Kinston Indians facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kinston Indians1978–2011 Kinston, North Carolina |
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| Class-level | |||
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| Current | Class A-Advanced (1978–2011) | ||
| Minor league affiliations | |||
| League | Carolina League (1978–2011) | ||
| Major league affiliations | |||
| Current |
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| Minor league titles | |||
| League titles (5) |
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| Division titles (10) |
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| Team data | |||
| Nickname |
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| Colors | Navy blue, red, white | ||
| Ballpark | Grainger Stadium (1978–2011) | ||
The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Kinston, North Carolina. They were part of the Carolina League from 1978 to 2011. Their home games were played at Grainger Stadium, which first opened in 1949.
The team started in 1978 as the Kinston Eagles, taking their name from an older Kinston team from 1925. In 1979, they teamed up with the Toronto Blue Jays and changed their name to the Kinston Blue Jays in 1982. After the Blue Jays partnership ended, they became the Eagles again in 1986. Then, in 1987, they joined forces with the Cleveland Indians and became the Kinston Indians. After the 2011 season, the team moved to Zebulon, North Carolina, and became the Carolina Mudcats.
The Kinston Indians, sometimes called the K-Tribe, won the Carolina League championship five times: in 1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, and 2006.
Contents
Team History
Early Baseball in Kinston
Kinston had many amateur baseball teams in the late 1800s. However, it was hard for the city to keep a professional team going until the mid-1920s. Before that, there were a few tries, like a team in 1908 and an "outlaw league" team in 1921 and 1922. These early teams were managed by interesting people like former major league pitcher George Suggs and College Football Hall of Fame member Ira Rodgers.
Thanks to local business leaders, former player Elisha Lewis, and George Suggs, Kinston got a professional team called the "Eagles" in the Virginia League in 1925.
The Eagles were a Class B team that played at West End Park. This stadium had just been updated by George Suggs. The team didn't win many games, but they sold enough tickets to show that Kinston could support a professional team. The Kinston team stayed in the Virginia League for three years. Then they moved to a new Eastern Carolina League, but that league ended when the stock market crashed in 1929.
A famous player from the 1920s Eagles was a young catcher named Rick Ferrell. He played for a long time in the major leagues and worked in team offices even longer. In 1984, Ferrell became the only former Kinston player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another player, Frank Armstrong, left baseball to join the military and became a highly respected general in the Air Force.
The Coastal Plain League Era
The The Great Depression made it very difficult for minor league baseball teams. Many teams closed down. Kinston didn't have a team for a few years but returned to play in 1934 in the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. By 1937, this league became a fully professional Class D league.
Kinston stayed in the Coastal Plain League until it ended in 1952. During this time, Kinston's team often made it to the playoffs and won league championships in 1935 and 1947. One talented player from this time was Charlie "King Kong" Keller. He is known as one of the top major league players ever for his ability to get on base.
Return to the Carolina League
Kinston didn't have a team for three years after the Coastal Plain League ended. In 1956, the owner of the Burlington Bees moved his team to Kinston, bringing the Carolina League back to the city. At that time, the Carolina League was a Class B league with teams in Virginia and North Carolina.
The team was called the Kinston Eagles and was connected to the Pittsburgh Pirates. This team also had Kinston's first African American baseball players. In the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, black players in the Carolina League sometimes faced harsh words from fans. The first black players were Frank Washington and Carl Long. Carl Long played very well in 1956, setting a record for RBIs (111) that no Kinston hitter has ever beaten. Even though the team had diverse players, it struggled financially. The owner was not good at business, and the team almost went bankrupt before moving to Wilson in 1957.
Kinston's return to the Carolina League in 1962 was a big success, both on the field and with fans. The Eagles won their first Carolina League championship that year. Even though Kinston's population was only about 25,000, over 140,000 fans came to watch the team. Part of the excitement came from talented players from the Pittsburgh Pirates, like Steve Blass and Frank Bork.
Another reason for the team's success was that it was owned by the community for the first time. A non-profit group called the Kinston Eagles Baseball Company ran the team with an unpaid board of directors. Any money earned was used to improve the stadium, promote the team, and provide equipment for young players in Kinston. This setup lasted for 13 years, from 1962 to 1974.
