Fayetteville Highlanders

The Fayetteville Highlanders baseball club was an American minor league baseball franchise representing Fayetteville, North Carolina. The highlanders were the primary moniker of Fayetteville and played in the Carolina League (1953–1956), Eastern Carolina League (1909, 1911, 1928–1929) and Eastern Carolina Association (1910).

Fayetteville Highlanders
1950–1956
(1909-1911, 1928-1929, 1946-1956)
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass B (1947-1948, 1952-1956)
Class D (1909-1911, 1928-1929)
Previous leagues
Eastern Carolina League (1909, 1911, 1928-1929)
Eastern Carolina Association (1910)
Coastal Plain League (1946)
Tri-State League (1947-1948)
Tobacco State League (1949)
Carolina League (1950-1956)
Major league affiliations
Previous teamsChicago Cubs (1946-1948)
Philadelphia Athletics (1950-1953)
Baltimore Orioles (1955)
Cleveland Indians (1956)
Minor league titles
League titles 4 1910, 1948, 1953, 1956
Team data
Previous names
Fayetteville Highlanders (1909-1911, 1928-1929)
Fayetteville Cubs (1946-1948)
Fayetteville Scotties (1949)
Fayetteville Athletics (1950-1952)
Fayettevillle Highlanders (1953-1956)
Previous parks
Cape Fear Fairgrounds Park (1909-1911)
Highland Park Base Ball Grounds (1928-1929)
Pittman Stadium (1946-1956)

The Highlanders were affiliates of the Philadelphia Athletics (1953), Baltimore Orioles (1955) and Cleveland Indians (1956).

The Highlanders set the foundation for today's Fayetteville Woodpeckers, who began play in the Carolina League in 2019.

History

Beginning in 1909, Fayetteville first hosted minor league baseball. Fayetteville hosted the Fayetteville Highlanders, Eastern Carolina League (1909, 1911, 1928–1929) and Eastern Carolina Association (1910); Fayetteville Cubs, Coastal Plain League (1946) and Tri-State League (1947–1948) and the Fayetteville Scotties, Tobacco State League (1949).[1]

The Fayetteville Highlanders captured the 1910 Eastern Carolina Association Championship. Jim Thorpe, Olympic Champion and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee played for the 1910 Fayetteville Highlanders championship team.[2][3]

The Fayetteville Cubs (1946–1948) were an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and captured the 1948 Tri-State League Championship.[4]

The Fayetteville Athletics began play in the 1950 Carolina League, finishing 47–106 in their first season. They were an affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics (1950–1952). They finished 59–79 in 1951 and 93–73 in 1952, finishing 7th both seasons.[5]

The Fayetteville Highlanders followed the Athletics playing in the Carolina league. The Highlanders captured Carolina League Championships in 1953 (86–51) and 1956 (78–71). The Highlanders were affiliates of the Philadelphia Athletics (1953), Baltimore Orioles (1955) and Cleveland Indians (1956).[2]

The ballparks

The 1909-1911 Highlanders played at Cape Fear Fairgrounds Park. The ballpark was located on Gillespie Street in Fayetteville, North Carolina. today, the site has a marker for a Babe Ruth home run, that has his first professional home run, hit in a March, 1914 spring training game.[6]

The Highland Park Base Ball Grounds hosted the Highlanders in 1928–1929. Highland Park Base Ball Grounds had a capacity of 300 and was located at Grove (3B) Street at Cross Creek in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It was on the Cape Fear River. Today, the site hosts the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens.[7]

Beginning in 1946, Fayetteville teams played at Pittman Stadium. The ballpark had a capacity of 4,000 (1950) and dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 350-400-330. It was located on Bragg Boulevard in Fayetteville, North Carolina. For a time, it was known as Cumberland Memorial Stadium.[8][9]

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "Fayetteville, NC - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  2. "Fayetteville Highlanders - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  3. "Jim Thorpe Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. "Fayetteville Cubs - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  5. "Fayetteville Athletics - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
  6. "Cape Fear Fairgrounds Park in Fayetteville, NC history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  7. "Highland Park Base Ball Grounds in Fayetteville, NC history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  8. "Pittman Stadium in Fayetteville, NC history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  9. writer, Stephen Schramm, Staff. "Ghosts of Fayetteville's old baseball stadiums, nearly forgotten today". The Fayetteville Observer.
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