The Minot Why Nots, based in Minot, North Dakota, brought organized baseball to the city for the first time in 1917, playing a single partial season at the Class D level under manager George Brautigan. The club was one of two new franchises that year in a four-team circuit rounded out by the Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers, the Winnipeg Maroons and the Warren Wanderers.
The season never reached its scheduled end. With the United States entering World War I, the league lost players faster than it could replace them and shut down in early July. Minot finished 19-23, third in the standings, well behind a Fargo-Moorhead club that was 36-16 when play stopped. The circuit did not operate again until 1933.
Minot went without professional baseball until 1923, when the Minot Magicians won the North Dakota League pennant in that circuit's only season. The Minot Mallards followed after a long gap, playing from 1950 through 1962 and again from 1995 through 1997. Satchel Paige appeared for the 1950 Mallards.
The Why Nots name outlasted the team. When Minot's Northwoods League expansion club ran a public naming contest in 2022, Why Nots reached the final five before losing to Hot Tots. In the 1800s and first half of the 1900s, teams existed in thousands of small towns across the United States, as Americans looked for recreational activities and entertainment in the era before TV.
Retro Baseball Revival celebrates historic baseball teams with unique apparel, honoring their legacy and bringing history to one-of-a-kind clothing with our old school retro baseball tees from defunct Minor League Baseball teams. All of our high quality apparel is designed, printed, and shipped within the USA. This collection features 100% original designs based on the history and nicknames of historic minor league teams.
Our premium lightweight shirts are the hugely popular Bella+Canvas brand 3001 tees. They are much lighter and thinner feeling than a traditional heavyweight tee. They also are more form fitting and feel more snug. These are generally 90% to 100% cotton, although please note that heather colors in this item are 52% cotton.
Size Guide: Fit is true to size or a little snug. Considering ordering one size up if you are normally between sizes.
Brand: Bella Canvas | Product ID: 3001
- Made with 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, a lightweight fabric (4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²)) that is easy to layer, breathable. Perfect for active and leisure wear.
- The retail fit that is perfect for casual and semi-formal settings. The crew neckline adds a classic, neat style that's perfect for accessorizing.
- Bella+Canvas manufactures all its products in the US and internationally in humane, no-sweat-shop, sustainable way and is part of the Fair Labor Association as well as Platinum WRAP certified.
- The tear-away label minimizes skin irritations.
- Fabric blends: Ash and Heather Prism colors - 99% cotton, 1% polyester; Heather and Solid Blend colors - 52% cotton, 48% polyester; Athletic Heather and Black Heather - 90% cotton, 10% polyester.
