I was commissioned to create a series of posters celebrating South Dakota’s contributions to, and memorable events of, the Golden Age of Baseball. The goal was to create a unified set of posters (24 x 36″) that would invite the viewer to explore events and teams in South Dakota’s rich but often forgotten baseball history.

Mitchell Kernels

The South Dakota League was founded in 1920 (and disbanded in 1923). The league grew from 8 initial teams to more than a dozen teams during its brief run, and the Mitchell Kernels won the championship the first three years: 1920, 1921, and 1922.

The Hub City Nine

Frank L. Baum is better known for writing The Wizard of Oz than he is for his contributions to baseball, but in 1889 he founded a baseball team in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Hub City Nine held its first practice on May 29, 1889, had a great first season, and then disbanded due to financial troubles.

Renner Monarchs

The Renner Monarchs have won the South Dakota state championship twenty times since 1939.

Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel in Deadwood, SD

In 1922, Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel played an exhibition game in Deadwood, South Dakota. (This poster is a reimagined scorecard for that event.)

Sioux Falls Canaries

Originally called the “Yellow Kids” after a popular comic strip character in the late 1890s, the Sioux Falls Canaries were formed in 1889 and played until 1903. (Or so–sources vary on the particulars.) They were nicknamed the “Canaries” because of their yellow uniforms and the name was brought back when the team was revived in 1930. That incarnation lasted until 1941 when the nation’s energies were consumed with the Second World War. (The team reformed from 1946 to 1953, and the current Sioux Falls Canaries team was reborn in 1993.)

Aberdeen Pheasants

Although there was organized professional baseball in Aberdeen as early as 1889, the story of the Aberdeen Pheasants really begins in 1946 when a group of local businessmen established a relationship with the St. Louis Browns (who later became the Baltimore Orioles). The team was so strong that in 1964 they played an exhibition game against the Orioles, losing 6-3. The Aberdeen Pheasants played from 1946 until 1971 when the Northern League shut down.