Good Morning Everyone! This is Rick Curti of the Charlotte Bats and before I started this mission, I had no idea the huge stars that started their careers in Charlotte NC? In the early 80’s The Charlotte O’s Minor League Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles had the “Iron Horse” Mr Cal Ripken Jr along with his brother Billy Ripken and of course his legendary father Cal Ripken Sr who managed them. Legendary switch hitter and another Hall of Famer Eddie Murray. Truly amazing when the state of North Carolina and Charlotte has never had Major League Baseball in their history! Back during the 30’s Early Wynn the great lefthander played for the Charlotte Hornets? No not the basketball team. The baseball team from 1892-1973, they were the farm system for the Washington Senators and later became the Minnesota Twins. That’s where superstars like Harmon Killebrew who hit over 500 homeruns in his legendary Hall of Fame career and hitting star Tony Oliva got their start. Last but certainly not least, the Charlotte Knights made their debut In 1988 and moved to Fort Mill SC which is about 20 minutes outside of Charlotte. Sadly In 1985 The Charlotte O’s legendary stadium Crockett Park burned down and for 2 years had to play in a makeshift stadium. The team was eventually sold to former Charlotte Hornets Basketball Owner George Shinn and allegedly renamed them the Knights from the movie “The Natural”. In the mid 90’s, a new star was born by the name of Jim Thome who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last season. Manny Ramirez and Thome were teammates along with manager Charlie Manuel who won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. I was totally blown away by the rich history of professional baseball in Charlotte. This is another reason why Charlotte will have a Major League franchise in the near future. Photos courtesy of Charlotte Knights, Crockett Family.
