Kinston Indians
Encyclopedia
The Kinston Indians were a minor league baseball
team of the Carolina League
(CL), and the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians
. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina
, and were named for their parent club. The team played its home games at Grainger Stadium
, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 fans.
Established in 1987, the Indians, or "K-Tribe" as they were popularly known, played through the 2011 season. The franchise will be moving to Zebulon, North Carolina
for the 2012 campaign. An effort is currently underway to secure a new franchise for the city. A total of 17 managers
led the club since the start of the Indians affiliation including two who have since managed the big league club. The Indians played in 3,458 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 1,925–1,533.
Kinston has served as a farm club for ten different major league
franchises and one minor league club. Professional baseball dates back to a 1908 squad in the Eastern Carolina League
. Despite having one of the smallest markets in professional baseball, Kinston has proved its viability for over a century.
The K-Tribe won the CL Championship in 1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, and 2006. Previous league titles won by Kinston are the Carolina League
title in 1962 as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
, the Coastal Plain League
title in 1947 as an affiliate of the Atlanta Crackers
, and a championship in 1935 for an unaffiliated semi-pro team. Thousands of men have played for Kinston teams including Rick Ferrell
, Jim Thome
, Ron Guidry
, and Manny Ramirez
.
in and an "outlaw league" team in and . The latter was notable for being managed by former major league pitcher George Suggs
and College Football Hall of Fame
member Ira Rodgers
. Due to the efforts of the city's business leaders, former local amateur star Elisha Lewis, and George Suggs, the town secured a professional team in the Virginia League
for the season named the "Eagles".
The Eagles were a Class B team playing out of a then newly renovated stadium designed by Suggs known as West End Park. The squad had little success against other teams in their league, but was successful enough in gate receipts to validate the city's capacity to sustain a professional team. Kinston's team remained in the Virginia League for three years and then migrated to a newly reformed Eastern Carolina League. This later affiliation collapsed along with the stock market in . The 1920s Eagles' roster included a young catcher named Rick Ferrell
, who later had a long playing career and even longer front office career in the major leagues. In , Ferrell became the only former Kinston player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
. Another player, Frank Armstrong
, gave up baseball for a career in the armed services and became one of the most decorated generals in the history of the Air Force
.
, Class D league as ranked by the National Association
. The city remained in the Coastal Plain League continuously until it was disbanded after . As a member of this affiliation, Kinston saw many playoff appearances and won league championships in and . Among the superior talent during this period was a young player named Charlie "King Kong" Keller
who is listed as among the top forty major league players of all-time in terms of on-base percentage (.410).
of the Carolina League
moved his team to Kinston. At that time, the Carolina League was a Class B loop with teams located in Virginia
and North Carolina
. The team, calling itself the Kinston Eagles, were a Pittsburgh Pirates
affiliate and featured the city's first African American
ball players. In these early days of the Civil Rights Movement
, the black players in the Carolina League received much verbal and psychological abuse from the largely white, Southern fan base. The first black players were Frank Washington
and Carl Long
. Long excelled during the 1956 season, setting an RBI
standard of 111 that has never been surpassed by any later Kinston hitter. The racial experiment succeeded, but the team failed financially. The Eagles' owner was an inept businessman who brought the club near bankruptcy before it was moved 40 miles away to Wilson
in .
Kinston's re-entry into Carolina League baseball in was successful both on the field and at the turnstile. The Eagles were able to claim the first of its Carolina League crowns. At a time when Kinston's population was only 25,000, the ball club attracted over 140,000 fans. Part of the lure was the talent supplied by Kinston's parent club, the Pittsburgh Pirates
, which included Steve Blass
(17–3, 1.97 ERA
, 209 K's
), and Frank Bork
(19–7, 2.00 ERA). Another fan attraction was that the Eagles were for the first time a community owned team, operating under the non-profit
Kinston Eagles Baseball Company, run by an elected eighteen-man, unpaid board of directors. Profits were reinvested into improving the stadium, promoting the team, and supplying playing equipment for the youth of Kinston. This arrangement continued through all thirteen years of Kinston's second tenure in the Carolina League, from through .
In minor league baseball was restructured nationwide, with B, C and D classes eliminated. The Carolina League became a High-A circuit. The Eagles failed to win any championships during this second era of Carolina League play, but they managed to make the playoffs in six of thirteen seasons. The Pirates stuck with Kinston through the campaign. During three of those four seasons, the Eagles were managed by Harding "Pete" Peterson, who later oversaw the Pirates farm system, and become the Pirates' general manager, helping to build the late seventies team that won the World Series
. The Eagles became affiliated with the new Atlanta Braves
during and , under the management of Andy Pafko
. From through the Eagles were affiliation with the New York Yankees
; the fans saw a lot of future all-stars pass through the city including a young Ron Guidry
who would soon establish himself as one of the best pitcher
s in the American League
.
During the 1970s the popularity of minor league baseball reached its lowest point and the attendance in Kinston fell to only 30,000 for the season. The city needed a revival of interest, and the Expos
were turned to for help. The young Montreal franchise boasted a strong farm system
with a lot of talent. So much talent in fact, that they decided to experiment with having two High A affiliates. Instead of dividing the players evenly between the two, all the top players were placed in the West Palm Beach
club, while the newly renamed Kinston Expos had to make do with castoffs. The Kinston team soon found itself overmatched among its Carolina League rivals. The Expos fell to last place and attendance fell to only 27,000 for the year. Montreal declared the experiment a failure and withdrew from Kinston following the season. With no major league sponsor and very little fan support, Kinston likewise withdrew from the league.
Former airline pilot Ray Kuhlman
brought minor league baseball back to Kinston by investing in a Carolina League franchise in the late seventies. The renamed Kinston Eagles flew unaffiliated their first season back in the circuit in . By the next campaign, they were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays
. Toronto stayed with Kinston for seven years, and the team eventually took on the Blue Jay name. Kinston did not win any championships during the Blue Jays years. Kuhlman and his wife ran the team themselves and saw steady annual increases in attendance each year. The couple brought a string of marketing ideas to the team that have taken hold and remain to this day. These include increasing promotional days, fireworks displays, the introduction of Kinston baseball card
s, an increase in branded souvenir merchandise, the establishment of the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and the hiring of a team mascot. Another fan attraction was a collection of future major league stars including Tony Fernández
, Fred McGriff
and Cecil Fielder
.
