Charlotte Knights

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Charlotte Knights Founded in 1976 Fort Mill, South Carolina
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-Level
Triple-A (1993-Present) Double-A (1976-1992)
Minor League affiliations
International League South Division Southern League (1976-1992)
Major League affiliations
Chicago White Sox (1999-Present) Florida Marlins (1996-1998) Cleveland Indians (1993-1995) Chicago Cubs (1989-1992) Baltimore Orioles (1976-1988)
Name
Charlotte Knights (1989-Present) Charlotte Orioles (1976-1988)
Ballpark
Knights Stadium (1990-Present) Knights Castle (1989) Crockett Park (1976-1988)
Minor League titles
League titles	1980, 1984, 1993, 1999
Division titles	1993, 2006
Owner(s)/Operated by: Don Beaver, Bill Allen
Manager: Marc Bombard
General Manager: Dan Rajkowski

The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The Knights currently play in Knights Stadium, located in Fort Mill, South Carolina; a suburb of Charlotte. However, plans are underway for the team to move to a new stadium in downtown Charlotte.

Contents 1 History 2 Affiliations 3 Titles 4 Current roster 5 Alumni 5.1 As the Hornets 5.2 As the O's 5.3 As the Knights 6 Coaches 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

Professional baseball in Charlotte dates to 1901, with the formation of the Charlotte Hornets. They were an independent team until 1937, when the Washington Senators, now the Minnesota Twins, purchased the team. The Hornets would remain affiliated with the Senators/Twins for 35 years. In 1940, Calvin Griffith, the son of Senators owner Clark Griffith and future owner of the Senators/Twins, built a 3,200-seat park in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood, Calvin Griffith Park. It would be the home of Charlotte baseball for the next half-century.

After several years on the lower rungs of the minor league totem pole, the Hornets joined the Class A South Atlantic League in 1954. They had previously been members of the South Atlantic League in the 1920s. The South Atlantic League became a AA league in 1963 and renamed itself the Southern League in 1964. In 1972, the team renamed itself the Charlotte Twins. Minnesota dropped its affiliation after the 1972 season. Unable to link up with a new team, the Twins disbanded.

The current incarnation of Charlotte baseball began in 1976, when wrestling promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. bought the Asheville Orioles, the AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and renamed them the Charlotte Orioles. Griffith Park was fixed up and renamed Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Park (popularly known as Crockett Park). The team, popularly known as the O's, won Southern League titles in 1980 and 1984. Eventual major-league superstars Eddie Murray (the O's original first baseman in 1976), Cal Ripken (1980) and Curt Schilling (mid-1980s) played for the O's.

In March of 1985, Crockett Park (mostly wood-framed) was destroyed by a massive fire after a high school baseball game. An investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was arson. The Crockett family built a 5,500-seat makeshift stadium immediately afterward, which served as the O's home for three years. In 1989, George Shinn, founder of the NBA Charlotte Hornets, bought the team from the Crockett family. Later in the year, he renamed the team the Knights and switched the team's affiliation to the Chicago Cubs.

The team moved to Knights Castle, a temporary 8,000 seat stadium located on Deerfield Drive in Fort Mill, South Carolina near the construction site of Knights Stadium. The stadium was built for the 1989 season and was demolished following the final game that year to make room for Knights Stadium in Fort Mill in 1990.^[1]

In 1993, Charlotte acquired an International League franchise as the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. This expansion team took the Charlotte Knights name, with the former AA Knights of the Southern League relocating to Nashville, Tennessee and ultimately Mobile, Alabama to become the current Mobile Bay Bears. The new AAA Knights, led by future major-league stars Jim Thome and Manny Ramírez, won the International League title in 1993. Much of the core of that team, including manager Charlie Manuel, played a role in the Indians' World Series teams of 1995 and 1997.

For the 1996-1997 seasons, the Knights were the AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins. Before the 1998 season, Shinn sold the Knights to N.C. businessman Don Beaver, who negotiated a AAA affiliation agreement with the Chicago White Sox. The Knights won another International League title in 1999 as the White Sox' top affiliate. Notable former Knights under the White Sox affiliation include current Angels pitcher Jon Garland and White Sox position player Joe Crede. This agreement has recently been extended to ensure that professional baseball will remain in the Charlotte area for many years to come.

Recently, the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County Commission approved a land-swap agreement which, barring potential legal action, will permit construction of a new AAA-sized stadium in downtown Charlotte. If built, it will be located near Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers. The team's attendance has sagged in recent years, and it was hoped that bringing the Knights back to the city would increase attendance.

