{"id":121,"date":"2016-03-21T20:35:28","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T20:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/bismarck-baseball\/?page_id=121"},"modified":"2026-09-23T09:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:58:18","slug":"bismarck-baseball-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/bismarck-larks\/bismarck-baseball-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Bismarck Baseball History"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The History of Baseball in Bismarck<\/h1>\n

Baseball has been part of the Bismarck community for more than 150 years. From early games played in the 1870s to the legendary Bismarck Grays and Satchel Paige, the Barons, Pards, Dakota Rattlers and generations of American Legion players, Bismarck baseball history<\/strong> is filled with unforgettable teams, players and moments.<\/p>\n

Explore the history of baseball in Bismarck<\/strong> and discover how the game grew from early local clubs into a tradition that continues in the community today.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The First Games in Bismarck | 1873 - 1876<\/h3><\/div>
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Bismarck\u2019s first games were played before the snow melted in the spring of 1873 when Edwinton, (Bismarck\u2019s first name,) was little more than a collection of shacks and tents on the prairie. The teams were made up of soldiers stationed at Fort Hancock, near present day downtown Bismarck, made up from infantry and cavalry companies. They played teams from Fort Buford, Fort Rice, and the Black Hills. One of the best known early clubs was the Actives.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The National Fever Hits | 1877<\/h3><\/div>
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By 1877, Bismarck\u2019s gunfights faded and the gamblers left town. Townspeople needed entertainment! For the Fourth of July, Burleigh County officers challenged nine city merchants to a game at a field on the far western edge of town. The purpose was to raise money for a school under the patronage of St. Mary\u2019s church. The merchants won, and the team stayed together, taking on all comers through the summer. The city\u2019s main ball diamond was south of the tracks, near the stage coach barn.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Bismarck Nines | 1879 - 1885<\/h3><\/div>
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Each season brought a new collection of local players and a new \u201cregular\u201d Bismarck nine. The Bismarck Blue Stockings represented the city in 1877. By 1883, Bismarck\u2019s firemen had organized The No. 1 Hards, named after spring wheat. The No. 1 Hards built their own grounds near the city race track to the east. Everyone wanted a team to challenge the Actives, now at Fort Abraham Lincoln, and the No. 1 Hards. The Bismarck Tribune formed the Advertiser Nine. Doctors formed a team to play a team of lawyers. Saloon keepers challenged all comers. Two boarding houses squared off against each other; the Hotel de Stewart beat the Falconer Boarding house, after which the city\u2019s hotels put teams in the game. There were mixed citizens teams, too, with names such as the Muffers who played the Butter Thumbs. A Baseball Association raised money to fence the race track field. At the end of most seasons, the teams disbanded to reorganize the next spring. In December 1885, however, the season went on. Two games were played between the city\u2019s prominent men.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Baseball Fever Spreads in Bismarck | 1886 - 1891<\/h3><\/div>
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Baseball grew. The No. 1 Hards, still the \u201cregulars,\u201d played against the White W.B. Bell\u2019s Nine, the Blue Stockings, and the Capitol Nine. Boys formed their own teams; the White Stars challenged the Jim the Wizzards\u2019 Lightening team.<\/p>\n