Following the season, the Blue Jays dropped Kinston as a franchise, and professional baseball in the city seemed to be in doubt once again. There was talk of moving the franchise to Charles County, Maryland
, but the city remained in the Carolina League with an independent ball club that took on the Eagles name. proved to be disappointing in the standings and at the gate, and talk of a move was renewed, but ownership secured an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians
during the off season. For twenty-five years, Cleveland and the KTribe, as they came to be known, enjoyed a successful partnership which produced seventeen playoff appearances and five Carolina League championships . The value of the team has risen along with its onfield success. In , Kuhlman sold the team for one hundred thousand dollars. The franchise was sold again in for two hundred twenty five thousand, and changed hands again in for seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. The team's value in was estimated at one and one-half million dollars.
Six figure attendance totals became the norm throughout the 1990s and into the new century. General Manager North Johnson fostered closer bonds with the mayor's office and helped create the Mayor's Committee for Professional Baseball in . Dedicated to increasing season ticket sales and promoting ties with businesses, the committee accomplished much in a short span of time. Attendance increased by nearly twenty thousand in and by more than twelve thousand the following year. By , the number of fans through the turnstiles topped 100,000 for the first time since . Although a new ownership group purchased the franchise in , continuity in day-to-day operations was maintained through general manager North Johnson, and front office
mainstay Shari Massengill who took over the reins in . The local government's dedication to keeping baseball in Kinston is evidenced by extensive new renovations to the ballpark.
The Kinston Indians were last managed by Aaron Holbert
, a former major league infielder. Their General Manager
through the 2010 season, Shari Massengill, and former Assistant General Manager, Jessie Hays, made up the only all-female General Manager/Assistant General Manager team in the Minor Leagues. When Hays departed for the 2008 season, her replacement, Janell Bullock, was also female. The final GM was Benjamin Jones, who was previously employed by the Wilson Tobs
.
In , the Indians won the Southern Division crown for both halves of the year, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the wild card
team, the Salem Avalanche
. It was the seventh season in a row that the Indians made the post season, which is a new Carolina League record formerly held by the Burlington Bees
(–). It was the second time a Kinston team had accomplished this feat. The Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League also made it to seven post seasons in a row (–). Kinston's player development contract with Cleveland ended following the 2011 season. In 2012, the Carolina League franchise will move to Zebulon, North Carolina
and there have been no arrangements for a substitute to date.
With the Indians' move to Zebulon to become the Carolina Mudcats
in 2012, experts have speculated that Kinston may join the summer-collegiate Coastal Plain League
in the future.
.
Award was named in honor of "Cap'n Pat" Crawford
. Crawford was a longtime Kinston resident who made it to the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals
during the Gashouse Gang
era.
Steve Olin
was a right-handed submarining
relief pitcher
for Kinston who had moved up to the Cleveland Indians
. He was killed in a boating accident during spring training
of 1993 in Winter Haven, Florida
. The boat he was in struck a pier, killing him and fellow reliever Tim Crews
and seriously injuring Bob Ojeda
. Kinston's annual award for Pitcher of the Year was named in his honor.
The award given each year to the player who had to overcome the greatest adversity in his career was named in honor of Tex Drake. Drake was one of the batboy
s for the Kinston Blue Jays starting with the season. On the last day of the campaign, he found out that he had Hodgkin's Disease
which had advanced to all four stages. The club president, Gary Fitzpatrick, arranged for Drake to work as a batboy for the last three home games of the Toronto Blue Jays
season. Once back in Kinston, Drake was able to overcome his cancer through chemotherapy
and return to his duties on the field.
The Kinston player who best represented good sportsmanship
was given an award named for Steve Gaydek. Gaydek was a former member of the club's Board of Directors who became a lifelong fan of Kinston's baseball teams. He attended every home game for over twenty years even though he lived over thirty miles from the ballpark.
Lewis B. "Mac" McAvery was the head groundskeeper from to his death in . In honor of his accomplishments, the team established an award in his name to be given to the individual who has did the most to "preserve and enhance" professional baseball in Kinston.
was a dog named Scout. Scout was usually found in an Indians jersey and baseball cap
, but was also known to don a Superman
t-shirt
or an aloha shirt
depending on the antics he was performing. Scout replaced an earlier Native American mascot who was named Tom E. Hawk. With the introduction of Scout, Tom E. Hawk no longer greeted fans in person at the ballpark, but he was still seen in several of the official logos on much of the team merchandise through the 2010 season. His broadly smiling visage is very reminiscent of Cleveland's Chief Wahoo
. In late 2010, the team released new logos which did not include Tom E. Hawk.
During the days when Kinston was a Toronto Blue Jays
affiliate, the team had a bird mascot named B.J. manager Dennis Holmberg
once resorted to dressing up in the mascot's costume so that he could return to the dugout
undetected after being ejected
from a game. For the season, the Blue Jays had a dozen teenage girls, known as the Golden Corral
Lady Jays, in the stadium. This experiment only lasted the one season.
TABLE NOTES:
– Over the years, this publication has also been known as Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book and Carolina League Directory and Record Book
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team of the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
(CL), and the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,688 at the 2000 census. The population was estimated at 22,360 in 2008. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791 . Kinston is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks...
, and were named for their parent club. The team played its home games at Grainger Stadium
Grainger Stadium
Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. The Kinston Indians of the Carolina League, and all the professional Kinston baseball teams since 1949, played their home games there.-History and naming:...
, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 fans.
Established in 1987, the Indians, or "K-Tribe" as they were popularly known, played through the 2011 season. The franchise will be moving to Zebulon, North Carolina
Zebulon, North Carolina
Zebulon is the eastern-most town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. In 2008, the population was estimated to be 4,732. Zebulon is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region...
for the 2012 campaign. An effort is currently underway to secure a new franchise for the city. A total of 17 managers
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
led the club since the start of the Indians affiliation including two who have since managed the big league club. The Indians played in 3,458 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 1,925–1,533.
