There was once a North Dakota League, an organized professional baseball league, made up of four teams from North Dakota.

In 1923, the Minot Magicians, Bismarck Capitals, Jamestown Jinkotas and New Rockford-Carrington Twins began the season with Gov. Ragvold Nestos tossing out the first pitch on May 24.

Midway into the season, the Twins became the Valley City Hi-Liners, and the league's season ended prematurely in late August because of financial difficulties.

The origin of the North Dakota League began in 1920 when Mike Cantillon, president of the Minneapolis Millers from 1907 to 1918, decided to establish the South Dakota League. This league was comprised of eight teams from eastern South Dakota.

At the conclusion of the season, three teams dropped out and they were replaced, in the spring of 1921, by two other South Dakota teams and the Wahpeton-Breckenridge Twins. The league was reorganized and called the Dakota League.

Wahpeton newspaper publisher Robert J. Hughes purchased the new franchise and hired Roy Patterson as his manager.

Limited to a 13-man roster, Patterson put together a well-balanced team, and, although well past his prime at age 44, he also pitched in 13 games with an 8-5 record. The player with the most promise was Lyman Nason, a full-blooded Sioux who played center field. The Twins finished third in the standings with a 55-43 record.

In 1922, three more South Dakota teams were dropped and the Twins were joined in the Dakota League by the Fargo Athletics, the Jamestown Jinkotas and the Valley City Hi-Liners.

Most of Patterson's players were snatched up by other teams. The Twins fell to seventh place, finishing with a 42-55 record.

Prominent Fargo attorney William H. Barnett purchased one of the available franchises and brought the Athletics to his city. He hired former major league catcher Ed Whiting as his manager.

Fargo stayed in the hunt all season, never falling below second place. With 13 games remaining, they had a two-game lead on the Mitchell Kernals but lost eight of those games and finished tied with Aberdeen for second place.

H.E. Ross established the Jamestown Jinkotas and hired former St. Louis Browns catcher Wib Smith as his manager. Roy Birkenstock was his star pitcher who led the league in strikeouts.

The Jinkotas finished the season in fifth place with a 42-55 record. Smith later made his home in North Dakota and died in Fargo in 1959.

J.H. Sampson was the president of the Valley City team and hired former major leaguer Charlie Boardman as his manager. Shortly after the season began, Boardman was picked up by the Minneapolis Millers, and the job of piloting the team was handed over to first-baseman Ernie Menne.

By the second week, the team was in last place and was never able to rise above that. By the end of July, with a record of 27-54, the franchise was moved to Bismarck, and catcher Lou Bachant was named as the manager. In their new location, the team fared no better, going 4-17 the rest of the way.

Since travel took up much of the time and cost, it was decided, in 1923, to divide the league into two new entities, the North Dakota League and the South Dakota League.

Herb Hester, a new Minot resident with 15 years experience as a minor league manager, made a proposal in March that this new league could exist with six teams located in Bismarck, Jamestown, Carrington, Valley City, Fargo and Minot.

A four-team league was established that did not include Fargo or Valley City, and Logan Powell of Jamestown was named league president.

Hester became manager of the Minot Magicians, and, with his extensive experience as manager of a number of professional teams, he had an advantage of judging and signing good players. As a manager, he was also very aggressive.

The Minot team quickly outpaced the other teams, finishing with a 48-21 record.

Jamestown finished second (32-35) under manager Harry Wingfield, who also led the league in batting (.402).

New Rockford and Carrington shared a team called the Twins, and former University of Minnesota star athlete Earl Pickering was named manager.

The Bismarck Capitals hired former Bismarck native Tom Shanley as their manager and second-baseman. Shanley had been playing baseball in Minnesota, and he brought many ball players from the Iron Range in northern Minnesota with him. When the team started slowly, Shanley convinced his friend Newt Randall, from Hibbing, to join the Capitals.

The move appeared to pay off as Randall was batting over .400 during his first couple of weeks with the team.

However, he appeared to tire out and, when he left the team in July, his average was down to .251.

Bismarck ended the year with a 26-42 record. Because of financial difficulties, the North Dakota League folded in late August and the players were sent home.

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens by e-mail at cjeriksmoen@;cableone.net.)