MLB Players from North Dakota Neighboring States Wantlist
Another collection that I enjoy working on is my collection of MLB players that are from my home state of North Dakota and the neighboring states of South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Whether they were born in these states or spent significant time of their lives there, I am interested in growing my collection of these players.
With a climate that does not support long baseball seasons, I find it remarkable and am impressed by those players that made the "Bigs" coming from these lower population geographical roots.
Featured Local Hero: Roger Maris
The most notable MLB player from North Dakota was Roger Maris. While he was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Roger moved to Fargo, North Dakota at an early age and graduated from Fargo Shanley High School. Below, a 19-year old Roger is shown as a member of the Fargo-Moorhead Twins and of course as he hits his 61st home run on October 1st, 1961 - which was ironically my first birthday!
I am interested in ALL Roger Maris Topps baseball cards as well as any and all Roger Maris related memorabalia.
North Dakota
The following list of MLB players were born or spent significant time in North Dakota. I am interested in ALL baseball card and/or memorabilia of any of these players.
Chris Coste (2006-2009) - Now not really from North Dakota but rather from Fargo's border city with Minnesota, Moorhead. Chris also played and coached for the F-M Redhawks from the Northern League, so this classifies him as a North Dakota MLB Hero.
Topps Needs: 2008 (UH93)
Darin Erstad (1996-2009) - A true North Dakota MLB hero with origins in Jamestown, North Dakota. Darin excelled in all sports in high school and went on to Nebraska playing both football and baseball for the Cornhuskers. Darin enjoyed a more than successful major league career.
Topps Needs: 2007, 2009
Jay Gehrke (Minors) - Pitcher Jay Gerhke was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 1999 amateur draft. Gerhke was taken as the 32nd player overall, a supplemental pick given to the Royals for losing Jose Offerman in free agency. Gerhke spent three seasons in the Royals farm system, never rising above A ball level. His time in the minors concluded after the 2001 season, his career totals showing a 6-14 won/loss record to go with 20 saves and a 4.93 ERA .
Topps Needs: Complete
Ken Hunt (1959-1964)
Tim Johnson (1973-1979)
Gary Serum (1977-1979)
Mark Lee (1988-1995)
Rick Helling (1994-2006)
Darin Erstad (1996-2009)
Travis Hafner (2002-2013)
Tim Olson (2004-2005)
Seth Rosin (2014-2015)
Matt Strahm (2016-Active)
Andrew Young (2020-Active)
Minnesota
The following list of MLB players were born or spent significant time in Minnesota. I am interested in ALL baseball card and/or memorabilia of any of these players.
Jim Eisenreich (1982- 1998) - St. Could, Minnesota. Jim had a 15-year career from 1982 to 1984 and 1987 to 1998. He played for the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals of the American League, and the Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League. He played first base, outfield and designated hitter. In 1,422 games over 15 seasons, Eisenreich posted a .290 batting average (1,160-for-3,995) with 492 runs, 221 doubles, 39 triples, 52 home runs, 477 RBI, 105 stolen bases, 324 bases on balls, .341 on-base percentage and .404 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .988 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions and first base. In 20 postseason games, he hit .231 (12-for-52) with 4 runs, 2 home runs, 11 RBI and 7 walks.
Eisenreich has Tourette syndrome, which caused him to go on to the voluntary retirement list between 1984 and 1987 while undergoing treatment. He was replaced on the Twins roster by Kirby Puckett. In 1990, he was the first recipient of the Tony Conigliaro Award, which is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who has overcome a significant obstacle.
Topps Needs: 1984-1987 (NC) , 1993 Gold #22, 1995 Cyberstats #326
Paul Giel (1954-1961) - Winona, Minnesota. Paul was an American college football and professional baseball player. He was an All-American in both sports at the University of Minnesota.
Giel attended the University of Minnesota, where he was a star single wing tailback for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. During his career at Minnesota he rushed for 2,188 yards and had 1,922 yards passing. Giel received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player twice, in 1952 and 1953, was named an All-American twice. In 1953 he was the runner-up to Johnny Lattner of Notre Dame for the Heisman Trophy.