Kinston has served as a farm club for ten different major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
franchises and one minor league club. Professional baseball dates back to a 1908 squad in the Eastern Carolina League
Eastern Carolina League
The Eastern Carolina League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in the Eastern part of North Carolina. The league had two distinct periods of operation: 1908-1910 and a revival of the league in 1928-1929. It was classified as a "D" league....
. Despite having one of the smallest markets in professional baseball, Kinston has proved its viability for over a century.
The K-Tribe won the CL Championship in 1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, and 2006. Previous league titles won by Kinston are the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
title in 1962 as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, the Coastal Plain League
Coastal Plain League (Class D)
The Coastal Plain League was a minor league baseball affiliation which, except for the war years , operated in North Carolina from 1937 to 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1934 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name.- Coastal...
title in 1947 as an affiliate of the Atlanta Crackers
Atlanta Crackers
The Atlanta Crackers were minor league baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee in 1966....
, and a championship in 1935 for an unaffiliated semi-pro team. Thousands of men have played for Kinston teams including Rick Ferrell
Rick Ferrell
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and executive. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the...
, Jim Thome
Jim Thome
James Howard "Jim" Thome is a Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the eighth player to hit 600 home runs in the major leagues. He is widely considered a future Hall of Famer.-Cleveland Indians :...
, Ron Guidry
Ron Guidry
Ronald Ames Guidry , nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, and Manny Ramirez
Manny Ramírez
Manuel "Manny" Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a retired Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28...
.
Early years
Kinston was represented by many excellent amateur clubs since the late nineteenth century, but it was unable to sustain a viable professional team until the mid-1920s. Earlier attempts included an aborted campaign in the Class D Eastern Carolina LeagueEastern Carolina League
The Eastern Carolina League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in the Eastern part of North Carolina. The league had two distinct periods of operation: 1908-1910 and a revival of the league in 1928-1929. It was classified as a "D" league....
in and an "outlaw league" team in and . The latter was notable for being managed by former major league pitcher George Suggs
George Suggs
George Franklin Suggs was a major league baseball pitcher....
and College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
member Ira Rodgers
Ira Rodgers
-External links:*...
. Due to the efforts of the city's business leaders, former local amateur star Elisha Lewis, and George Suggs, the town secured a professional team in the Virginia League
Virginia League
The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928....
for the season named the "Eagles".
The Eagles were a Class B team playing out of a then newly renovated stadium designed by Suggs known as West End Park. The squad had little success against other teams in their league, but was successful enough in gate receipts to validate the city's capacity to sustain a professional team. Kinston's team remained in the Virginia League for three years and then migrated to a newly reformed Eastern Carolina League. This later affiliation collapsed along with the stock market in . The 1920s Eagles' roster included a young catcher named Rick Ferrell
Rick Ferrell
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and executive. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the...
, who later had a long playing career and even longer front office career in the major leagues. In , Ferrell became the only former Kinston player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
. Another player, Frank Armstrong
Frank A. Armstrong
Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Army Air Forces and the inspiration for the main character in the novel and subsequent film, Twelve O'Clock High. After the war he became a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force.Armstrong was born in Hamilton,...
, gave up baseball for a career in the armed services and became one of the most decorated generals in the history of the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
Coastal Plain League
The Great Depression took a great toll on the minor leagues, with only thirteen teams operating across the U.S. at a 1933 lowpoint. Like most, Kinston sat out the first few years of the Great Depression but reentered play for the season in the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. By the circuit had become a fully professionalCoastal Plain League (Class D)
The Coastal Plain League was a minor league baseball affiliation which, except for the war years , operated in North Carolina from 1937 to 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1934 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name.- Coastal...
, Class D league as ranked by the National Association
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , or simply the National Association , was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season...
. The city remained in the Coastal Plain League continuously until it was disbanded after . As a member of this affiliation, Kinston saw many playoff appearances and won league championships in and . Among the superior talent during this period was a young player named Charlie "King Kong" Keller
Charlie Keller
Charles Ernest "Charlie" Keller was a left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1939 through 1952, Keller played for the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers...
who is listed as among the top forty major league players of all-time in terms of on-base percentage (.410).
Carolina League
Kinston was without a team for the three year period following the dissolution of the Coastal Plain League. In 1956, the owner of the Burlington BeesBurlington Bees
The Burlington Bees are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home is in Burlington, Iowa.-History:...
of the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
moved his team to Kinston. At that time, the Carolina League was a Class B loop with teams located in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The team, calling itself the Kinston Eagles, were a Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
affiliate and featured the city's first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
ball players. In these early days of the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, the black players in the Carolina League received much verbal and psychological abuse from the largely white, Southern fan base. The first black players were Frank Washington
Frank Washington
Frank Washington is a former outfielder in minor league baseball who, along with Carl Long, broke the color barrier in the Carolina League city of Kinston, North Carolina. Washington made his debut for the Kinston Eagles on April 17, 1956. During the year, he batted .254 with 9 home runs and 40...
and Carl Long
Carl Long (baseball)
Carl Long is a former outfielder in Negro league and minor league baseball who, along with Frank Washington, broke the color barrier in the Carolina League city of Kinston, North Carolina. Long made his debut for the Kinston Eagles on April 17, 1956. During the year, he hit .291 with 18 home runs...
. Long excelled during the 1956 season, setting an RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
standard of 111 that has never been surpassed by any later Kinston hitter. The racial experiment succeeded, but the team failed financially. The Eagles' owner was an inept businessman who brought the club near bankruptcy before it was moved 40 miles away to Wilson
Wilson, North Carolina
Wilson is a city and the county seat of Wilson County in the Coastal Plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 18th largest city in the state, Wilson had a population of 49,167 according to the 2010 census.- Geography :...
in .
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, which included Steve Blass
Steve Blass
Stephen Robert "Steve" Blass is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and a current broadcast announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Playing career:Blass was born in Canaan, Connecticut...
