Aberdeen Pheasants

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The Aberdeen Pheasants was the primary moniker

Ben Siebrecht, owner of Siebrecht Florist and Greenhouse, was the president of a five-member board charged with the duties of organizing and operating that early Pheasants team. The board raised $25,000 by selling stock to local investors and were able to establish a working agreement with the St. Louis Browns as a source for players. That agreement survived the Browns' move to Baltimore and became the longest working agreement between major and minor league teams in baseball history lasting 26 years.

Many big name players wore the Aberdeen Pheasants uniform at some time in their careers. Pitcher

The minor league Pheasants met their demise when the Northern League folded after the 1971 season. The remaining teams, who all folded, were the Aberdeen Pheasants,

Games were played at the municipal ball field located on the campus of Northern State University. The original stadium burned down in 1952 and was quickly replaced. Eventually the replacement stadium was torn down to make room for the Barnett Center. Early games during the first season started at 5:30pm because the field wasn't lighted but later during that season, lights were added thanks to contributions from the enthusiastic fans. The Pheasants built a steady fan base drawing crowds of over 3000 by their second season.

The team's mascot is Philbert, a cartoon pheasant drawn by Gordon Haug, the advertising artist for Aberdeen's Olwin-Angell department store. Philbert appeared on the front page of the Aberdeen American News the morning after each game with a comment about the game's outcome.

The biggest game in Pheasant history took place on June 8,1964 when the parent team, the Baltimore Orioles, came to town to play their minor league cohorts. The Orioles posted a 6-3 win in front of a capacity crowd.

The Pheasants' final season was 1971.

In 1995, local baseball enthusiasts re-established the Aberdeen Pheasant team and gave Aberdeen fans three seasons of baseball excitement prior to disbanding the organization at the end of the 1997 season. During the 1995 season, the Pheasants ran over their Prairie League competition, setting an all-time minor-league record for winning percentage by going 56-13 (.812) in the league's regular season.

Historic information and photos provided by the

* Baukol Playoffs based on last 30 days of the season

• Baseball Reference