Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club was founded in 1901, and lasted in some form until 1973, capturing 11 league titles during its history. From 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1972, the Hornets were a farm system affiliate of the original Washington Senators franchise and its post-1960 successor, the Minnesota Twins. The 1931 and 1951 Hornets were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. Early history (1892, 1901–1936) The earliest "Charlotte Hornets" team was in 1892, according to Minor League Baseball records. The team played in the 19th century South Atlantic League for one season. Their nickname was the "maroons" because of the maroon color of the stockings and caps for their uniforms, while the jersey and pants likely were gray, with CHARLOTTE across the jersey, likely in maroon. Later in 1900, the Charlotte "Presbyterians" played a 27-game season in the North Carolina Association. In 1901, the former "lads in gray and green" Portsmouth Boers relocated from Virginia to the Queen City, their uniforms re-used with replacing the P with a C on their jersey. Under the name Hornets, a professional baseball team played in 1901 and 1902 in the Virginia–North Carolina League and the North Carolina League respectively, both Class C leagues (roughly equivalent to Short Season Class A today). In 1905 the Hornets again played in the Virginia–North Carolina League (then a Class D operation, equivalent to a Rookie-level league today). In 1908, the Hornets were a founding member of the Carolina Association (Class D) through 1913. In 1912, the Hornets moved from the Latta Park Baseball Field, to a new ballpark built by J.H. Wearn, called "Wearn Field", also called "Hayman Park" in the 1920s and 1930s, also in the 1930s it was called "Robbies Field". The Hornets moved to the North Carolina State League in 1913, another Class D League. The team remained with the North Carolina State League until 1917 when the team folded because of World War I. In 1919, the Hornets moved to the South Atlantic League (Class C 1919–1920, Class B after 1921) where they remained through the 1930 season. In 1931, the "Bees" were (Class C) playing in the Piedmont League, and from 1932 - 1935, (Class B, equivalent to Class A today) Piedmont League.