2024 SABR Local Grant Update: Aberdeen Pheasants Historical Marker
Bill Cantalope, left, and Ben Ernst stand by a new historical marker on the site of Aberdeen Municipal Stadium in South Dakota. Cantalope was a batboy when the Pheasants hosted the Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition game in 1964. (Courtesy of Ben Ernst)
JUNE 12, 2024 — A historical marker commemorating the history of the Aberdeen Pheasants baseball team in South Dakota was unveiled on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Ben Ernst, a SABR member from Aberdeen, used a SABR Local Grant to help fund and install the marker.
The marker is located on the site of Aberdeen Municipal Stadium, now on the campus of Northern State University. The Pheasants called the ballpark home from 1946 to 1971 and were a minor-league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles for many years. With future Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Luis Aparicio, the Orioles played an exhibition game in Aberdeen on June 8, 1964.
Click here to view the full text of the historical marker.
To learn more about the SABR Local Grants program, visit SABR.org/local-grants.
Related links:
- Scott Waltman: Marker commemorating Aberdeen Pheasants unveiled (Aberdeen Insider)
- Watch a video from Dakota News Now about the Aberdeen Pheasants marker (YouTube)
Originally published: June 12, 2024. Last Updated: June 28, 2024.