(17–3, 1.97 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, 209 K's
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
), and Frank Bork
Frank Bork
Frank Bernard Bork was a major league baseball pitcher.Bork was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1960. He spent several years in their farm system before breaking into the big leagues...
(19–7, 2.00 ERA). Another fan attraction was that the Eagles were for the first time a community owned team, operating under the non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
Kinston Eagles Baseball Company, run by an elected eighteen-man, unpaid board of directors. Profits were reinvested into improving the stadium, promoting the team, and supplying playing equipment for the youth of Kinston. This arrangement continued through all thirteen years of Kinston's second tenure in the Carolina League, from through .
In minor league baseball was restructured nationwide, with B, C and D classes eliminated. The Carolina League became a High-A circuit. The Eagles failed to win any championships during this second era of Carolina League play, but they managed to make the playoffs in six of thirteen seasons. The Pirates stuck with Kinston through the campaign. During three of those four seasons, the Eagles were managed by Harding "Pete" Peterson, who later oversaw the Pirates farm system, and become the Pirates' general manager, helping to build the late seventies team that won the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. The Eagles became affiliated with the new Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
during and , under the management of Andy Pafko
Andy Pafko
Andrew Pafko is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1959, Pafko played for the Chicago Cubs , Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves . He batted and threw right-handed...
. From through the Eagles were affiliation with the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
; the fans saw a lot of future all-stars pass through the city including a young Ron Guidry
Ron Guidry
Ronald Ames Guidry , nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
who would soon establish himself as one of the best pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
s in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
.
During the 1970s the popularity of minor league baseball reached its lowest point and the attendance in Kinston fell to only 30,000 for the season. The city needed a revival of interest, and the Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
were turned to for help. The young Montreal franchise boasted a strong farm system
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
with a lot of talent. So much talent in fact, that they decided to experiment with having two High A affiliates. Instead of dividing the players evenly between the two, all the top players were placed in the West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
club, while the newly renamed Kinston Expos had to make do with castoffs. The Kinston team soon found itself overmatched among its Carolina League rivals. The Expos fell to last place and attendance fell to only 27,000 for the year. Montreal declared the experiment a failure and withdrew from Kinston following the season. With no major league sponsor and very little fan support, Kinston likewise withdrew from the league.
Former airline pilot Ray Kuhlman
Ray Kuhlman
Joseph Raymond "Ray" Kuhlman was a pilot, businessman, and minor league baseball owner. Ray joined the military prior to World War II and graduated from a new program as a Flying Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in December 1941...
brought minor league baseball back to Kinston by investing in a Carolina League franchise in the late seventies. The renamed Kinston Eagles flew unaffiliated their first season back in the circuit in . By the next campaign, they were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
. Toronto stayed with Kinston for seven years, and the team eventually took on the Blue Jay name. Kinston did not win any championships during the Blue Jays years. Kuhlman and his wife ran the team themselves and saw steady annual increases in attendance each year. The couple brought a string of marketing ideas to the team that have taken hold and remain to this day. These include increasing promotional days, fireworks displays, the introduction of Kinston baseball card
Baseball card
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on some type of paper stock or card stock. A card will usually feature one or more baseball players or other baseball-related sports figures...
s, an increase in branded souvenir merchandise, the establishment of the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and the hiring of a team mascot. Another fan attraction was a collection of future major league stars including Tony Fernández
Tony Fernández
Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro , better known as Tony Fernández, is a former Major League Baseball player most noted for his defensive skills setting a record for shortstops with a .992 fielding percentage in 1989.-Career:...
, Fred McGriff
Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley McGriff is a left-handed former Major League Baseball player who starred for several teams from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. A power-hitting first baseman with a tall, lanky build, the five-time All-Star became, in , the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both...
and Cecil Fielder
Cecil Fielder
Cecil Grant Fielder is a former professional baseball player who was a noted power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas . He played with the Toronto Blue Jays , Detroit Tigers , New York Yankees , Anaheim Angels and Cleveland Indians...
.
Following the season, the Blue Jays dropped Kinston as a franchise, and professional baseball in the city seemed to be in doubt once again. There was talk of moving the franchise to Charles County, Maryland
Charles County, Maryland
Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat is La Plata. This county was named for Charles Calvert , third Baron Baltimore....
, but the city remained in the Carolina League with an independent ball club that took on the Eagles name. proved to be disappointing in the standings and at the gate, and talk of a move was renewed, but ownership secured an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
during the off season. For twenty-five years, Cleveland and the KTribe, as they came to be known, enjoyed a successful partnership which produced seventeen playoff appearances and five Carolina League championships . The value of the team has risen along with its onfield success. In , Kuhlman sold the team for one hundred thousand dollars. The franchise was sold again in for two hundred twenty five thousand, and changed hands again in for seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. The team's value in was estimated at one and one-half million dollars.
Six figure attendance totals became the norm throughout the 1990s and into the new century. General Manager North Johnson fostered closer bonds with the mayor's office and helped create the Mayor's Committee for Professional Baseball in . Dedicated to increasing season ticket sales and promoting ties with businesses, the committee accomplished much in a short span of time. Attendance increased by nearly twenty thousand in and by more than twelve thousand the following year. By , the number of fans through the turnstiles topped 100,000 for the first time since . Although a new ownership group purchased the franchise in , continuity in day-to-day operations was maintained through general manager North Johnson, and front office
Front office
Front office is a business term that refers to a company's departments that come in contact with clients, including the marketing, sales, and service departments...
mainstay Shari Massengill who took over the reins in . The local government's dedication to keeping baseball in Kinston is evidenced by extensive new renovations to the ballpark.
The Kinston Indians were last managed by Aaron Holbert
Aaron Holbert
Aaron Keith Holbert is a former Major League Baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds....
, a former major league infielder. Their General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
through the 2010 season, Shari Massengill, and former Assistant General Manager, Jessie Hays, made up the only all-female General Manager/Assistant General Manager team in the Minor Leagues. When Hays departed for the 2008 season, her replacement, Janell Bullock, was also female. The final GM was Benjamin Jones, who was previously employed by the Wilson Tobs
Wilson Tobs
The Wilson Tobs are an amateur baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at Historic Fleming Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina. The Tobs were one of the original teams in the Coastal Plain League when the...
