The Moorhead Barmaids, based in Moorhead, Minnesota, won the 1897 Red River Valley League and took their name from the business that set the town apart from its neighbor. Fargo sat directly across the Red River in North Dakota and had gone dry in 1889. Moorhead had not, and as Jeff Bozovsky documents in his history of the league, the town became the area's default hub of liquor consumption, with saloon owners running so-called "jag wagons" across the river to carry thirsty Fargoans over and back.
The pairing was deliberate on both sides. The Fargo club in the same four-team league was called the Divorcees, after the ninety-day residency law that made Fargo a national destination for people seeking a quick end to a marriage. Two border towns, two vices, two ball clubs named for them. Bozovsky notes that the Moorhead club also answered to the Sheriffs, after manager William J. Bodkin, who was the sitting Clay County sheriff, which in turn made the players the deputies in some accounts, and occasionally to the Maroons, for the color of their uniforms.
Moorhead was the class of the league. The Barmaids were 32-13 and ten and a half games clear of the second-place Grand Forks Senators when the circuit disbanded on August 8, 1897, only weeks into the second half of its schedule. The Wahpeton-Breckenridge Methodists and Fargo filled out the standings. Play had opened May 26 with salaries capped at forty dollars a month, and the Class F league was the first in the Dakotas to operate within organized baseball.
Andy Anderson pitched and played second base for the Barmaids that summer and later turned up with the Portland Webfoots of the Pacific Northwest League in 1902. Moorhead, a town of just over two thousand in 1890 that nearly doubled by 1900, has not hosted a professional club of its own since, though the city was a partner in the Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers from 1914 and in the Fargo-Moorhead Twins from 1933.
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 crewneck sweatshirts are classics that anyone is sure to recognize. They are thick, durable Gildan brand crews. They are a cotton/poly blend that stands the test of time.
Size Guide: True to size
- Made with a medium-heavy fabric blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester (8.0 oz/yd² (271.25 g/m²)), this sweatshirt feels cozy and is the perfect choice for those colder months.
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- Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F); Non-chlorine: bleach as needed; Tumble dry: low heat; Do not iron; Do not dryclean.