In July 1886, the earliest reported women\u2019s game was played. Eighteen young women practiced and played near the home of Amos Robidou on the south side of town. They organized a team of their best nine to challenge a team of young women from Mandan. A new diamond, the Summit Grounds, was built on the Capitol grounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Farther Afield | 1887 - 1902<\/h3><\/div>
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Bismarck teams traveled by train to play clubs from Mandan, Steele, Grand Forks, and Dickinson. Bismarck defeated Grand Forks three times, claiming bragging rights as unofficial state champions. The city staged city championship games including contests between the White Stockings and the Red Stockings. Fourth of July baseball remained a major attraction. In 1887, the featured game was the Lean Men against the Fat Men. Doctors still played the lawyers. Hotels still played the boarding houses. On the grounds of the Episcopal church on Third Street, the Pansy Blossoms played the Brick Bats. The young women of Bismarck created a championship belt to be awarded at the end of a series that determined the city champions.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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A City Ball Field in Bismarck | 1903<\/h3><\/div>
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In 1903, local baseball manager William A. Falconer petitioned the city to build a different baseball diamond south of the railroad tracks. There was a small problem. His plan would put the new baseball park 10 feet into the street. The plan was approved. The new grandstand held about 500 spectators. To celebrate, Bismarck invited the champions of the Twin Cities, the Palace Clothiers of St. Paul, to come play. Bismarck lost miserably.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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If You Build It, They Will Come | 1903 - 1911<\/h3><\/div>
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Teams arrived from Dickinson, Fargo, Apple Creek, Sterling, and Standing Rock. The Bismarck nine played the National Guard\u2019s Company A team and visiting semi-professional teams. Leagues appeared and disappeared, including one league with 20 teams. Women\u2019s baseball teams were called \u201cbloomer teams.\u201d Bismarck had its own Star Bloomer Girls team. They challenged the men\u2019s Capitols but lost badly. Taking the defeat in good humor, they hosted a street dance afterward. The ballpark became a place for youth games, for teams from every school, including the Sister\u2019s School, the Indian School, the Reform School, and St. Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The standout youth club in Bismarck in 1910 was the Toozes. They were fast, played teams from other towns, and challenged adult business teams. They became well known around the region.<\/p>\n

Bismarck hosted one of the era\u2019s most unusual baseball attractions in the summer of 1910. The Hopkins Bros. Bloomer Girls out of Des Moines, Iowa, arrived on July 17th. The traveling women\u2019s team was famous for drawing large crowds to watch them play against men\u2019s teams. They came prepared. They brought their own fence, 1,400 feet of canvas, a covered grandstand, and an electric arc light generator. It was Bismarck\u2019s first game played by electric light. There was a little show-business going on, as it was well known that some of the players were men wearing long-haired wigs.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The 63-Mile League | 1911 - 1918<\/h3><\/div>
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A new ballpark was built near the Capitol, with room for 1,200 spectators, a first-class grandstand, and a fence. The Bismarck adult teams organized the new 63-mile League drawing clubs from towns within 63 miles, including Flasher, Mandan, New Salem, Fort Lincoln, and Glen Ullin. The teams adopted color names: Red Sox, White Sox, and so forth. Mandan claimed the Gray Sox. The young Toozes were left out, but changed their name to the Maroons, and raised money for fancy new suits.<\/p>\n

The White Sox became Bismarck\u2019s official team and often used the Toozes for practice. Many of the Toozes went on to colleges in the Twin Cities, including several who played for St. Thomas College in St. Paul. The young men returned to Bismarck during the summers to play semi-pro ball.<\/p>\n

Bismarck\u2019s teams also played traveling Black clubs, including Minnesota\u2019s Colored Gophers and the St. Paul Colored Keynotes.<\/p>\n

Another diamond was built at the corner of Front Avenue and 13th Street. The penitentiary also organized a team, the Grove All-Stars. The team was allowed to play in nearby towns, until two players took advantage to escape. After that, a diamond was established inside the prison grounds.<\/p>\n

Bismarck girl\u2019s baseball teams took over the fields for practice on Wednesdays. In 1916, another famous women\u2019s baseball team came to Bismarck to challenge the local nine. The All Americans included a well-known first baseman who adopted the nickname \u201cCarrie Nation.\u201d Miss Nation returned to play in Bismarck several times, always filling the stands.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Presidential Visit | 1919<\/h3><\/div>
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\"\"At the close of WWI, President Woodrow Wilson stopped in Bismarck on a whistle stop circuit around the nation, promoting his peace treaty and the establishment of the League of Nations. The President spoke at the Bismarck City Auditorium, then continued westward on his journey. To entertain the 5,000 visitors who came to see the President, the afternoon featured a daredevil aviation exhibition, and, at the Capitol Grounds, a baseball game for the championship bragging rights to the Missouri Slope title. The 10-inning game between Halliday and Wilton was won by Wilton by a score of 7 to 6.<\/p>\n

