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History
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1994
In 1994, a new baseball league was born, the Northwoods League,
beginning with franchises in Kenosha, Wausau and Manitowoc,
Wisconsin; Dubuque, Iowa and Rochester, Minnesota. This League
was made up of "All-Star" teams of college players who competed
in a 56-game schedule between June and August. Each franchise
was to promote their games just like a professional franchise
would. Fans could look forward to nightly giveaways,
concessions, fireworks and many exciting game events. At the end
of the first season, approximately 70,000 fans attended
Northwoods League games and the Rochester Honkers had claimed
the first League title with a 31-15 overall record.
1995
In 1995, the League grew to six franchises when the Waterloo
Bucks (Waterloo, IA) were added. That year also saw the
Northwoods League's first All-Star game. On Saturday, July 22nd,
the Wausau Woodchucks hosted the first Northwoods League
All-Star game. This All-Star game featured the very best of the
NWL. Along with the first All-Star game, the NWL had its first
Championship playoff series. The teams with the best records of
the first and second half of the season met in a Championship
series. Eventually, the Kenosha Kroakers claimed the 1995 title,
downing the Manitowoc Skunks two games to none and finishing
with an overall record of 40-18.
1996
The 1996 season season started on June 7th with the same six
teams comprising the League. This season, the second year
franchise from Waterloo hosted the 2nd Annual NWL All-Star game
at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, IA. The Waterloo Bucks had
earned the right to host the event by setting a single season
attendance record in 1995, when 28,745 fans went through the
gates in Waterloo. By the end of the regular season and
Championship series, the 2nd year Bucks had claimed their first
NWL crown, having defeated the Rochester Honkers two games to
none.
1997
1997 brought change in the NWL. One of the founding franchises,
the Dubuque Mud Puppies, relocated to St. Cloud, MN and became
the St. Cloud River Bats. Besides the location change, the
league expanded its schedule of play to 64 games. Since its
inception, the League now had 45 alumni playing or signed to
play professional baseball. 1997 was the first time in League
history that a franchise won a second NWL title, when the
Rochester Honkers defeated the Waterloo Bucks two games to one.
The Honkers finished with a 41-21 record. League attendance
continued to grow, as over 135,000 fans came through the
turnstiles during the season.
1998
In 1998, the League celebrated its five-year anniversary,
welcomed three new teams into the League, and moved to a
two-division system. With the new teams entering the League, one
founding member closed its doors, the Manitowoc Skunks. All
three teams joining the NWL were former members of the now
defunct Prairie League: Austin, MN, Brainerd, MN and Grand
Forks, ND. The five-year old league had grown to eight teams
covering four states (Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North
Dakota). This season, the NWL introduced a divisional playoff
scenario, having a first and second half winner meet in a
playoff. The winners in each division series then meet in the
NWL championship series. Another positive note for the League
was that all of the eight teams were playing in ballparks where
professional baseball had once been played. In 1998, the second
year franchise, St. Cloud Rivers Bats, took the NWL crown when
they defeated the Rochester Honkers two games to none.
1999
1999 saw the first Alumnus of the NWL reach the Big Leagues.
Jeff Weaver, a former Dubuque Mud Puppy pitcher, made his first
start for the Detroit Tigers on April 14, 1999 against the
Minnesota Twins. The year brought about a name change in one
founding team. The Wausau Woodchucks became the Wisconsin
Woodchucks, representing the only NWL team in the entire state
of Wisconsin. This season saw the appearance of a new franchise
and another founding member ceased operations. Entering the
League was the Mankato, MN Mashers and the Kenosha Kroakers
closed their doors. The annual All-Star game found a preeminent
home in St. Cloud with the St. Cloud River Bats team playing
host to the event the next several years. 1999 saw the Rochester
Honkers earning their third championship crown. The Honkers and
the River Bats met in a rematch of the '98 Championship Series,
with the Honkers winning the series two games to one.
2000
The new millennium, 2000, brought more changes for the League
and another former NWL player made his debut with the Colorado
Rockies. Juan Pierre, former outfielder of the Manitowoc Skunks,
suited up for the National League’s Rockies. The League
continued to shift, with the Austin Southern Minny Stars moving
to Minot, ND, to become the Minot Greenheads. With the increased
miles for each team to travel, every NWL squad traveled by coach
bus during the season. The St. Cloud River Bats defeated the
Waterloo Bucks two games to none to claim their second title.
Overall, the League continued to see growth, as more than
217,000 fans witnessed NWL baseball and five of the eight teams
set new attendance records. By the end of the season, the NWL
had more than 160 alumni that were either active or that had
played professional baseball over the course of the last seven
years.