.
In , the Indians won the Southern Division crown for both halves of the year, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
team, the Salem Avalanche
Salem Avalanche
The Salem Red Sox are a minor league baseball team in Salem, Virginia, USA, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. They are a Class High-A team in the Carolina League and are a farm team of the Boston Red Sox...
. It was the seventh season in a row that the Indians made the post season, which is a new Carolina League record formerly held by the Burlington Bees
Burlington Bees
The Burlington Bees are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home is in Burlington, Iowa.-History:...
(–). It was the second time a Kinston team had accomplished this feat. The Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League also made it to seven post seasons in a row (–). Kinston's player development contract with Cleveland ended following the 2011 season. In 2012, the Carolina League franchise will move to Zebulon, North Carolina
Zebulon, North Carolina
Zebulon is the eastern-most town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. In 2008, the population was estimated to be 4,732. Zebulon is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region...
and there have been no arrangements for a substitute to date.
With the Indians' move to Zebulon to become the Carolina Mudcats
Carolina Mudcats
The Carolina Mudcats are a minor league baseball team based in the eastern suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the Carolina League, are the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians major-league club beginning in 2012.-History:...
in 2012, experts have speculated that Kinston may join the summer-collegiate Coastal Plain League
Coastal Plain League
The Coastal Plain League is a wood-bat collegiate summer league, featuring college players from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from a Class D minor league baseball league which operated in the same area from 1937 to 1952. The modern league was formed with six teams in 1997...
in the future.
Grainger Stadium
The Kinston Indians, and all the Kinston teams since 1949, played their home games at Grainger Stadium located at 400 East Grainger Avenue in Kinston. The original structure was built by architect John J. Rowland in 1949 at a cost of one hundred seventy thousand dollars inclusive of everything except the land. One hundred fifty thousand dollars of the money was raised by bond issue. The stadium is owned by the city and leased by the team. A dedicatory plaque identifies the structure as "Municipal Stadium," but it has been called Grainger Stadium since it was first built. Recent ownership referred to it as "Historic Grainger Stadium" due to its age relative to other fields in the Carolina League. It was the second oldest stadium in the circuit. The name Grainger comes from its location on Grainger Avenue as well as its use early on by Grainger High School. Grainger is a prominent old family name in Lenoir CountyLenoir County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of 2005, there were 57,961 people, 23,862 households, and 16,178 families residing in the county. The population density was 149.2 people per square mile . There were 27,940 housing units at an average density of 68 per square mile...
.
Annual Awards
Each year, usually on the weekend of the last home games, the Kinston Indians presented awards to those deserving. The team MVPMost Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
Award was named in honor of "Cap'n Pat" Crawford
Pat Crawford (baseball)
Clifford Rankin "Pat" Crawford, a.k.a. "Captain Pat", was a major league baseball player. Crawford went to Davidson College...
. Crawford was a longtime Kinston resident who made it to the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
during the Gashouse Gang
Gashouse Gang
The Gashouse Gang was a nickname applied to the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team of .The Cardinals, by most accounts, earned this nickname from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics...
era.
Steve Olin
Steve Olin
Steven Robert Olin was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four seasons in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. In 195 career games, Olin pitched 273 innings and posted a win–loss record of 16–19, with 48 saves, 118 games finished, and a 3.10 earned...
was a right-handed submarining
Submarine (baseball)
In baseball, a submarine pitch is one in which the ball is released underhand and just above the ground, with the torso bent at a right angle and shoulders tilted so severely that they rotate around a nearly horizontal axis...
relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
for Kinston who had moved up to the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. He was killed in a boating accident during spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
of 1993 in Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,487 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 32,577, making it the second most populated city in Polk County...
. The boat he was in struck a pier, killing him and fellow reliever Tim Crews
Tim Crews
Stanley Timothy Crews was a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- to . He was granted free agency after the 1992 season and signed with the Cleveland Indians on January 22, 1993....
and seriously injuring Bob Ojeda
Bob Ojeda
Robert Michael Ojeda is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Ojeda is best remembered as an anchor in the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets starting rotation , and for being the lone survivor of a March 22, boating accident that killed fellow Cleveland Indians pitchers...
. Kinston's annual award for Pitcher of the Year was named in his honor.
The award given each year to the player who had to overcome the greatest adversity in his career was named in honor of Tex Drake. Drake was one of the batboy
Batboy
A batboy is an individual who carries the baseball bats around to a baseball team. A batboy may also lay out the equipment and mud the baseballs to be used in the game.Mascots and batboys had both been part of baseball since the 1880s....
s for the Kinston Blue Jays starting with the season. On the last day of the campaign, he found out that he had Hodgkin's Disease
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
which had advanced to all four stages. The club president, Gary Fitzpatrick, arranged for Drake to work as a batboy for the last three home games of the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
season. Once back in Kinston, Drake was able to overcome his cancer through chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and return to his duties on the field.
The Kinston player who best represented good sportsmanship
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
was given an award named for Steve Gaydek. Gaydek was a former member of the club's Board of Directors who became a lifelong fan of Kinston's baseball teams. He attended every home game for over twenty years even though he lived over thirty miles from the ballpark.
Lewis B. "Mac" McAvery was the head groundskeeper from to his death in . In honor of his accomplishments, the team established an award in his name to be given to the individual who has did the most to "preserve and enhance" professional baseball in Kinston.
Mascots
The Indians' last mascotMascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
was a dog named Scout. Scout was usually found in an Indians jersey and baseball cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
, but was also known to don a Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
or an aloha shirt
Aloha shirt
The Aloha shirt commonly referred to as a Hawaiian shirt is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. It is currently the premier textile export of the Hawaii manufacturing industry. The shirts are printed, mostly short-sleeved, and collared. They usually have buttons, sometimes as a complete...
depending on the antics he was performing. Scout replaced an earlier Native American mascot who was named Tom E. Hawk. With the introduction of Scout, Tom E. Hawk no longer greeted fans in person at the ballpark, but he was still seen in several of the official logos on much of the team merchandise through the 2010 season. His broadly smiling visage is very reminiscent of Cleveland's Chief Wahoo
Chief Wahoo
Chief Wahoo is a trademarked logo for the Cleveland Indians baseball team. The illustration is a Native American cartoon caricature.Although the club had adopted the name "Indians" starting with the 1915 season, there was no acknowledgment of this nickname on their uniforms until 1928...
