Fort Dodge was home to numerous semi–pro baseball teams prior to the minor league teams beginning play. The Fort Dodge Fort Brands played in the 1903 season against area teams. A Fort Dodge team called "Company G" played indoor baseball in 1904.
Iowa State League 1904–1906, 1912 Minor league baseball play began in Fort Dodge in 1904, when the
Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters became charter members of the eight–team
Iowa State League. The gypsum references in the Fort Dodge team monikers refer to the strong gypsum industry in Fort Dodge. In their first season of play, the Gypsum Eaters ended the 1904 season with a record of 57–52, placing fifth in the Iowa State League, playing the season under manager Frank Boyle, who would manage the team for three seasons. The 1904 Iowa State League Final standings included the champion Ottumwa Snappers 70–36,
Waterloo Microbes 64–43,
Marshalltown Grays 60–49,
Keokuk Indians 58–50, Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters 57–52,
Boone Coal Miners 50–61,
Oskaloosa Quakers 38–69 and
Burlington River Rats 36–73. Home season attendance for Fort Dodge was 13,582, an average of 249 per game. The franchise was renamed to the
Fort Dodge Gypsumites for the 1905 the Iowa State League season. The team held a naming contest prior to the 1905 season. Over thirty names were submitted, and it was noted that "Gypsumites" was "appropriate and unique" to Fort Dodge, due to the local industry. The name was submitted by L.A. Thorson. The 1906 Fort Dodge Gypsumites placed third in the Iowa State League final standings. The Gypsumites finished with a 68–49 record, 6.5 games behind the first place
Burlington Pathfinders, playing under manager Frank Boyle. The Fort Dodge franchise folded from the Iowa State League following the 1906 season. In 1912, the
Fort Dodge Boosters returned the city to minor league play as franchise became members the
Independent level five–team Iowa State League. The Boosters ended the 1912 season with a record of 34–25, placing second in the Iowa State League, 1.0 game behind the first place
Mason City Cementmakers. Conrad Collins was the 1912 manager. In the playoffs, the
Estherville, Iowa team defeated the Fort Dodge Boosters 4 games to 1. The Iowa State League folded after the 1912 season.
Central Association 1916–1917 The
Fort Dodge Dodgers became members of the 1916 Class D level
Central Association, as the Iowa State League changed names. The Fort Dodge Dodgers finished the 1916 season with a 41–83 record, placing seventh in the Central Association standings. Fort Dodge finished seventh place because the eighth place
Muscatine Muskies were forced to forfeit 34 wins, dropping the Muscatine team into last place. The 1917 Fort Dodge Dodgers placed sixth in their final season of play. On July 8, 1917, Fort Dodge pitcher Ted Turner pitched a losing no–hitter against the Charles City Tractories as Fort Dodge lost the game 1–0. Fort Dodge ended the 1917 Central Association season with a record of 37–57 record under manager
Charley Stis. Fort Dodge was last in the standings as the
Clinton Pilots and
La Crosse Infants folded during the season. The Dodgers were 25.0 games behind the first place Marshalltown Ansons in the final standings. The Central Association season ended early on August 7, 1917. The league then folded following the 1917 season. Fort Dodge has not hosted another minor league team. Today, the Fort Dodge "Dodgers" moniker is still in use by the
Fort Dodge Senior High School athletic teams. In 2018, a reassembled team called the "Fort Dodge Gypsum Eaters" paid homage to the 1904 Fort Dodge team. The team played an exhibition game at the
Field of Dreams, near
Dyersville, Iowa. Fort Dodge played against a travelling team from the
United Kingdom and Ireland Baseball Federation. In 2019, Fort Dodge gained a
collegiate summer baseball franchise, who adopted a close moniker to early Fort Dodge minor league teams. The
Fort Dodge Gypsum Miners began play in the
Pioneer Collegiate Baseball League, with home games played at Patterson Field and coached by Connor McLeod. ==The ballpark==