2001
The 2001 NWL season brought some great changes for the League.
The Grand Forks Channel Cats and the Minot Greenheads ceased
operations, while two exciting franchises opened in Alexandria,
MN and Madison, WI. The Madison Mallards represented the largest
city to host a NWL team, while the Alexandria Beetles became the
smallest. The NWL All-Star Game saw a change as the NWL hosted
Team USA in St. Cloud, MN. The NWL All-Stars wound up defeating
Team USA, 1-0, in 10 innings. It was the first and only time to
date that Team USA had been shut out by a team from the lower 48
states and their only loss to a team from the lower 48 states in
2001. The Wisconsin Woodchucks, one of two remaining inaugural
NWL teams, claimed their first NWL Championship. The Woodchucks
defeated the St. Cloud River Bats two games to one in the best
of three championship series. League attendance continued to
rise as more than 273,000 fans attended NWL games, more than any
other summer collegiate baseball league at an average of 1,082
per game.
2002
The 2002 NWL season saw single-season league records shattered,
a long-time manager earn a Championship and attendance records
fall by the wayside. The NWL saves record was broken by
Wisconsin’s Steve Grasley (Creighton) who racked up 19, breaking
the old record of 15 set by Wisconsin’s Tim McNab (Indiana).
Waterloo’s Adam Boeve (Northern Iowa) broke the stolen base
record by swiping 43 bases, sliding by the old record of 42 on
the last day of the regular season. Two NWL teams broke the team
ERA record of 3.04 set by the 2000 St. Cloud squad. Brainerd’s
team ERA was an impressive 2.73, but not to be outdone, the
Wisconsin Woodchucks posted a remarkable 2.53 team ERA.
Long-time Waterloo manager Darrell Handelsman won his first NWL
title by leading the Bucks to a 2-0 series win over the Brainerd
Mighty Gulls. League attendance continued its unsurpassed growth
by ballooning to another record of over 337,000. Average
attendance grew from 1,082 in 2001 to 1,365 that summer.
2003
The 2003 season saw a growth spurt with three new teams entering
the circuit, bringing the League to 10 members. New affiliates
in La Crosse, WI, Duluth, MN and Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
joined the League in 2003 as the Brainerd Mighty Gulls ceased
operations following the 2002 campaign. Attendance grew by
almost a quarter of a million fans to over 580,000, with the
average attendance in the NWL increasing from 1,365 in 2002 to
1,803 in 2003.The Wisconsin Woodchucks won their second NWL
Championship in three years, defeating the North Division
Champion, St. Cloud River Bats, 2 games to 1, under the
direction of former Major League pitcher Steve Foster. David
Schultz (Creighton) of the La Crosse Loggers hit 16 home runs,
the most by anyone since current Major Leaguer Jay Gibbons hit
17 in 1997. Mike Pankratz (San Jacinto JC) of the Wisconsin
Woodchucks was named League MVP after posting a .699 slugging
percentage along with 12 home runs. The story in 2003, though,
was the pitching, as 5 players entered the top 11 all-time in
single-season ERA. Jake Hansen (Northern Iowa) of the Madison
Mallards led with a 1.23 ERA, second lowest in NWL history.
Flame throwing Thomas Diamond (New Orleans) of the St. Cloud
River Bats became the 4th NWL pitcher to strikeout 100 batters
in a season as he finished 3rd all-time with 103. His teammate
on both fronts (River Bats and New Orleans), JP Martinez,
registered 17 saves, second all-time in the NWL. Will Krout
(Sonoma State) of the Mankato Moondogs pitched great all summer,
posting a League record 7 complete games and 3 shutouts, good
for second in League history. The St. Cloud River Bats set a
League pitching record for strikeouts and recorded the 2nd
lowest ERA in team history.
2004
In 2004, the Northwoods League would continue its trend of
breaking records, both on and off the field. Eight of the ten
NWL teams shattered their season attendance records, as 626,704
fans turned out for NWL baseball games in the summer of 2004.
This number represented a 7.5% increase over the previous year’s
total. Leading the way was the Madison Mallards, who drew a NWL
record 154,258 for the season including over 10,000 to a regular
season game at Warner Park in June. The 2004 baseball season saw
six more NWL alumni make their debut in the major leagues,
bringing the current total to 19 former NWL players competing in
the big leagues. Two former Wisconsin Woodchucks, Ben Zobrist
and Jonathan Tierce, won batting titles at the professional
level in their first full professional season. In all, seventy
NWL alumni were drafted in the June 2004 Major League Baseball
amateur draft including the 10th pick overall, Thomas Diamond,
by the Texas Rangers. This marked the highest selection in NWL
history, suprassing former alumni Jeff Weaver who was picked
with the 14th overall pick in 1998. On the field, Rick Cavaiani
(UW-Milwaukee) of the Woodchucks tied a team and league record
for saves with 19. Ryan Hastings (Illinois) established a new
League record with 57 base on balls while playing for Waterloo.