. In late 2010, the team released new logos which did not include Tom E. Hawk.
During the days when Kinston was a Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
affiliate, the team had a bird mascot named B.J. manager Dennis Holmberg
Dennis Holmberg
Dennis Neals Holmberg is a former minor league baseball player and major league coach. He is currently a minor league manager for the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League....
once resorted to dressing up in the mascot's costume so that he could return to the dugout
Dugout (baseball)
In baseball, the dugout is a team's bench area and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. In general, the dugout is occupied by all players not prescribed to be on the field at that...
undetected after being ejected
Ejection (sports)
In sports, an ejection is one of several disqualifying actions assessed to a player or coach by a game official , usually for unsportsmanlike conduct....
from a game. For the season, the Blue Jays had a dozen teenage girls, known as the Golden Corral
Golden Corral
Golden Corral is an American family-style restaurant chain that features a large buffet and grill offering numerous hot and cold items, a carving station and their Brass Bell Bakery...
Lady Jays, in the stadium. This experiment only lasted the one season.
Local baseball personalities
- Chris Hemeyer: Hemeyer was the radio voice of the Indians as well as the host of Tribe Talk. Tribe Talk was an interview television program shown on local public accessPublic-access televisionPublic-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
stations in southeastern North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Besides interviewing team members and staff, the show also has highlighted recent Kinston games. First run episodes aired once a week during the season.
- Team Mamas: Anne "Mama" Robinson and Evelyn "Mama" Kornegay were local residents of Kinston who hosted players during their stay in Kinston. Mama Robinson hosted players for the first eleven years of the current franchise (1987–1997), while Mama Kornegay took over the duties until her death in 2010. Although only a few of the team members lived in the house at any one time, the homes became popular gathering places and a home away from home for the club. Prior to this arrangement, players had some difficulty establishing a stable environment in which to live. In his autobiography, Ron GuidryRon GuidryRonald Ames Guidry , nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
relates how his rented mobile home was sold out from under him while he was gone on Reserve duty. David WellsDavid WellsDavid Lee Wells , nicknamed "Boomer", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Wells was considered to be one of the game's better left-handed pitchers, especially during his years with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched the fifteenth perfect game in baseball history...
tells similar stories of being bounced around from place to place during his time in Kinston.
- Delmont Miller: (March 30, 1966 – October 25, 2008): Miller was the longtime scoreboardScoreboardA scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...
operator for the Indians. His humorous first inning chatter and "shout-outs" prior to each "KTribe" game had become a tradition at Grainger Stadium. Recognizing the popularity of Delmont with both the fans and the players, the Kinston front office held special "Delmont Miller Nights" and built promotions around his unique personality. His twenty-plus year career at the stadium spanned several ownerships and even major league affiliation changes. Prior to becoming the scoreboard operator, he was the clubhouse assistant for the Kinston Blue Jays. His first name came from his father's love of Del MonteDel Monte FoodsDel Monte Foods is an American food production and distribution company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $3.6...
brand peaches. On October 25, 2008, the 42 year-old Miller died of a massive heart attack.
- The Smeraldos: Robert Smeraldo and Robert Smeraldo Jr. were the longtime father/son clubhouse managers for the ballclub. The senior Smeraldo has since died. His son no longer works for the team.
Season by season results
| Year | Name | League | Level | Affiliation | Record | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Carolina Eastern Carolina League The Eastern Carolina League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in the Eastern part of North Carolina. The league had two distinct periods of operation: 1908-1910 and a revival of the league in 1928-1929. It was classified as a "D" league.... |
D | 6–12 | Loyd K. Wooten | DNF | |||
| Robins | E.C.B.A. Eastern Carolina Baseball Association The Eastern Carolina Baseball Association was a six team minor league baseball affiliation which operated in the Eastern part of North Carolina. The league was considered to be an "outlaw" league since it existed outside of the law of the National Association.... |
outlaw | ? | Jim White | |||
| Highwaymen | E.C.B.A. | outlaw | ? | Suggs George Suggs George Franklin Suggs was a major league baseball pitcher.... /Rodgers Ira Rodgers -External links:*... |
|||
| Eagles | Virginia Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928.... |
B | 52–80 | Johnny Nee Johnny Nee John Coleman "Johnny" Nee was a major league baseball scout and a minor league player-manager.... |
|||
| Eagles | Virginia | B | 69–83 | Johnny Nee | |||
| Eagles | Virginia | B | 56–75 | Konnick Mike Konnick Michael Aloysius "Mike" Kozicky was a major league baseball player and scout and a minor league manager.... /Hauger Art Hauger John Arthur Hauger was a major league baseball player and scout and minor league manager.Hauger was an outfielder for the Cleveland Naps... |
|||
| Eagles | Eastern Carolina | D | 55–59 | Bennett/Walters | |||
| Eagles | Eastern Carolina | D | 46–71 | Clarence Roper | |||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | semipro Semi-professional A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional... |
36–24 | Bunn Hearn Bunn Hearn Charles Bunn "Bunny" Hearn was a major league baseball pitcher, major league scout, and minor league, semi-pro and college level manager.-Biography:He was born on May 21, 1891 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.... |
Lost League Finals | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | semipro | 41–26 | Bunn Hearn | League Champs | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | semipro | 40–32 | Herschel Caldwell | Lost League Finals | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain Coastal Plain League (Class D) The Coastal Plain League was a minor league baseball affiliation which, except for the war years , operated in North Carolina from 1937 to 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1934 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name.- Coastal... |
D | St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to... |
32–65 | Bess/Taylor | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | St. Louis Cardinals | 60–50 | Tommy West | Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | St. Louis Cardinals | 65–59 | Henry Snake Henry Frederick Marshall "Snake" Henry was a major league baseball first baseman and minor league manager.... /Lucas/Herring |
Lost League Finals | |
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | 63–60 | Sothern Denny Sothern Dennis Elwood "Denny" Sothern, was a major league baseball player and a minor league manager.... /Aerette |
Lost League Finals | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | 42–77 | McHenry/DeMasi | |||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | 67–56 | Frank Rodgers | Lost League Finals | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | Atlanta Crackers Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were minor league baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee in 1966.... |
