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Base Ball Park (top); Hornets 1909
Charlotteans were thrilled by the permanent baseball park built in 1892 in
Latta Park by the company that developed Dilworth. It had grandstand
seating for 2,500 spectators. Charlotte's professional club vied for the
pennant in the South Atlantic League. Charlotte's colored baseball club
played teams from Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. In 1892, admission to the
ball ground in Latta Park was a quarter for men and fifteen cents for
ladies and children. In 1902, Charlotte's baseball team became a member of
the Carolina League, but it folded before the close of the season. Eddie
Ashenback was manager. One newspaper described a 1905 game between the
Charlotte "immovables" and the Davidson "irrestibles,"
saying " Dr. Alexander, manager for Charlotte, deserved particular
mention for scattering lime along the tracks. He did this
beautifully." The baseball park pictured here was in use around 1908.
Another baseball team to come to Charlotte, in 1908, were the Hornets,
managed by Lave Cross. A year later the Hornets were pictured on this
postcard. C.F. Humphrey (top, second from right) was their leading hitter.
Within three years the Hornets were playing in a new park, Wearn field and
grandstand, which was built on Mint Street in 1911-12 and designed by
Louis Asbury Sr. It replaced the Latta baseball park when its ten-year
lease expired. Park Road got its name from the Latta Park sports field.
The Hornets shared Wearn Field with at least one northern team during a
preseason, when the Brooklyn Dodgers held their spring training in
Charlotte.
(Courtesy Sarah Manning Pope Collection) |
