During the 1930s, Bismarck, Jamestown and Valley City, North Dakota fielded some of the strongest teams in the country by hiring the best talent available, black and white. These towns featured such Negro League stars as Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, Double Duty Radcliffe, Roosevelt Davis, Barney Morris, Ted Trent, Gentry Jessup, Chet Brewer, Quincy Trouppe, Barney Brown, Steel Arm Davis, Bill Perkins, Willie Foster, Jonas Gaines, Spoon Carter, Jest Rhodes, Art Hancock, Charlie Hancock, Dean Thomas, Jerry Henderson, Charley Justice and Felton "Slugger" Wilson, as well as Major League stars Ray Starr and George "Showboat" Fisher" and Minor League and Semipro superstars Moose Johnson, Joe Desiderato, Axel Leary, Dan Oberholzer, Harold Massman and Beef Ringhoefer!

How good were these North Dakota semipro teams?

  • In 1933, Bismarck beat the American Association All-Stars 15-2.
  • In 1934, Bismarck beat the Kansas City Monarchs 7-0 and beat the Eau Claire Bears (2nd place in the Northern League) 8-3.
  • In 1934, Jamestown beat the Kansas City Monarchs 5-1 and the Chicago American Giants 12-8, 9-2, 7-3 and 5-0.
  • In 1934, a combined Bismarck, Jamestown and Valley City team beat the Earl Mack Major League All-Stars (with Jimmy Foxx, Heinie Manush, Pinky Higgins, Ted Lyons, Doc Cramer) three straight games, 6-5, 11-0, and 11-3.
  • In 1935, Bismarck won the first National Semipro Tournament in Wichita, Kansas, winning seven straight games by a combined 48-19 score.
  • The 1935 Bismarck pitching staff of Satchel Paige, Double Duty Radcliffe, Hilton Smith, Barney Morris and Chet Brewer combined for 55 wins and 6 losses.
  • Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith both made the Hall of Fame, and many Negro League historians (including myself) believe that Chet Brewer and Double Duty Radcliffe belong in the Hall of Fame, too!


Buy a t-shirt (or 4 or 5) and support our movie about this incredible era in baseball history.

Also available, a full-size Art Hancock (Valley City, Bismarck and Jamestown star) baseball bat.

If using PayPal, include the size of the t-shirt in the "message" or "subject" area. If paying by check or money order, click here for order form.

T-shirts are $16 each, including shipping, and come in the following sizes: youth medium, youth large, youth extra-large, adult small, adult medium, adult large, adult x-large, adult xx-large, adult xxx-large.

Bats are $85 including shipping.








 

ART HANCOCK aka. "THE BLACK BABE RUTH"

Hancock, standing 6'-3" and weighing 185 pounds, played with Bismarck, Jamestown and Valley City during the 1930s, and was one of the top sluggers to ever play in North Dakota.

In 1933, Hancock, playing for Jamestown, homerd off Bismarck's Satchel Paige in a game, then a week later homerd three times against Bismarck's Paul Schaefer!

In 1934, Hancock batted .385 in a 3-game series against a Major League All-Star team with two singles, a double, a triple, and a homer off Big League pitchers Ted Lyons, Earl Whitehill and Rube Walberg.

In 1935, Hancock, also nicknamed "Corn Trimmer" and "Slim," joined Bismarck and batted .298 for the National Semipro Champions!

This full-sized bat (length 35", weight 38.5 oz.) is a reproduction of the bat used by Hancock, and has a laser engraved image of his signature on the barrel. Each bat comes with a full-color hangtag with a bio of Hancock. Other bats available here.

 

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