- Duluth Dukes
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The Duluth Dukes was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Duluth, Minnesota, in the Northern League in 1916, 1934–1942, and from 1946–1955. In addition, a separate edition of the Dukes was one of four franchises in the short-lived Twin Ports League, a "Class E" minor league that played for six weeks during the 1943 season.[1] After 1941, the team played its home games at Wade Stadium.[2]
Contents
History
Duluth had been represented in the minor leagues before 1916, usually as the Duluth White Sox, in the Northern League (1903–1905; 1908; 1913–1915) as well as the Northwestern League (1886–1887), Western Association (1891), Northern Copper Country League (1906–1907), Minnesota-Wisconsin League (1909–1911), and the Central International League (1912).[1]
The 1934 Dukes returned "organized baseball" to Duluth after a 17-year hiatus. Two years later, they affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals and joined the vast Redbird farm system created by general manager Branch Rickey. The Dukes would be a Cardinal affiliate through 1950 (although the team and the Northern League suspended operations from 1943–1945 due to World War II). When the Cardinal affiliation ended, the Dukes continued in the Northern League without a Major League parent from 1951–1953. The franchise then signed a working agreement with the Cincinnati Redlegs for 1954–1955.
In 1956, the Dukes were merged with the rival Superior Blues from neighboring Superior, Wisconsin, and played at Wade Municipal Stadium as the Duluth-Superior White Sox from 1956–1959.[2] The "Dukes" name was restored to the Duluth-Superior franchise in 1960.
The 1943 Dukes played 19 games in the Twin Ports League, winning nine. The league folded on July 13.[1]
1948 bus accident killed six
On July 24, 1948, the Dukes endured one of the worst transit accidents in minor league history. On Highway 36 near St. Paul, Minnesota, the team's bus, driven by manager Red Treadwell, collided head-on with a truck.[3] Treadwell, age 42, and four of his players — pitcher Donald Schuchmann, 20; infielder Steve Lazar, 23; and outfielders Gerald "Peanuts" Peterson, 23, and Gilbert Trible, 19[3] — were killed, as was the driver of the truck. Thirteen Duluth players were injured, including future Major League manager and coach Mel McGaha. The disaster was the second-worst in baseball history, following two years and one month after the June 24, 1946, bus accident that killed nine members of the Spokane Indians.[3] It left Duluth with one uninjured player, pitcher Sam Hunter, who was not aboard the bus. The Dukes completed the season with new players and a manager supplied by the Cardinal organization, and $80,000 was raised in contributions to aid the victims' families and survivors.[3]
See also
- Duluth-Superior Dukes (1960-1970 team)
- Duluth-Superior Dukes
- Duluth Huskies
References
- ^ a b c Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007, pp. 59, 89
- ^ a b Duluth Huskies web site
- ^ a b c d Spink, J.G. Taylor, pub., Official 1949 Baseball Guide and Record Book. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1949, page 126
External links
- 1948 Duluth Dukes team page at Baseball Reference
Categories:- Defunct minor league baseball teams
- Former Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates
- Former St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates
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