His college teammate, Chad Frk, broke the all-time NWL record
for games played with 227 from 2001-2004 with Waterloo and
Madison. Phillip Hawke (Louisiana-Lafayette) was named League
MVP after leading the circuit in home runs (11), RBI (41), and
slugging percentage (.510). Hawke, also the winner of the “Star
of Stars” award as All-Star game MVP, batted .301 and finished
second in the League with a .443 on base percentage. Pitcher
Lance Broadway (Texas Christian) finished with 95 strikeouts to
lead the league (7th All-Time) while also tossing one of three
no-hitters in 2004. Adam Sanabria (Florida) from Rochester and
Greg Reinhard (UW-Whitewater) of Wisconsin threw the other
no-hitters. The Madison Mallards won their first League
championship in 2004 under the guidance of Darrell Handelsman,
who was named Manager of the Year in the NWL. The championship
marked the 2nd in Handelsman’s career, the only manager in
League history to win the title twice. Madison’s pitching staff
recorded a 2.54 team ERA, good for 2nd best All-Time in the NWL
while four teams struck out 500 or more batters during the
season, led by Wisconsin’s 524 strikeouts, placing each in the
top 6 All-Time.
2005
Remarkably, the 2005 season witnessed more growth as both two
new teams and fans alike accounted for another record-breaking
season in the NWL. With the addition of Eau Claire, WI and the
re-emergence of the Brainerd, MN franchise, the NWL had expanded
to 12 teams in this their 12th year of operation. With growth
came more record attendance numbers, as over 775,000 fans turned
out for the 2005 season. Leading the way once again was Madison,
WI who averaged an astounding 5,738 fans per night on their way
to attracting a Summer Collegiate Baseball record of 200,000+
fans to the friendly confines of Warner Park. Ten of the 12
franchises set new attendance marks with a League-wide average
attendance of 1,884. On the diamond, it was the League’s only
Canadian entry, the Thunder Bay Border Cats, who took home the
coveted hardware when they won the NWL Championship. The Cats,
who were making their first playoff appearance, knocked off the
defending champion Madison Mallards, 2 games to 1, in an
exciting Championship Series witnessed by record crowds the
final two games in Thunder Bay. Border Cats reliever Shawn
Williams (College of Charleston), son of former Big League
Manager of the Year Jimy Williams, set a new NWL saves record
with 20, eclipsing the previous mark of 19 established twice in
the previous three seasons. Perhaps the biggest on-field story
was Waterloo’s Zach Daeges (Creighton), who ended the season as
the NWL’s first triple crown winner. The slugging first baseman
led the circuit by batting .366, belting 13 home runs and tying
for the RBI lead with 48. However, Madison outfielder Ryan
Rogowski (Illinois) claimed the MVP award by hitting .345 and
leading the NWL in hits (86), triples (5), runs (52), and
setting the all-time stolen base mark with 44. Alexandria, MN
hosted its first All-Star game before a record crowd of 1,857 in
July. Once again, the NWL had over 70 players drafted in the MLB
Amateur draft in June and watched six of its former alumni make
their Major League debut in 2005, bringing the total to 25
former players to have gone on to play in the Big Leagues.
2006
The 2006 season saw continued growth as the Northwoods League
broke another attendance record as over 813,000 fans came
through the gates. The Madison Mallards led the way, drawing
over 6,000 fans nightly to Warner Park, fondly known as "The
Duck Pond". Eight of the twelve Northwoods franchises set new
attendance records in the League's 13th season of play, as the
average attendance League-wide ballooned to 1,989 per game.
The Rochester Honkers won the Championship in record-setting
fashion, finishing with a 50-17 record, prior to sweeping
through the playoffs with four straight victories. They defeated
the Madison Mallards in the divisional championship, before
knocking off the defending Northwoods League Champion Thunder
Bay Border Cats in the championship series. The Honkers were led
by reliever Jake Toohey (Illinois) who set a Northwoods League
record for saves with 24 and all-purpose first baseman/pitcher
Efren Navarro (UNLV) who was named the League MVP.
The League's All-Star game flourished in La Crosse, WI as former
Major League Manager Bob Brenly addressed the All-Stars at a
gala luncheon prior to the combine and game attended by a bevy
of Major League Scouts and over 3,400 fans. Brenly's son Michael
(UNLV), played for the La Crosse Loggers in 2006, and Oney
Guillen (North Park, IL), son of Major League Manager Ozzie
Guillen played in Thunder Bay.
