Bismarck Larks
Our next stop is Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, more than 100 years old and home to the Bismarck Larks of the collegiate Northwoods League.
Dad and I made the short drive from our hotel to Bismarck Municipal Ballpark, built in 1921 and originally home to the Bismarck Capitals of the Class D Dakota League. Its longest-running tenants are the Bismarck Governors, an American Legion team (Loyd Spetz Post No. 1) that has played there since 1928.
In the 1930s, the ballpark hosted the Bismarck Churchills, a semi-professional, racially integrated, independent team that featured Satchell Paige and other Negro leagues stars. The 1935 squad posted a 60-19-3 record and won the inaugural National Baseball Congress tournament in Wichita.
The Bismarck Barons (1957-1959) also played as an integrated independent team, winning two championships in the Man-Dak League before it folded after the 1959 season. The Bismarck-Mandan Pards, a minor league team affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, played at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark from 1962 to 1964 and again in 1966. More than a dozen alumni of those teams reached the majors, the most famous being left-hander Rudy May, who pitched for five MLB teams in a 19-season career.
Thirty years later, the Bismarck Rattlers of the nascent Prairie League played independent ball in 1995 and 1996 before they and the league folded. The lesson in all this: Enjoy the teams you have while you have them.
Our team for the night, the Bismarck Larks, began in 2017 as a member of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer league of 24 teams stretching from North Dakota to Indiana. This would be our first of three Northwoods League games on the trip, having visited the Traverse City Pit Spitters, Madison Mallards, and Kenosha Kingfish in 2024.
We were met at the front gates by Larks mascots Merifeather Lewis and Clark the Lark. The tie-in? The Corps of Discovery, led by Lewis and Clark, built Fort Mandan on the Missouri River about 40 miles north of Bismarck to survive the winter of 1804-1805.
When the Larks name was selected in 2017, other finalists included the Bullies and the Flickertails. It’s clear the correct choice was made.
Bismarck Municipal Ballpark has had some help in surviving 105 years: Its wooden grandstand was replaced with cement after a fire in the 1970s, it was moved slightly and turned 180 degrees in 1992, and it received a multi-million-dollar renovation in 2014. The ballpark can now seat about 1,900 spectators. The team averaged 1,577 fans per game in 2025 — seventh-best in the 24-team Northwoods League — but it would be a bit light on this Monday night.
More than 40 former Larks players have signed professional contracts, including six players selected in a single draft in 2022.
We had arranged to meet Ben Dackiw, Sports Director for KFYR-TV in Bismarck, for a quick interview on the concourse about our road trip. We got mic’d up and ready to go, but just as Ben began to ask a question, the PA announcer boomed out a sponsored announcement of some kind. Ben waited for him to finish, began again, and— “HEY FANS, be sure join us…” Ben stopped again. He turned to look up at the press box, then started over with his question but did not get very far before, “DON’T FORGET, this Saturday is…”
The three of us waved to the press box to get someone’s attention. There were some (friendly) gestures traded, and Ben received a few minutes to get his questions in. A bit flustered, he asked Dad, “What do you think of Bismarck Municipal Ballpark?”
Dad — who had arrived at the ballpark minutes earlier, and in that time had been primarily engaged with stringing a microphone through his jacket — turned around to get his first actual look at the ballpark, so that, despite his complete lack of experience with the venue, he might provide an official, well-considered opinion as a ballpark connoisseur being interviewed for TV.
“It’s uh, it’s very nice,” he stammered hopelessly.
Somehow, Ben managed to put all this into a nice story you can watch here.
Our appointment completed, we headed for Clark’s Closest, the Larks team store down the third-base line.
My attention was drawn immediately to the Larks Christmas sweater displayed prominently in the middle of the store. It was both ostentatious and beautiful — no, I would not call this an “ugly sweater” but a masterful expression of seasonal baseball spirit rendered in polyester.
“I think you need that sweater,” one of the two ladies working the store said. Her partner nodded. I moved about the shop, getting photos of hats and other merchandise. But the two ladies remained on message. “The hats are nice,” the first one said. “You should get a hat. But I think you need that sweater.”
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to get that sweater. But I resisted.
The Larks have their main black-and-yellow brand, but the team also wears a pair of alternate identities: the Missouri River Motorboaters and the Heartland Holy Cows, each putting a playful spin on an aspect of local culture.
I selected a fairly conventional two-toned Larks hat, and Dad bought his ball.
It was just a week into the Northwoods League season. Bismarck was off to a 3-4 start, while the team in the opposing dugout, the St. Cloud Rox, sat at 4-1. The Larks would struggle the entire season, finishing with an 18-54 record — more than 30 games worse than the Rox, who would win the first half in the Great Plains West Division on their way to a 47-22 record overall.
But the Rox would stumble in the first round of the Northwoods League playoffs, losing two games to one to the Mankato MoonDogs, who we would see later in the week.
The Larks were aware of our road trip, and they invited me throw out the first pitch, which is always an honor. I had warmed up my arm in the hotel before the game, hoping not to embarrass myself. I gave it an easy windup from the front of the mound and tossed it knee-high, but a bit inside.
The two Larks mascots took the field for pre-game ceremonies, joined by a group of high-energy team staffers called the Promotional Conductors — dressed in Bismarck-themed striped overalls. They would be the engine driving the night’s between-inning activities, bringing more fun to the ballpark than any crew we would see on this 20-stop ballpark road trip. And on a Monday night! (Watch the episode!)
Ryan Radkey
Bismarck started right-hander Ryan Radkey, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior at the University of Jamestown. Radkey finished his 2025 season in Bismarck with a 2.82 ERA in 51 innings of work. We would see his best performance of the year, holding St. Cloud to just three hits and no earned runs over six innings.
The Rox countered with J.P. Robertson, a sophomore from the University of Mississippi who went 4 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out eight. Robertson was on his way to a strong season in the Northwoods League, where he notched a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings.
The pitcher’s duel moved along at a good clip, with neither team putting up much of a threat.
It seemed like an ideal time to see what was on for dinner. I checked each of the concessions and was tempted by aromas wafting from a smoker down the third-base line.
I brought our options to Dad. He chose a chili dog with cheese and loved it. I had the Lark Dog — Cloverdale dog, beer cheese, bacon crumbles, caramelized onions, a bit of Dijon, and BBQ sauce. It sounds like too much stuff for one bun, but I thought it was great.
I continued to make new friends at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark as the game wore on, including a photo session with a between-innings senior dance team called the Larkettes, and a quick meetup with Larks president Rob Williamson.
The game remained a scoreless tie through the eighth inning, with both bullpens picking up seamlessly from their respective starters.
I chatted for a bit with the chief of the Promotional Conductors and on-field host for the night, Jacob Van Harmelen, near the end of a long night of ballpark fun that included tricycle jousting, a hot dog racing a sausage around the infield, trivia, a word game, shooting tennis balls with a slingshot to be caught in nets, a t-shirt toss, and quite a bit of dancing.
With the game still scoreless, St. Cloud led off the top of the ninth inning with two walks. Both runners advanced on a strikeout and scored on a single. St. Cloud led it 2-0 with three outs to go.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Promotional Conductors jogged through the little concourse, tossing rally towels to fans. Dad ended up with one and waved it around as the Larks came to bat. After a single and an error put two runners aboard, a proper rally seemed in the offing.
A wild pitch scored the first runner, making it 2-1 St. Cloud. Hopes rose for the home team. Then a groundout ended the game.
Despite the smaller crowd, the lack of scoring, and a Larks loss, we’d had a fantastic night, full of entertainment and good baseball. The Bismarck Larks knocked it out of the park.