That summer, the Bismarck ballpark saw another visit by the American Athletic Girls Bloomer Team, which also starred Carrie Nation, who was promoted as the \u201cWorld\u2019s Greatest First Base Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Changes | 1920 - 1926<\/h3><\/div>
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The next summer, the baseball diamond on the Capitol grounds, most often used by the\u00a0 Bismarck High School baseball team, was plowed up to plant landscaping trees, leaving\u00a0 the city without a suitable ball park. Temporary fields were established on the golf links at\u00a0 Tom O\u2019Leary. That summer, a series of baseball games were used to raise money to build\u00a0 the new Elks Swimming Pool. The city organized to build a municipal ballpark on Front\u00a0 Avenue, the one that is the center of Bismarck baseball today. The Valley City Hi-Liners, a\u00a0 minor league team, moved to town and became the Bismarck Capitals; however, the\u00a0 experiment wasn\u2019t long lived. Still, Bismarck had gotten a taste and wanted more. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Governors and the Rise of Youth Baseball | 1927<\/h3><\/div>
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While the local adult teams came and went, another Bismarck baseball tradition was\u00a0 taking root: American Legion baseball. The Llyod Spetz Post No. 1<\/a> organized in 1927-1928,\u00a0 and the Bismarck Governors would become one of the most enduring youth baseball\u00a0 programs in North Dakota.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Bismarck Grays | 1926 - 1933<\/h3><\/div>
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In 1926, fourteen local businesses pledged to buy new uniforms for a new amateur\u00a0 independent team. This time they wanted an all-home team, and insisted the local players share any money raised. Businessmen William Kontos and Neil Churchill began organizing a new team. Churchill became the player\/manager for the new Bismarck Grays.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bismarck Grays were made up mostly of local players, including chiropractor Dr. H. B.\u00a0 Love, the pitcher, who lived on The Red Trail Farm, northwest of Mandan. Love pitched 40\u00a0 scoreless innings in 1926. Other players included former soldiers, semi-pro players, and\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

