Bismarck Churchills

The Bismarck Churchills of Bismarck, ND were a semipro baseball team. The Churchills won the very first national semi-pro tournament, now known as the National Baseball Congress World Series, in 1935 by beating the Halliburton Cementers 5-2.

The team was loaded with Negro League stars and white minor league standouts. Future Hall of Fame pitchers Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith anchored a fine pitching staff which also featured hard-throwing Barney Morris and catcher/pitcher Double Duty Radcliffe. The Churchills were an interesting insight into what high profile, integrated teams could have been before Jackie Robinson. The team was named after owner/sponsor Neil Churchill.

Notable Alumni

• Satchel Paige
• Barney Morris
• Quincy Trouppe
• Moose Johnson
• Charlie Bates
• Ted Radcliffe
• Hilton Smith
• Chet Brewer

Further Reading

• Tom Dunkel: Color Blind: The Forgotten Team That Broke Baseball's Color Line, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, NY, 2013. ISBN 978-0-8021-2012-0