Instead of professional of football, after his collegiate days Giel pitched in the major leagues for the New York / San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Athletics. He signed with the Giants for a $60,000 bonus, which was their highest ever at the time.
After his retirement from baseball, Giel was a color commentator on Minnesota Vikings radio broadcasts from 1962 to 1969, and served as the University of Minnesota's Director of Athletics from 1971 to 1989. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.
Topps Needs: 1958 #308, 1960 #526, 1961 #374,
Greg Olson (1989-1993) - Marshall, Minnesota. Greg played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1989 to 1993 for the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves. Olson was selected to the 1990 National League All-Star team and appeared in the 1991 World Series with the Braves.
Olson was born in Marshall, Minnesota and attended Edina High School. He later attended the University of Minnesota and was drafted in the 7th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets. In 1992, Olson was having a career year until a collision with Ken Caminiti of the Houston Astros broke his right leg. Olson played one more year for Atlanta before being released in the off season to make room for rising prospect Javy López. Olson signed with the New York Mets for the 1994 season but was released following spring training, leading to his retirement.
Topps Needs: 1990 Topps Major League Debut #93, 1994 Gold, 346,
Montana
The following list of MLB players were born or spent significant time in Montana. I am interested in ALL baseball card and/or memorabilia of any of these players.
Jeff Ballard (1987- 1994) - Billings Montana. Jeff was born in Billings, Montana. He earned a Degree in Geophysics from Stanford University.
Topps Needs: 1988 (RC) #782, 1991 #546, 1992 #104,
Dave McNally (1962-1975) - Billings Montana. Born in Billings, Montana, McNally was raised by his mother after his father died in the Battle of Okinawa. He was signed by the Orioles out of high school in 1960 and made his major league debut two years later, throwing a shutout in his first game in the major leagues. Most notably, Dave was a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971. A three-time All-Star, McNally won 20 or more games for four consecutive seasons from 1968 through 1971. He was one of four 20-game winners for the 1971 Orioles (Pat Dobson, Jim Palmer, and Mike Cuellar were the other three), the last team as of 2025 to have four 20-win pitchers on the same roster. Thinking he needed a change of scenery, McNally requested a trade after the 1974 season; the Orioles obliged, sending him to the Montreal Expos, with whom he played one final year before retiring halfway through 1975, citing an inability to throw the fastball. After the 1975 season, he added his name to a grievance filed against the reserve clause, which resulted in the historic Seitz decision that created free agency in baseball. McNally returned to his hometown Billings and worked as a car dealer until his death from cancer in 2002. A member of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, he is among the franchise's leaders in many statistical categories.
Topps Needs: 1967 #382, 1968 #478, 1970 #20, 1973 #600, 1974 #235
South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana
The following is my "I Have" list...
Ballard, Jeff - Billings, Montana
1990, 1992 Gold
Bannister, Floyd - Pierre, South Dakota
1978, 1985, 1985 #1 Draft Pick
Collins, Dave - Rapid City, South Dakota
1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1986T, 1987
Eisenreich, Jim - St. Cloud, Minnesota
1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1992 Gold, 1993, 1994, 1994 Gold, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Forster, Terry - Sioux Falls, South Dakota
1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1986T, 1987
Francona, Tito - Aberdeen, South Dakota
1960, 1962, 1963, 1967
Francona, Terry - Aberdeen, South Dakota
1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Giel, Paul - Winona, Minnesota
1959
Green, Dick - Rapid City, South Dakota
1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974
Jason Kubel - Belle Fourche, South Dakota
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Chad McConnell - Sioux Falls, South Dakota
1993, 1993T
McNally, Dave - Billings, Montana
1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969. 197, 1972, 1972 Boyhood Photo, 1975
Olson, Greg - Marshall, Minnesota
1990T, 1991, 1992, 1992 Gold, 1993, 1993 Gold, 1994
Perkins, Glen - Stillwater, Minnesota
2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013,2015, 2016, 2017
Steinbach, Terry - New Ulm, Minnesota
1987T, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1992 Gold, 1993, 1993 Gold, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000
Darryl Motley - Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks
1982, 1985, 1986, 1987
Varland, Louie - Maplewood, Minnesota
2022