[edit] Affiliations

• Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1937-42, 1946-72
• Baltimore Orioles 1976-88
• Chicago Cubs 1989-92
• Cleveland Indians 1993-95
• Florida Marlins 1996-1997
• Chicago White Sox 1998-present

[edit] Titles

• Charlotte Hornets - North Carolina League Championship 1902, 1916, 1923
• Charlotte Hornets - Piedmont League Championship 1931, 1938
• Charlotte Hornets - Tri-State League Championship 1946, 1947, 1952
• Charlotte Hornets - Southern League Championship 1971
• Charlotte O's - Southern League Championship 1984
• Charlotte Knights - Governors' Cup, International League Championship 1993
• Charlotte Knights - Governors' Cup, International League Championship 1999

[edit] Current roster

Charlotte Knights roster view • talk • edit
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 21 Lance Broadway* 41 D.J. Carrasco 20 Jason Childers 35 Jack Egbert* 17 Charlie Haeger*  5 Mike MacDougal* 31 Tomo Ohka 16 Derek Rodriguez 40 Clayton Richard 36 Scott Sauerbeck 26 Ehren Wassermann* 29 Wes Whisler		Catchers  8 Donny Lucy*† 12 Paul Phillips 24 Jared Price Infielders  2 Fernando Cortez 37 Brad Eldred 43 Josh Fields* 11 Chris Getz 27 Royce Huffman  3 Danny Richar* Outfielders 10 Jason Bourgeois 18 David Cook 15 Jeff DaVanon†  6 Jerry Owens*  9 Dewayne Wise		Manager 13 Marc Bombard Coaches 23 Joe McEwing (hitting) 34 Richard Dotson (pitching) † Disabled list * On Chicago White Sox 40-man roster ‡ Reserve list § Suspended list Roster updated 2008-06-14 Transactions

[edit] Alumni

[edit] As the Hornets

• Moonlight Graham
• Graig Nettles
• Harmon Killebrew
• Minnie Mendoza
• Tony Oliva
• Early Wynn

[edit] As the O's

• Rick Dempsey
• Steve Finley
• Eddie Murray
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Curt Schilling

[edit] As the Knights

• Joe Borchard
• José Canseco
• Mark Clark
• Joe Crede
• Brad Fullmer
• Brian Giles
• Liván Hernández
• Charles Nagy
• Manny Ramírez
• Edgar Rentería
• Aaron Rowand
• Jim Thome
• Frank Thomas
• Chad Ogea
• Rusty Crockett

[edit] Coaches

• Calvin Griffith - Hornets 1938-41
• Jimmy Williams - O's 1980
• Grady Little - O's 1984
• Charlie Manuel - Knights 1993
• Tom Spencer - Knights 1999

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Charlottte Knights web site

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v • d • e Sports teams based in North Carolina Australian Rules Football USAFL/EAFL: North Carolina Tigers, WAFA: North Carolina Lady Tigers Baseball IL: Durham Bulls • Charlotte Knights, SL: Carolina Mudcats, CL: Kinston Indians • Winston-Salem Warthogs, SAL: Asheville Tourists • Greensboro Grasshoppers • Hickory Crawdads • Kannapolis Intimidators, ApL: Burlington Royals, CPL: Asheboro Copperheads • Edenton Steamers • Fayetteville Swampdogs • Forest City Owls • Gastonia Grizzlies • Outer Banks Daredevils • Thomasville Hi-Toms • Wilmington Sharks • Wilson Tobs Basketball NBA: Charlotte Bobcats, PBL: Wilmington Sea Dawgs Football NFL: Carolina Panthers, AIFA: Carolina Speed • Fayetteville Guard, WPFL: Carolina Queens Hockey NHL: Carolina Hurricanes, ECHL: Charlotte Checkers, SPHL: Fayetteville FireAntz • Twin City Cyclones Rugby SL: Charlotte RFC Soccer USL-1: Carolina RailHawks, USL-2: Charlotte Eagles • Wilmington Hammerheads, PDL: Carolina Dynamo • Cary RailHawks U23's, WL: Carolina Dynamo • Carolina RailHawks Women • Charlotte Lady Eagles College Athletics (NCAA Division I) Appalachian State • Campbell • Charlotte • Davidson • Duke • East Carolina • Elon • Gardner-Webb • High Point • North Carolina • North Carolina A&T State • North Carolina Central • North Carolina State • UNC Asheville • UNC Greensboro • UNC Wilmington • Wake Forest • Western Carolina • Winston-Salem State Main Article: Sports in North Carolina

	This box: view • talk • edit Sports teams based in South Carolina
Baseball	CL: Myrtle Beach Pelicans, SAL: Charleston RiverDogs • Greenville Drive
Football	AIFA: Carolina Sandsharks • Florence Phantoms
Hockey	ECHL: Columbia Inferno • South Carolina Stingrays
Soccer	USL-1: Charleston Battery
College athletics (NCAA Division I)	Charleston Southern • Clemson • Coastal Carolina • College of Charleston • Furman • Presbyterian • South Carolina • South Carolina State • The Citadel • USC Upstate • Winthrop • Wofford