About Us
For hundreds of years the shores of the “Unsalted Sea”, Lake Superior, have played a large part in building the fabric of our great country. From a steel plant in Morgan Park to a famous brewery downtown, and a world renowned backpack company in “The Friendly West End” to and an airplane company on “The Hill.” The Iron Ore shipping industry to the ship yards and Grain Elevators of Superior. The Twin Ports has been at the center of commerce and industry that helped make America Great!
As kids we heard stories handed down for generations about Vikings visiting Duluth, Fur Trade, Northwoods LumberJacks, Railroad Tycoons, and shipwrecks. The most exciting stories to a couple of baseball loving West Duluth kids always involved Wade Stadium and the Twin Ports various connections to professional baseball.
Perhaps the most interesting was the Legend of Rusty Harris’s Bat, The Skyline Special.
In 1900, Rusty Harris was one year removed from playing for the National League’s Cleveland Spiders—the worst team in Major League Baseball history—when he first came to the Twin Ports.
While playing Semi-Professional ball for old Superior Sidewinders, Harris met a sawmill hand from Oneota. One day the two were “walking the hills of old Duluth” when Rusty took notice of the sturdy trees that could withstand the harsh Northland winters.
Harris’s new friend surprised him with a bat turned from one of the majestic Brewer Park maples they had seen on their walk. Harris swung that bat in the very next Sidewinders game and promptly named it The Skyline Special.
With The Skyline Special, Harris led the league in batting everywhere he went for the next five years: Omaha, Los Angeles, Wilkes-Barre, Buffalo, St. Paul. But because of his age, his association with the lowly Spiders, and his rowdy reputation, he never got a chance to swing his mighty bat in the big leagues.
Years later Harris reappeared in Duluth. Some say he fled to the Great Northwoods after a botched boxing promotion in Detroit. Whatever the circumstances, he still had his prized possession, the Skyline Special.
Time passed. Harris and his bat drew a crowd at every Twin Ports industrial league game and he always got the big hit.
Then one night Harris lost his bat in a card game. He thought the mysterious man at the table looked familiar, but he could not place him in the darkness of the room. Legend has it that the stranger was the high-hatted boxer wearing a disguise. Whoever it was, he slipped away into the night with the Skyline Special, never to be seen again.
Our story picks up in 1993 when the Duluth-Superior Dukes brought professional baseball back to The Twin Ports and returned to Frank Wade Stadium. Their return to “The Wade” filled a void that was left when the Dukes, who had played there since 1941, exited the Northern League in 1970.
Wade Stadium was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1940. It was constructed from bricks salvaged from old Grand Avenue which is just up the block from where the stadium stands today.
All of the stories and the history surrounding the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior led to a dream conceived in the shadows of Wade Stadium. To build a wood baseball bat that honors our local history, the history of baseball, and the craftsmanship and dedication to those who helped make baseball Americas Game.


About Us
For hundreds of years the shores of the “Unsalted Sea”, Lake Superior, have played a large part in building the fabric of our great country. From a steel plant in Morgan Park to a famous brewery downtown, and a world renowned backpack company in “The Friendly West End” to and an airplane company on “The Hill.” The Iron Ore shipping industry to the ship yards and Grain Elevators of Superior. The Twin Ports has been at the center of commerce and industry that helped make America Great!
As kids we heard stories handed down for generations about Vikings visiting Duluth, Fur Trade, Northwoods LumberJacks, Railroad Tycoons, and shipwrecks. The most exciting stories to a couple of baseball loving West Duluth kids always involved Wade Stadium and the Twin Ports various connections to professional baseball.
Perhaps the most interesting was the Legend of Rusty Harris’s Bat, The Skyline Special.
In 1900, Rusty Harris was one year removed from playing for the National League’s Cleveland Spiders—the worst team in Major League Baseball history—when he first came to the Twin Ports.
While playing Semi-Professional ball for old Superior Sidewinders, Harris met a sawmill hand from Oneota. One day the two were “walking the hills of old Duluth” when Rusty took notice of the sturdy trees that could withstand the harsh Northland winters.
Harris’s new friend surprised him with a bat turned from one of the majestic Brewer Park maples they had seen on their walk. Harris swung that bat in the very next Sidewinders game and promptly named it The Skyline Special.
With The Skyline Special, Harris led the league in batting everywhere he went for the next five years: Omaha, Los Angeles, Wilkes-Barre, Buffalo, St. Paul. But because of his age, his association with the lowly Spiders, and his rowdy reputation, he never got a chance to swing his mighty bat in the big leagues.
Years later Harris reappeared in Duluth. Some say he fled to the Great Northwoods after a botched boxing promotion in Detroit. Whatever the circumstances, he still had his prized possession, the Skyline Special.
Time passed. Harris and his bat drew a crowd at every Twin Ports industrial league game and he always got the big hit.
Then one night Harris lost his bat in a card game. He thought the mysterious man at the table looked familiar, but he could not place him in the darkness of the room. Legend has it that the stranger was the high-hatted boxer wearing a disguise. Whoever it was, he slipped away into the night with the Skyline Special, never to be seen again.
Our story picks up in 1993 when the Duluth-Superior Dukes brought professional baseball back to The Twin Ports and returned to Frank Wade Stadium. Their return to “The Wade” filled a void that was left when the Dukes, who had played there since 1941, exited the Northern League in 1970.
Wade Stadium was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1940. It was constructed from bricks salvaged from old Grand Avenue which is just up the block from where the stadium stands today.
All of the stories and the history surrounding the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior led to a dream conceived in the shadows of Wade Stadium. To build a wood baseball bat that honors our local history, the history of baseball, and the craftsmanship and dedication to those who helped make baseball Americas Game.
Our Team

Joe Gingerelli
Joe has been involved, one way or another, in the area baseball scene since his time as a player at Duluth Denfeld. He played JUCO baseball after high school graduation. His lengthy amateur career started in the summer of 1994 and included stints with the Duluth Xpress, Bayside Vipers, Montgomery Mallards, Savage Mustangs, Twin Ports North Stars, Duluth-Superior Dukes, and Lake Superior Sea Dogs. He’s been a coach and instructor, serving teams and organizations in the upper Midwest. He has been an instructor with the US Baseball Academy since 2014, serving as site director in 2015 & 2016. In addition, he’s an ongoing member of both the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association. Serving on many of the area’s executive boards, Joe has been an advocate for growth and development of youth and adult baseball in the Twin Ports for nearly three decades.

Corey Verhel
Corey is a local high school graduate of Duluth Denfeld High School, went on to play collegiate baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. He has been involved in amateur wood bat baseball teams for the last 24 years, continuing to play on a 35 and older team, winning a state championship in 2022. Corey is also a high school baseball coach, while serving as a steward in the local baseball community at all age levels. Joe Gingerelli and Corey are lifelong friends, teammates, and now business partners in one of their childhood passions and dreams.