74–65 | Steve Collins Steve Collins (baseball) Steve Collins was a minor league baseball player-manager.Infielder Collins spent eleven seasons in the minor leagues including a three year stint as the player-manager for the Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League . At the time, the Eagles were an affiliate of the Atlanta Crackers... |
League Champs | |
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | 80–59 | Steve Collins | Lost League Finals | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | 74–64 | Steve Collins | Lost League Finals | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"... |
70–68 | Wally Millies Wally Millies Walter Louis Millies was a major league baseball player and scout and a minor league manager.... |
Lost League Finals | |
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | 79–47 | Wes Livengood Wes Livengood Wesley Amos Livengood was a major league baseball pitcher and minor league baseball manager including some time as a player-manager.... |
Lost in 1st round | ||
| Eagles | Coastal Plain | D | Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... |
76–47 | Wayne Blackburn Wayne Blackburn Wayne Tennyson Blackburn was a major league baseball coach and minor league player-manager.... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Carolina Carolina League The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth... |
B | Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions... |
66–87 | Paepke Jack Paepke Jack Paepke was a minor league baseball pitcher and manager as well as a player-manager. He later was a major league baseball coach and scout. He was born in Provo, Utah.... /Taylor |
||
| Eagles | Carolina | B | Washington Senators Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the... |
5–15 | Pete Suder Pete Suder Peter Suder , nicknamed "Pecky," was an American professional baseball player, a utility infielder for the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics . He was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.... |
DNF | |
| Eagles | Carolina | B | Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions... |
83–57 | Pete Peterson | League Champs | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Pittsburgh Pirates | 77–66 | Pete Peterson | Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Pittsburgh Pirates | 79–59 | Pete Peterson | Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Pittsburgh Pirates | 72–71 | Bob Clear Bob Clear Elwood Robert Clear was an American minor league baseball infielder, pitcher and manager, and a Major League coach with the California Angels. He was born in Denver, Colorado.... |
||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Atlanta Braves Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997.... |
76–63 | Andy Pafko Andy Pafko Andrew Pafko is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1959, Pafko played for the Chicago Cubs , Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves . He batted and threw right-handed... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Atlanta Braves | 60–75 | Andy Pafko | ||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | New York Yankees New York Yankees The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division... |
62–75 | Bob Bauer | ||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | New York Yankees | 74–68 | Gene Hassell Gene Hassell Eugene "Gene" Hassell was a minor league baseball player and manager. He played eleven years in the minor leagues then managed for another eleven in the minors. As a player, Hassell was an infielder with a high on base percentage and speed but without power; he failed to hit a single home run in... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | New York Yankees | 72–65 | Alex Cosmidis Alex Cosmidis Alex N. Cosmidis is an American professional baseball scout. He was a minor league baseball infielder for eleven seasons, a manager for eight, and a scout since 1982.... |
||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | New York Yankees | 83–52 | Gene Hassell | Lost League Finals | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | New York Yankees | 73–64 | Gene Hassell | Lost League Finals | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Co-op | 68–69 | Gene Hassell | ||
| Expos | Carolina | High-A | Montreal Expos Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's... |
38–93 | Jack Damaska Jack Damaska Jack Lloyd Damaska was a major league baseball player, minor league baseball player and minor league manager.... |
||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | 57–77 | Leo Mazzone Leo Mazzone Leo David Mazzone is a former pitcher in minor league baseball and coach in Major League Baseball. He began working with the Atlanta Braves' organization in 1979.-Early life:... |
|||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League .... |
67–69 | Duane Larson Duane Larson Duane Larson was a minor league baseball infielder, and is currently a major league scout and special assistant to the General Manager in the Atlanta Braves organization.... |
||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays | 69–69 | Dennis Holmberg Dennis Holmberg Dennis Neals Holmberg is a former minor league baseball player and major league coach. He is currently a minor league manager for the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League.... |
||
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays | 72–68 | John McLaren John McLaren (baseball) John Lowell McLaren is a former Major League Baseball coach and manager, best known for his brief tenure as manager of the Seattle Mariners, from July 1, to June 19,... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Blue Jays | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays | 76–59 | John McLaren | ||
| Blue Jays | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays | 62–76 | Clark/Ault Doug Ault Douglas Reagan Ault was a Major League Baseball first baseman/designated hitter who played for the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays . He batted right-handed and threw left-handed.... |
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| Blue Jays | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays | 71–69 | Doug Ault | ||
| Blue Jays | Carolina | High-A | Toronto Blue Jays | 64–73 | Grady Little Grady Little William Grady Little is a former manager in Major League Baseball. He managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2007... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Eagles | Carolina | High-A | Co-op | 60–75 | Dave Trembley Dave Trembley David Michael Trembley is a former manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Before managing the Orioles Trembley was a minor league manager for twenty seasons compiling a 1369–1413 record. He won two league titles and earned Manager of the Year awards in three leagues... |
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| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona... |
75–65 | Mike Hargrove Mike Hargrove Dudley Michael Hargrove is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Indians.... |
Lost League Finals | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 88–52 | Glenn Adams Glenn Adams Glenn Charles Adams is a former designated hitter and corner outfielder in Major League Baseball.... |
League Champs | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 76–60 | Ken Bolek Ken Bolek Ken Bolek is a former minor league baseball coach, major league coach and minor league manager. He is currently an instructor for The Baseball Academy, a high level training school for elite baseball players from all levels of amateur and professional competition, run by IMG Academies.Bolek... |
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| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 88–47 | Brian Graham Brian Graham For the Scottish footballer, see Brian Graham Brian Graham is a former minor league baseball player, coach and manager and major league coach for the Cleveland Indians... |