In 1963, minor league baseball changed its structure, and the Carolina League became a High-A league. The Eagles didn't win any championships during this second period in the Carolina League, but they did make it to the playoffs in six of their thirteen seasons. The Pirates stayed with Kinston until 1965. During some of those years, the Eagles were managed by Harding "Pete" Peterson, who later became the general manager for the Pirates and helped them win the World Series.
The Eagles then partnered with the new Atlanta Braves in 1966 and 1967, managed by Andy Pafko. From 1968 to 1973, the Eagles were connected to the New York Yankees. Fans got to see many future all-stars, including a young Ron Guidry, who became one of the best pitchers in the American League.
In the 1970s, minor league baseball became less popular, and attendance in Kinston dropped to only 30,000 fans in 1973. The city needed to bring back interest, so they turned to the Expos for help. The Expos had many talented young players in their farm system. They decided to try having two High-A teams. However, they sent all their best players to the team in West Palm Beach, while the Kinston Expos (as they were renamed) received less experienced players.
The Kinston team struggled against other Carolina League teams. They finished in last place, and attendance dropped even further to 27,000 fans that year. The Expos decided their experiment didn't work and left Kinston after the 1974 season. Without a major league team to support them and with low fan support, Kinston also left the league.
The Kinston Indians Era
Ray Kuhlman, a former airline pilot, brought minor league baseball back to Kinston by investing in a Carolina League team in the late 1970s. The team, again called the Kinston Eagles, played without a major league partner in their first season back in 1978. By the next year, they were connected to the Toronto Blue Jays, a partnership that lasted seven years. The team eventually took on the Blue Jays name in 1979. Kinston did not win any championships during the Blue Jays years.
Ray Kuhlman and his wife, Ruth, managed the team themselves. They saw more fans come to games each year. They introduced many successful marketing ideas that are still used today. These included more special event days, fireworks shows, yearly Kinston baseball cards, more team merchandise, starting the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and hiring a team mascot. Fans also enjoyed seeing future major league stars like Pat Borders, Tony Fernández, Cecil Fielder, Fred McGriff, and David Wells.
After the 1985 season, the Blue Jays ended their partnership with Kinston, and it seemed like professional baseball might leave the city again. There was talk of moving the team to Charles County, Maryland. However, Kinston stayed in the Carolina League with an independent team that went back to being the Eagles. The 1986 season was not great for the team or for attendance. Talk of moving the team came up again, but the team owners secured a partnership with the Cleveland Indians before the next season.
For 25 years, Cleveland and the K-Tribe, as they became known, had a very successful partnership. They made it to the playoffs 17 times and won five Carolina League championships (1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, and 2006). The team's value grew as they became more successful.
Attendance numbers often reached over 100,000 fans throughout the 1990s and into the new century. General Manager North Johnson worked closely with the mayor's office and helped create the Mayor's Committee for Professional Baseball in 1987. This committee worked to sell more season tickets and build connections with local businesses. Their efforts quickly paid off. Attendance increased significantly in 1987 and 1988. By 1991, over 100,000 fans came to games, which hadn't happened since 1964.
Even though a new group bought the team in 1994, the daily operations stayed consistent with general manager North Johnson and front office leader Shari Massengill, who took over as GM in 2006. The local government showed its commitment to keeping baseball in Kinston by making many improvements to the ballpark.
The Kinston Indians were last managed by Aaron Holbert, a former major league infielder. Their General Manager through the 2010 season, Shari Massengill, and former Assistant General Manager, Jessie Hays, were the only all-female General Manager/Assistant General Manager team in the Minor Leagues. When Hays left in 2008, her replacement, Janell Bullock, was also female. The final GM was Benjamin Jones.
In 2007, the Indians won their division for both halves of the year, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the wild card team, the Salem Avalanche. This was the seventh year in a row the Indians made the playoffs, setting a new Carolina League record. Kinston's player development agreement with Cleveland ended after the 2011 season. In 2012, the team moved to Zebulon, North Carolina, and was renamed the Carolina Mudcats.
