Since the creation of the Charlotte Hornets in 1901, professional baseball has long established its place in the rich history of the Queen City. From inaugural season to the turn of the 21st-Century Charlotte baseball teams have produced 15 championships 31 postseason berths and one Las Vegas Triple-A World Series appearance. Known as the Charlotte Hornets until 1973, Charlotte captured 11 championships including North Carolina league titles in 1902 and 1960 and a South Atlantic League crown in 1923. In 1975, Charlotte constructed Calvin Griffith Park on Magnolia Avenue for $70,000 and later renamed it Crockett Park.  Charlotte teams played at the facility until arson’s fire destroyed it in 1985. In 1946, Charlotte joined the Tri-State League and proceeded to win four championships in 1946 1947, 1952 and 1953 seasons. The Hornets returned to the South Atlantic League in 1954 and won the league title in 1957. A year earlier, in 1956 Harmon Killebrew batted .325 with 15 homers and 63 RBIs for Charlotte. In 1964 Charlotte ended its affiliation with the Washington Senators and joined the Southern League to become the AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. As a Twins affiliate until 1973 such stars as Tony Oliva, Minnie Mendoza, Greg Nettles, Bill Zepp and Rick Dempsey roamed the field at Crockett Park. Mendoza spent 10 seasons in Charlotte from 1960 to 1972 while Oliva, the 1964 American League Rookie of the Year was selected as the Hornets All-Star in 1962. Baseball left the Queen City in 1973 until Francis Crockett created -- the Charlotte O’s in 1976.  The O’s play in the Southern League and served as a Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles until 1988. Charlotte won a Southern League title in 1985 behind Cal Ripken Junior's 25 home runs and 80 RBIs.  In 1984 the O’s also claimed the league crown as they were managed by future Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little and future Cleveland Indians GM John Hart.  Ripken, Eddie Murray, Curt Schilling, Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch, and Leo Gomez, all stared for Charlotte during its 13-year affiliation with the Orioles. In 1985 tragedy struck the O’s.  A St. Patrick's Day weekend fire tore through the wooden structure of Crockett Park effectively destroying the stadium. Investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was arson. The team was forced to play at a temporary facility until George Shinn purchased the O’s in 1987.  Under the guidelines of Shinn, the Charlotte franchise underwent many changes.  In 1989, Shinn changed the team’s nickname to the Knights through a name the team contest and also switched affiliations from Baltimore to the Chicago Cubs. A year later Shinn moved the club to Knights Stadium, a 10,000 seat-state-of-the-art facility located in Fort Mill, South Carolina near areas of Rock Hill SC Real Estate. The move to the new facility proved successful as the Knights led all AA teams in attendance in 1991 and 1992 with totals of 313,791 and 338,047 respectively.  As the Cubs AA affiliate, Knights fans saw many players that would later advance to the Major Leagues such as Sean Boskie, Jim Bullinger, Frank Castillo, Derrick May, Kevin Robberson, Heathcliff Slocumb, Dan Stevens, and Rick Wilkins all played at Knights Stadium.  On December 27, 1991 Minor League Baseball awarded new Triple-A expansion franchises to the cities of Charlotte and Ottawa.  The Knights joined the International League in 1993 and left the Cubs to become the top farm club of Cleveland Indians. In its inaugural Triple-A season the Knights claimed the 1993 International League’s Governors’ Cup Championship. A franchise record 412,000 fans came out to see future big-league stars Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Mark Lewis, Albie Lopez, and Chad Ogea, and future Indians Manager Charlie Manuel. Thome belted 25 home runs and recorded 102 RBIs for the Knights in the 1993 season. In 1995, after two successful years with Indians organization, Charlotte signed a four-year player development contract with the Florida Marlins. The Knights won just be combined 121 games in the first two seasons with the Marlins but, bounced back in 1997 to finish its League Runner-up with the current Toronto Blue Jays Manager Carlos Tosca at the helm. That same year, the success of the minor league system in Charlotte was evidenced by the 1997 World Series, as the Marlins and Indians squared off in the fall classic. The 1996-97 Knights alum Livan Hernandez led Florida to a thrilling victory over Thome and Ramirez led the Indians. In the winter following the 1997 campaign, Don Beaver and Knights Baseball LLC purchased the team from Shinn.  Beaver, who owns two other minor league clubs (the Hickory Crawdads in the South Atlantic league and the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Pacific Coast League), is a lifelong baseball

Fan seeks to someday bring a Major-League franchise to the Carolinas. A year and a half later, as the 1999 season began the Knights once again switched affiliations signing a player-development contract with the Chicago White Sox. In its first year with the White Sox, the Knights won the  International League’s Governors’ Cup Championship and advance to the second ever Triple-A World Series in Las Vegas. In the past few years, numerous Sox prospects have honed their skills at Knights Stadium before being called up to Chicago. 2000 I.L. Pitcher of the Year John Garland is now a staple in the White Sox rotation, while position players such as Willie Harris, Joe Crede and Aaron Rowand have proved their worth with the big-league club. Who’s the next hot prospect to make his home in Charlotte?