Lost League Finals | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 89–49 | Brian Graham | League Champs | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 65–71 | Dave Keller Dave Keller Dave Keller was a minor league baseball player, coach and manager and major league coach for the Cleveland Indians. He is currently the minor league hitting coordinator for the Chicago Cubs farm system.... |
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| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 71–67 | Dave Keller | Lost in 1st round | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 60–78 | Dave Keller | ||
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 81–56 | Gordon Mackenzie Gordon Mackenzie Henry Gordon Mackenzie is a former a Major League Baseball player. In 1956, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Kansas City Athletics. Mackenzie made his major league debut on August 13, 1961 against the Chicago White Sox... |
League Champs | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 76–62 | Jack Mull Jack Mull Jack Mull, was a minor league baseball catcher, a major league coach, and minor league manager, and is currently a minor league coach.-Career:... |
Lost League Finals | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 87–53 | Joel Skinner Joel Skinner Joel Patrick Skinner is a former Major League Baseball catcher and former third base coach of the Cleveland Indians. Skinner was dismissed effective with the end of the 2009 season on September 30, 2009. He is the son of Bob Skinner, a National League outfielder in the 1950s and '60s... |
Lost League Finals | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 69–71 | Mako Oliveras Mako Oliveras Max "Mako" Oliveras was a Minor League Baseball player and also was a minor league manager with the Binghamton Mets. Oliveras played seven seasons in the minor leagues. He was also a coach in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs.In May , he took over as skipper of the independent Miami Marlins... |
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| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 79–58 | Eric Wedge Eric Wedge Eric Michael Wedge is a Major League Baseball manager and former catcher, and is the current manager of the Seattle Mariners. As a player, Wedge attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne and played on the school's state champion baseball team in 1983... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 68–69 | Brad Komminsk Brad Komminsk Brad Komminsk , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Despite a sterling record in the minor leagues, he never played well in the majors... |
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| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 89–51 | Brad Komminsk | Lost in 1st round | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 74–65 | Ted Kubiak Ted Kubiak Theodore Rodger Kubiak is a former switch-hitting infielder for the Kansas City Athletics, the Oakland Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Texas Rangers, and the San Diego Padres. He was a member of the Oakland Athletics teams that won three World Series in a row... |
Lost League Finals | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 73–66 | Torey Lovullo Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo is a former Major League Baseball infielder and current first base coach of The Toronto Blue Jays. He was the manager of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. He is an alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 88–50 | Torey Lovullo | League Champs | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 76–64 | Luis Rivera | Lost League Finals | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 85–54 | Mike Sarbaugh Mike Sarbaugh Michael "Mike" Sarbaugh is a former minor league baseball player, and is currently a minor league manager for the Columbus Clippers the AAA farm team of the Cleveland Indians. After attending Lamar University, where he was an all conference shortstop and earned a degree in kinesiology, Sarbaugh... |
League Champs | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 87–52 | Mike Sarbaugh | Lost in 1st round | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 72–66 | Chris Tremie Chris Tremie Christopher James Tremie is a former Major League Baseball player who served primarily as a catcher. He began his MLB career in with the Chicago White Sox... |
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| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 60–78 | Chris Tremie | ||
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 73–67 | Aaron Holbert Aaron Holbert Aaron Keith Holbert is a former Major League Baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.... |
Lost in 1st round | |
| Indians | Carolina | High-A | Cleveland Indians | 76–62 | Aaron Holbert | Lost League Finals | |
TABLE NOTES:
- The record for the 1938 team above were the actual wins and losses for that team. An ineligible player scandal caused the league office to award or take away wins and losses from teams based on their violations of the rules. The "official" adjusted record at the end of the season was 64–45.
- DNF = Did Not Finish season.
- Sources
No Hitters
- Jim Meade (6/12/1926) vs the Petersburg Broncos
- Eddie Nowak (7/31/1939) vs the New Bern Bears
- Conrad Noessel (6/11/1966) vs the Tidewater Tides (7 innings)
- William Olsen (5/11/1970) vs the Burlington Senators
- Bob Elliott (6/14/1970) vs the Lynchburg Twins (7 innings)
- Oscar MuñozOscar Muñoz (baseball)Juan Oscar Muñoz is a former major league baseball pitcher.Muñoz attended the University of Miami and was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 1990 amateur draft. He played in the Cleveland farm system until 1991...
(5/26/1991) vs the Prince William Cannons - Paul ByrdPaul ByrdPaul Gregory Byrd is an American professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher who is currently a free agent. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2009. He is known as being the "nicest guy in baseball"...
, Scott Morgan, and Mike Soper (8/23/1991) vs the Prince William Cannons - Jason RakersJason RakersJason Paul Rakers is an American former Major League Baseball player. A pitcher, Rakers played for the Cleveland Indians in and , and the Kansas City Royals in . He last played professional baseball in with both the Akron Aeros and Buffalo Bisons.-External links:...
(6/4/1997) vs the Durham BullsDurham BullsThe Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the International League. The Bulls play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park located in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is often called the "DBAP" or "D-Bap". The Bulls are...
(7 inning game) - Keith RamseyKeith RamseyKeith Benjamin Ramsey is a surfer, musician, writer, free spirit, and most notably a professional baseball pitcher who once threw a perfect game.-Family:...
(9/6/2004) vs the Myrtle Beach PelicansMyrtle Beach PelicansThe Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a minor league baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They are a Class A Advanced team in the Carolina League and the franchise is currently the farm team of the Texas Rangers. From their inaugural season until 2010, the Pelicans were an affiliate of the...
(perfect gamePerfect gameA perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
) - Marty Popham, Chris Jones and Cory Burns (9/5/2010) vs the Potomac NationalsPotomac NationalsThe Potomac Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team located in Woodbridge, Virginia. The Nationals play in the Class A Advanced Carolina League, and are an affiliate of the Washington Nationals.-History:...
(10 innings)
Newspapers
– Issues for the 1908 season do not exist. Issues for all other seasons are available on microfilm at Lenoir Community College.Official sources
– Programs are also referred to as yearbooks.– Over the years, this publication has also been known as Carolina League Media Guide and Record Book and Carolina League Directory and Record Book