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Latta Park Baseball Field

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Latta Park Baseball Field
Latta Park Baseball Field between 1908 and 1911
LocationLennox Ave & East Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28203
OwnerCharlotte Consolidated Construction Company
Capacity1,000
Field sizeLeft Field – ft
Center Field – ft
Right Field – ft
SurfaceGrass
Construction
OpenedMay 20, 1891
Renovated1892, 1897
Closed1912
Tenants
Davidson Wildcats (football) (1896-1903)
Charlotte Hornets (VNCL) (1901, 1905), (CA) (1908)
Brooklyn Dodgers (NL) (spring training) (1896-1897, 1901)
Philadelphia Phillies (NL) (spring training) (1899–1900)
Philadelphia Athletics (AL) (spring training) (1902)

The Latta Park Baseball Field was a ballpark located in Latta Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its capacity was approximately 1,000 for baseball.

Edward Dilworth Latta, Mayor F. B. McDowell, and others formed the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company (the "Four Cs") in 1890 to develop the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte. To attract visitors and residents, the Four Cs constructed an electric trolley route at the end of which they built a recreational area called Latta Park with gardens, walking paths, a lake, and playing fields including the Latta Park Baseball Field.

The first game was played at the park's grand opening on May 20, 1891 with a game between teams from Winston, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. A grandstand for the baseball field was built in 1892, and the field renovated and rededicated in September 1897.[1] As of 1899, a third of a mile bicycle track encircled the playing field.[2]

Latta Park Baseball Field was home to the Charlotte Hornets minor-league baseball team[3] until the opening of Wearn Field in 1912.

The first college football game in Charlotte was played at Latta Park in 1892 when the University of North Carolina defeated Virginia Tech 32-5.[4]

Davidson College played football games at the Latta Park Baseball Field between 1896 and 1903.

On November 28, 1901, Clemson defeated the University of North Carolina in football at Latta Park in front of 1,000 fans.[5]

Charlotte and Latta Park hosted the Brooklyn Dodgers for spring training in 1896, 1897, and 1901; the Philadelphia Phillies in 1899 and 1900;[6] and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902.[7]

As the Dilworth neighborhood grew, the Four Cs made plans to redevelop recreational areas of Latta Park. The Charlotte Hornets had played at Latta Park through the 1908 season but moved to the newly opened Wearn Field constructed and managed by the team's owner, J.H. Wearn.[8] The Charlotte Baseball Association had signed a ten year lease to utilize Latta Park's Baseball Field and played games at Latta Park through the 1912 season.

Latta Park is commemorated at Charlotte's Truist Field along the outer wall of South Graham Street.[9] [10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Morrill, Dan L. (July 2020). "Dilworth's Early History 1890-1911" (PDF). historysouth.org. History South. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Passed Balls". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 17, 1899. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Real Freaking History In Charlotte: Baseball". tangentsmag.com. August 17, 2017. Retrieved 2022-11-23. The history of the class D minor league team stretched back to 1892 when they played in a baseball stadium in Latta Park.
  4. ^ Walker, Richard (August 29, 2015). "A look back at Charlotte's rich college football history". gastongazette.com. Gaston Gazette. Retrieved February 22, 2023. In what is believed to be the first major college football game played in Charlotte, North Carolina routed Virginia Tech 32-5 three weeks after the Tar Heels had wrapped up the inaugural championship of the first-year Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
  5. ^ "Clemson Beats the Tar Heels in Charlotte". The Morning Post. November 29, 1901. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Powell, Lew (August 18, 2012). "Charlotte's appeal to teams: 'absence of temptation'". blogs.lib.unc.edu. NC Miscellany. Retrieved 2022-11-23. Charlotte provided spring training for at least two National League baseball teams. After the Philadelphia Phillies trained there in 1899… The Brooklyn Dodgers followed in 1901.
  7. ^ Pomrenke, Jacob (April 5, 2011). SABR Spring Training Database: Sorted by host city (PDF). Society for American Baseball Research. p. 29.
  8. ^ Perry, Maria (March 14, 2015). "Wearn Field". Lost Charlotte: The Queen City of the South’s Past Revisited. MariaPerry1. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  9. ^ "Knights Pay Tribute to Charlotte Baseball Past, Present & Future". milb.com. MLB Advanced Media. March 27, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "A history of baseball in Charlotte". cmlibrary.org. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. August 15, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
[edit]

"Latta Park". statscrew.com. Stats Crew. 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-23.


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