after the completion of the 25th inning because the teams had to catch a train. The 25th inning concluded at 8:10 pm. The ballgame was played at neutral site. Grand Forks owner Tom Hill relocated the series to the North Dakota State Militia Training Grounds in Devils Lake, North Dakota hoping for larger attendance. The Red River Valley League was the subject of a book, Divorcees, Barmaids, and Cranks: The 1897 Red River Valley Baseball League by Jeffrey J. Bozovsky. 1897 Red River Valley League Fargo Red Stockings The Fargo-Moorhead Twins were
255-559: The game, Roger Maris got his first professional baseball hit. That season, Twins player Frank Gravino would hit 52 home runs. The Twins would host the Northern League All-Star game and defeat the Northern League All-Stars by a score of 8-4. The Twins finished with a record of 86-39 (improving from their record of 44-80 in 1952) and bested Duluth to win the Northern League championship. Roger Maris would be selected as
272-614: The home minor league ballpark for the Wahpeton–Breckenridge Twins is not directly referenced. Chahinkapa Park in Wahpeton was in use in the era, having been purchased from the Federal Government in 1903. Coincidently, the Twins' owner, Robert J. Hughes was the director of the park, which evolved to host a zoo. Red River Valley League The Red River Valley League was a minor league baseball league that played in
289-469: The standings. The Wahpeton–Breckenridge "Twins" began minor league play in 1921 and caused a change in the league name. The South Dakota League changed names to become the "Dakota League", after adding the Wahpeton–Breckenridge Twins franchise, based in neighboring border cities in North Dakota and Minnesota . Baseball play on Sunday had been illegal in North Dakota until the law was repealed in 1920,
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