Everything for Albuquerque Dukes' Fans!
You'll find t-shirts, youth gear, gifts, jerseys and ladies' wear on our site. Check it out now.
A little about the Albuquerque Dukes...
The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class-D Rio Grande Association. The team fiished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank Huelman was the league leader in home runs, hitting 10 dingers for the season. These Dukes folded that same year. Albuquerque was host to two other Class-D minor-league teams (the Dons and the Cardinals, the latter for which Tingley Field was built) before the Dukes returned in 1942, this time with the Class-D West Texas-New Mexico League. The Dukes went 24-30, but withdrew from competition in June of that year. The league was silent from 1943 to 945 due to World War II, but play resumed in 1946 with the Dukes returning to the league, which was reclassified as Class-C. In 1955 the West Texas-New Mexico League stepped up one more level, to Class-B.
In 1956 the Dukes began play in the Class-A Western League as an affiliate of the New York Giants (now San Francisco). In 1958 they switched to being the Cincinnati Reds affiliate, but the Western League folded at the end of the season.
The Dukes returned to Albuquerque in 1960, playing as an affiliate for the Kansas City Athletics (now Oakland) in the Class-D Sophomore League. In 1962 Kansas City management moved the team to the Double-A Texas League, but dropped the team at the end of the season. The Los Angeles Dodgers took over as the Dukes' parent organization, allowing the team to stay in the Texas League as the Albuquerque Dodgers. In 1969, the Dukes moved from Tingley Field to the Albuquerque Sports Stadium, a fully-modern facility on the south edge of town in the University of New Mexico area.
In 1972, the Dukes moved up one more rung on the minor-league ladder, this time to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. The AAA franchise, which had chartered in the PCL as the Los Angeles Angels and had become the Spokane Indians . With future Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda at the helm, the Dukes amassed a 92-58 record and won the PCL championship, the first of eight for the franchise. That 1972 team, featuring future big leaguers Burt Hooton, Charlie Hough, Davey Lopes, Larry Hisle, Tom Paciorek, and Von Joshua (among others), is considered by many to be one of the best minor league squads in baseball history.
The Dukes stayed comfortably in their role for the next 28 years. The 1981 club, powered by sluggers Mike Marshall and Greg Brock, was also a dominant team. In the early 1990s, future stars such as Mike Piazza, Pedro Martínez, John Wetteland, Raúl Mondesí, Paul Konerko, and many more came through on their way to 'The Show.' The team won PCL titles in 1990 and '94, and posted the PCL's best overall record in 1991. In 2000, however, the Lozinak family sold the franchise to an interest group in Portland, Oregon. Following that season, the Dukes were moved and renamed the Portland Beavers. In Albuquerque the Dukes tradition remains alive as one of the most successful sports brands in the area. We remember you Dukes!
