New Orleans Pelicans

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New Orleans Pelicans
1887 – 1977
(18871888, 18921896, 19011959, 1977)
New Orleans, Louisiana

Team Logo

Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • Triple-A (1977)
  • Double-A (1901-1959)
Minor League affiliations
Major League affiliations
Name
  • New Orleans Pelicans
Ballpark
Minor League titles
League titles 1886, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1933, 1934,

The New Orleans Pelicans were a Minor league professional baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

[edit] Team history

Founded in 1887, the Pelicans became part of the Southern Association in 1901. From 1915 through 1957, they played home games at Pelican Stadium (also known as Heinemann Park), formerly located at the riverside, downriver corner of Carrollton Avenue and Tulane Avenue in Mid City New Orleans. After this they played for 2 years at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park. The team disbanded at the end of the 1959 season.

Notable Pelicans included Shoeless Joe Jackson, Cotton Knaupp and Dixie Walker.

In the 1950s, the team was associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was managed by Danny Murtaugh. Other notable Pelican managers included Larry Gilbert and Abner Powell, with latter credited with introducing the "rain check".

The Pelicans' name briefly resurfaced during the 1977 season when New Orleans acquired a Triple-A minor league team which had moved from Tulsa. The team then moved to Springfield, Illinois, the next season and were re-named the Redbirds. The team subsequently moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where it continues to operate as Louisville Bats, the top minor-league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Rights to the unused name are currently owned by Tom Benson, owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints & partial owner of the AFL's New Orleans VooDoo.

The 1910 Pelicans, Southern Association Champions. #12, Shoeless Joe Jackson, was about to go on to fame in the majors.
The 1910 Pelicans, Southern Association Champions. #12, Shoeless Joe Jackson, was about to go on to fame in the majors.

[edit] Affiliations

The Pelicans were affiliated with the following major league teams:

Year Affiliation(s)
1934-39 Cleveland Indians
1940-42; 1977 St. Louis Cardinals
1943-44 Brooklyn Dodgers
1946-47 Boston Red Sox
1948-56 Pittsburgh Pirates
1957-58 New York Yankees