big-leaguer, Charlie Boardman, a southpaw, who the newspapers described as being\u00a0 \u201cfeared as the greatest pitcher in North Dakota for a number of years.\u201d The Grays were not\u00a0 a salaried team at first but found jobs with local businesses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A traveling semi-pro team, the All Nations of Kansas City came to Bismarck to play. The All\u00a0 Nations team represented fifteen different nations and backgrounds: Italian, Spaniard,\u00a0 Swede, Irish, Yankee, Japanese, Chinese, Cuban, Russian, Jewish, Norwegian, German,\u00a0 Polish, Englishman, and a Scot. They traveled and worked with the Robbins Brothers circus. The first performance of the circus in Bismarck sold out, and a second was abruptly announced. The ball players, not allowed to leave their posts, had to forfeit the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Grays played the House of David team, a club of long haired men, with flowing beards,\u00a0 and strong religious beliefs, who came from a colony in New York. During these years, the\u00a0 Grays hosted all Black teams, including the McCoy-Nolan Colored Giants of Milwaukee\u00a0 and the Colored Black Sox of Minneapolis, who brought their own band and orchestra and\u00a0 put on a pavement dance after the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second year, Neil Churchill gave the team all new gray uniforms with blue stripes and\u00a0 black caps. The uniforms included shoulders that were looser, caps with buttons and\u00a0 peaks, more belting than the previous uniforms, gloves for one hand only, and new boots.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Local builder John A. Larson and Greek confectionary owner William Kontos rejuvenated\u00a0 the dugouts, added new roofing for the grandstand, replaced weak boards in the fence, and built a new press box.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gray\u2019s mascot was little Orlando \u201cFreckles\u201d Johnson, an 8<\/span>th <\/span>grader, weighing 93 lbs. He\u00a0 was given a complete baseball uniform, and assigned to take care of the bats, get water,\u00a0 set out the lines on game day, and peddle bills in the stands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On July 4, 1928, a woman stunt plane artist performed acrobatics over the ball park, and\u00a0 two women parachuted into the park. Athletic contests for the city children during the\u00a0 games included a chicken scramble, where 12 live chickens were thrown from the\u00a0 grandstand, each having a one-dollar bill attached to one leg. Whoever caught the chicken received both the chicken and the money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The city\u2019s service clubs and the Chamber of Commerce turned over the Bismarck baseball\u00a0 park to the Bismarck Park Board on July 18. They had originally bought the ballpark for\u00a0 approximately $2,750, including the ball grounds, grandstand, and six and \u00be acres of\u00a0 ground, with the intention of it eventually becoming part of the city\u2019s park system. When\u00a0 the it was obtained by the Bismarck Park Board, it was valued at $4,000. At the dedication,\u00a0 a Chevrolet sedan was given away with a raffle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next year\u2019s team included George \u201cDucky\u201d Guidas, a former McCoy-Nolan Colored\u00a0 Giants player, and Joe Day, a Native American who previously played for the All Nations.\u00a0 Still, the Gray\u2019s players weren\u2019t paid a salary; instead, they received compensation from <\/span>gate proceeds, on a point system for games played, practice attended, games pitched, and practices managed.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Satchel Paige Era in Bismarck | 1933 - 1935<\/h3><\/div>
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The 1926 Bismarck Grays. Churchill is pictured 7th from the left.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bismarck spectators were accustomed to seeing diverse teams, but would they support an\u00a0 integrated team of their own? In 1933, Neil Churchill bought the Grays. The Jamestown\u00a0 team roster included several Black players: Barney \u201cLefty\u201d Brown, Willie Foster, Wild Bill\u00a0 Freeman, and brothers Charlie and Art Hancock. For the Bismarck Grays\u2019 1934 season, in\u00a0 addition to Ducky Guidas, Churchill recruited Black players Roosevelt Davis, a pitcher,\u00a0 Harold Massmann, and the most outstanding, Leroy \u201cSatchel\u201d Paige<\/a>. Satchel Paige was the\u00a0 leading right-handed pitcher, to play in the Bismarck August 13<\/span>th<\/span>, debut. In Bismarck, the\u00a0 Black players were sometimes met with racism away from the field, being refused in\u00a0 restaurants and lodging. Some players stayed with local Black families. At the same time,\u00a0 they drew enormous crowds. The Labor Day game filled the ballpark with 7,000 fans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the next season, Churchill assembled a powerful semi-pro team that was truly\u00a0 remarkable and quickly became a regional attraction. In 1935, the team went to the\u00a0 National Semi-Pro Baseball Tournament in Wichita and became the first integrated team to\u00a0 win the national championship.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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A Series of Strong Amateur Teams | 1940s - 1950s<\/h3><\/div>
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\"\"The youth programs and leagues as well as immensely popular softball leagues never\u00a0 faltered. In these years, two popular amateur baseball teams entertained the crowds, the Bismarck Eagles and the Bismarck Veterans. The familiar names of players on those teams\u00a0 included Dick Karlgaard, Burl Dutt, Tom Kleppe, Dick Schaumberg, and many other well known locals. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Back in the Pros | 1954 - 1957<\/h3><\/div>
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\"\"<\/a>After a twenty-year hiatus, the semi-pro Bismarck Barons were formed to join in the\u00a0 fledgling Manitoba-Dakota (Man-Dak) League. The team included former major leaguers,\u00a0 such as Cuban shortstop Preston \u201cPedro\u201d Gomez, who went on from Bismarck to a notable\u00a0 coaching career, including for Houston, San Diego, the Dodgers. The Barons team also\u00a0 included Hall of Famer shortstop Art Pennington, and \u201cRookie of the Year\u201d and future\u00a0 baseball hall of famer Ray Dandridge. The team had college players and local talent. The\u00a0 Barons\u2019 opener included a colorful parade led by Bismarck\u2019s mayor and the St. Mary\u2019s\u00a0 marching band. During one game, player\/manager Al Cihocki broke his leg. The Baron\u2019s won two league championship before they folded. Despite their success, the Barons\u00a0 struggled to fill the seats and couldn\u2019t continue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The youth games continued to draw large crowds. New bleachers were erected when the\u00a0 city was chosen to host the American Legion\u2019s 5-day National Junior Baseball Tournament\u00a0 called the Little World Series in 1956. Four teams came to Bismarck to play: one from New\u00a0 Orleans, LA; one from St. Louis, MO; one from Yonkers, NY; and one from Roseburg, OR. A\u00a0 40-piece Navy band from Illinois provided musical color. Huge crowds watched the team\u00a0 from St. Louis win the title. The event\u2019s logo and theme were seen everywhere across\u00a0 Bismarck, including a special \u201cDrive-In Church\u201d service held at the Corral Drive-In Theatre\u00a0 that focused on baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Pards Play Ball | 1959 - 1968<\/h3><\/div>
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The Bismarck Tribune, 1962, Aug 29, Page 1 Leo Lalonde photo<\/p><\/div>\n