Pitching dominated the scene in 2006 as only five batters hit
above the coveted .300 batting average. The Madison Mallards set
a League record for Team ERA as they posted a 2.17 ERA. Pitcher
Charlie Shirek (Nebraska) set the career ERA record for all
Northwoods League pitchers as he posted a 1.47 ERA in his two
seasons as a Duluth Huskie.
The Major League Amateur Draft saw a record 96 current or former
Northwoods players taken as the League's talent continues to
escalate and gain recognition from Major League teams. For the
third consecutive season, the League had a former pitcher
drafted in the first round as former La Crosse Logger Max
Scherzer (Missouri) was the 11th pick overall. He follows former
St. Cloud River Bat Thomas Diamond (New Orleans) 10th overall in
2004, and former Wisconsin Woodchuck Lance Broadway (Texas
Christian) 15th overall in 2005.
Nine Northwoods League alumni made their debut in Major League
Baseball in 2006, bringing the total to 35 former players who
have gone on to shine in the Majors.
2007
In 2007 the Northwoods League got bigger and better, once again,
by growing in size, expanding to a new media frontier, breaking
more records, and having dozens of alumni advance their baseball
careers. The League grew to 14 teams with the addition of the
Battle Creek, MI Bombers and the Green Bay, WI Bullfrogs. The
Battle Creek franchise became the first Michigan entry and the
League now had a presence in four U.S. states plus the Canadian
province of Ontario. However, it was the Green Bay Bullfrogs
that made the big splash on the field as they became the first
expansion franchise to reach the playoffs after running away
with the South Division first half championship. They
accomplished this, in part, by breaking a nine year old League
record for consecutive victories by winning 15 straight games in
June, to snap the mark of 14 set by the 1998 St. Cloud River
Bats. Amazingly, that record didn't even hold for a season, as
the Madison Mallards strung together 16 straight wins late in
the year in their failed pursuit of the Eau Claire Express who
won their first division championship. Both Eau Claire and the
North Division's Duluth Huskies were steamrolled in consecutive
playoff games by an emotional St. Cloud River Bats team who
swept their way to a third League Championship. St. Cloud's
triumph came nine days after the death of 19 year old pitcher
Richie Gargel (Temple) who suffered fatal injuries in a swimming
accident.
St. Cloud's season began with a stadium change, the first such
instance in League history. The River Bats moved across the
parking lot from their ten-year home of Dick Putz Field to their
new home, the upgraded Joe Faber Field. This park, and the other
13 League-wide, combined to set another League attendance record
with more than 854,000 fans watching NWL action in 2007. The
League was again paced by Madison, which topped 200,000 fans for
the second straight season and the one-million mark overall in
their seventh year. Eight teams set their own single-game
attendance record on a given night during the '07 season. The
Mankato MoonDogs were one of those teams, who in addition had an
even larger crowd of 2,319 when they hosted the annual
Northwoods League All-Star Game on July 11th. That record crowd
saw local favorite and MoonDog third baseman Nate Hanson
(Minnesota) get the game-winning hit and earn the "Star of
Stars" game MVP honor. Hanson went on to earn even more hardware
by winning the batting title with a .363 average, the Rawlings
Defensive Player of the Year (formerly Silver Glove) at third
base, and a new Northwoods League award, the Rawlings Offensive
Player of the Year that was issued to the top hitter at each
position. The League MVP award was shared for the first time as
Eau Claire outfielder/closer Kole Calhoun (Yavapai) and Green
Bay outfielder Daniel Robertson (Concordia-Irvine) received
Co-MVP honors. Robertson and Duluth second baseman Joe Bonadonna
(Illinois) share a new League record having both stolen 45 bases
in the 2007 season. Bonadonna, in his third year with the
Huskies, tied the career mark with 75 steals. Other records set
in '07 include Mankato's Chad Dawson (Indiana State) breaking
the career saves mark by four, with 32, in two seasons and
Brainerd Blue Thunder outfielder Andy Dirks (Wichita State)
reaching base safely in 52 consecutive games to snap the old
record of 50 set back in 1995.
The entire Northwoods League was showcased to a nationally
televised audience for the first time with coverage provided by
ESPNU. Three games, including the All-Star Game, and eleven
30-minute episodes of "Northwoods Baseball Weekly" aired
throughout the summer on the specialized college sports network.
In the meantime, NWL Alumni were advancing their careers with
nine more players making their Major League debut to bring the
League total to 44, and a record 120 players getting their named
called during the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
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