In the summer of 1959, the great Satchel Paige returned to Bismarck for two exhibition\u00a0 games with the Cuban All-Stars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1962, Bismarck again hosted the American Legion\u2019s Little World Series. This time, eight teams competed. National news reporters and radio broadcasters came to town. A tryout camp before the tournament brought 35 scouts from 20 major league teams to Bismarck.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s new cowboy hat-wearing mascot was named \u201cSunny Nodak.\u201d Merchants\u00a0 sold commemorative coins and souvenir booklets, colorful ties and bumper stickers. Once\u00a0 again, the team from St. Louis, MO, won the series, defeating the team from Honolulu, HI,\u00a0 who didn\u2019t appreciate temperatures in the low 50s during the evening title game.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The same year, a new semi-pro team organized. The name that won the competition for the new Bismarck-Mandan team was Partners; however, the team typically used the nickname,\u00a0 the \u201cPards.\u201d The team joined the Northern League as a Minnesota Twins affiliate. One of\u00a0 the new Pards players, pitcher Bill Oerding, had pitched a winning 15-inning game in the\u00a0 Little World Series in Bismarck six years earlier in 1956.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the next season in 1963, twelve of the Bismarck Pards and their coach were injured\u00a0 when their team bus crashed returning from a night game in Williston. The coach healed\u00a0 slowly, and he had to shout to his assistant coach from his wheelchair behind the\u00a0 spectator fence. In addition to the injuries, it was a tough financial year for the Pards; they went inactive the next year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all bad. Satchel Paige and his All-Stars once again returned for an exhibition game that summer. Paige pitched the first five innings, and the All-Stars went on to win.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fred Lasher<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the Pards remained inactive, the following year, Bismarck\u2019s baseball scene grew!\u00a0 The Junior Legion A and B teams were highly successful. Bismarck\u2019s youth signed up for recreation baseball, Little League, Babe Ruth leagues, and high school and junior college\u00a0 teams. The city\u2019s annual baseball round robin recreation competition attracted 900\u00a0 ballplayers to decide the city champion in each league. There were several amateur men\u2019s\u00a0 teams, including a new baseball team called the Amateurs, formed by Tom Woodmansee, <\/span>that kept the fans entertained for a season. For those who wanted to play on the field,\u00a0 there were many, many softball teams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The following year, the Northern League enticed the Pards to come back as a Houston\u00a0 Astro\u2019s farm club. A team of 19 players was fielded. It was another rough year for the Pards, coming in last place. The Astro\u2019s canceled their contract, and the team went\u00a0 inactive again, never to return.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fred Lasher was an outstanding relief pitcher for the Bismarck Pards. After the 1962 season, he would move up to the Minnesota Twins. Eventually traded to the Detroit Tigers, he would become the closer for Dennis McLean, and in 1968 he would become the second Bismarck pitcher to win a World Series ring.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Bismarck Baseball Returns to the Community | 1969 - 1976<\/h3><\/div>
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Bismarck baseball culture was alive and well! In 1969, a new amateur Bismarck team organized, with young Bob Cordova, a longtime Bismarck High School English teacher, as a\u00a0 player\/manager. The team played an exhibition game wearing the old Barons and Pards\u00a0 uniforms that the Junior College had kept.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, the Bismarck Park Board approved the construction of a new grandstand\u00a0 and new fencing at the Municipal Ballpark. The Bismarck Park Board rushed to finish the\u00a0 covered, concrete stands in time for the North Dakota American Legion Baseball\u00a0 Tournament in August of 1971. The Governors won the state championship. Bismarck now\u00a0 had six major baseball parks on North Washington Street, Sertoma-Riverside Park, Simile\u00a0 Jr. High, Rita Murphy School, Airport Road, and the 14<\/span>th <\/span>Street Playground.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mid-70s saw several new amateur teams come and go, including the Bismarck\u00a0 Merchants with 15 players and the Bismarck Capitols who painted homes to raise money.\u00a0 Gate receipts for the adult games remained low; Bismarck spectators just wouldn\u2019t show\u00a0 up for the semi-pro games. By 1976, the citizens of Bismarck seemed to have become a\u00a0 community that wanted to play on the diamond, rather than watch from the stands. It had\u00a0 become a softball town. The first annual charitable softball tournament, founded by Sam\u00a0 McQuade, Sr. to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy, was a great success; one hundred\u00a0 three teams entered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Governors continued to win state championships. Parents coached, grandparents\u00a0 filled the stands, teenagers worked concessions. The game was part of Bismarck\u2019s culture.\u00a0 Girls and women tended toward softball and those leagues became important.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Another Strike Out | 1995-1996<\/h3><\/div>
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It was a while before the city tried again. In 1995, the Dakota Rattlers, a minor league team, formed. The launch was assisted by pitcher and former Minnesota Twin, Tony Oliva, who\u00a0 came onboard to help to boost the new Bismarck club. The Rattlers did not play well.\u00a0 Given the 26 year gap since Bismarck had supported a professional team, it came as little\u00a0 surprise that Bismarck had become a town where Legion Ball and high school sports\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

prevailed, with softball right on its tail. Attendance at the Rattlers games suffered, and the\u00a0 gate receipts couldn\u2019t cover costs. It would be another twenty or so years before Bismarck\u00a0 would bring back professional baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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All the While | 1990s - 2000s<\/h3><\/div>
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The Governors carried the baseball institutions forward, adding more state champion\u00a0 banners and trophies. The youth and high school teams carried on. Girls fastpitch and\u00a0 softball programs grew, giving girls their own way to play. The Governors won another\u00a0 championship in 2014, bringing their total to 12. The Governors had been part of Bismarck\u00a0 baseball history for nine decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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The Bismarck Larks Era | 2017 - 2026<\/h3><\/div>
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In 2017, the Bismarck Larks<\/a> brought collegiate summer baseball back to Bismarck,\u00a0 bringing players from around the country. The Larks mixed competitive baseball with\u00a0 entertaining promotions, theme nights, fireworks, family activities, and fun. They sold out\u00a0 27 of 36 home games in their inaugural season. The team continues to sell out their games\u00a0 and the history of baseball in Bismarck lives on!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Bismarck baseball serves 1,200 young players through recreational and competitive\u00a0 programs. In 2026, Bismarck added a Little League charter. Bismarck\u2019s baseball tradition\u00a0 continues to grow! <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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This page is dedicated in loving memory of Dennis Boyd, Bismarck\u2019s baseball historian.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nBismarck Baseball History | Bismarck Larks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore Bismarck baseball history, from the first games in 1873 and Satchel Paige to the Grays, Pards, Rattlers and today\u2019s Larks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/bismarck-larks\/bismarck-baseball-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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