On August 22, 2016, the Texas Rangers announced plans to bring a minor league team back to Kinston. This new Class A-Advanced team joined the Carolina League in the 2017 season. On November 2, the team announced its new name would be the Down East Wood Ducks.
Grainger Stadium
The Kinston Indians, and all Kinston teams since 1949, played their home games at Grainger Stadium. It is located at 400 East Grainger Avenue in Kinston. The stadium was built in 1949 and cost $170,000. The city owns the stadium and leases it to the team. A plaque calls it "Municipal Stadium," but it has been known as Grainger Stadium since it was built. Recent owners called it "Historic Grainger Stadium" because it was the second oldest stadium in the Carolina League. The name Grainger comes from its location on Grainger Avenue and its early use by Grainger High School. Grainger is also an old family name in Lenoir County.
Annual Player Awards
Each year, usually during the last home games, the Kinston Indians gave out awards to deserving players.
- The team MVP Award was named after "Cap'n Pat" Crawford. Crawford lived in Kinston for a long time and played in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Steve Olin was a right-handed submarine-style relief pitcher for Kinston who moved up to the Cleveland Indians. He died in a boating accident in 1993 during spring training. Kinston's annual Pitcher of the Year award was named in his honor.
- The award for the player who overcame the most challenges in their career was named after Tex Drake. Drake was a batboy for the Kinston Blue Jays. In 1984, he found out he had advanced Hodgkin's Disease. The team president helped him work as a batboy for the Toronto Blue Jays for a few games. After returning to Kinston, Drake beat his cancer with chemotherapy and returned to his batboy duties.
- The Kinston player who showed the best sportsmanship received an award named for Steve Gaydek. Gaydek was a former member of the club's Board of Directors and a lifelong fan. He attended every home game for over 20 years, even though he lived far away.
- Lewis B. "Mac" McAvery was the head groundskeeper from 1949 until he passed away in 1979. To honor his work, the team created an award in his name. It is given to the person who has done the most to "preserve and enhance" professional baseball in Kinston.
Team Mascots
The Indians' last mascot was a dog named Scout. Scout usually wore an Indians jersey and baseball cap. He was also known to wear a Superman t-shirt or an aloha shirt for different fun activities.
Scout replaced an earlier Native American mascot named Tom E. Hawk. After Scout was introduced, Tom E. Hawk no longer appeared in person at the ballpark. However, his image was still seen in some official logos on team merchandise until 2010. His smiling face looked a lot like Cleveland's Chief Wahoo. In late 2010, the team released new logos that did not include Tom E. Hawk.
When Kinston was connected to the Toronto Blue Jays, the team had a bird mascot named B.J. In 1980, manager Dennis Holmberg once dressed up in the mascot's costume. He did this so he could sneak back into the dugout after being ejected from a game. For the 1983 season, the Blue Jays also had a group of teenage girls called the Golden Corral Lady Jays who performed at the stadium. This idea only lasted for one season.
Local Baseball Personalities
- Chris Hemeyer: Hemeyer was the radio voice of the Indians. He also hosted Tribe Talk, a TV show that interviewed team members and staff and showed highlights from recent Kinston games. New episodes aired once a week during the season.
- Team Mamas: Anne "Mama" Robinson and Evelyn "Mama" Kornegay were Kinston residents who hosted players in their homes. Mama Robinson hosted players from 1987 to 1997, and Mama Kornegay took over until she passed away in 2010. Even though only a few players lived in their homes at a time, these houses became popular gathering spots and a "home away from home" for the team. Before this, players sometimes had trouble finding stable places to live.
- Delmont Miller: (March 30, 1966 – October 25, 2008): Miller was the longtime scoreboard operator for the Indians. His funny comments and "shout-outs" before each "KTribe" game became a tradition at Grainger Stadium. Because Delmont was so popular with fans and players, the Kinston front office held special "Delmont Miller Nights" and created promotions around his unique personality. He worked at the stadium for over 20 years, through different owners and major league team changes. Before operating the scoreboard, he was the clubhouse assistant for the Kinston Blue Jays. He passed away in 2008 from a heart attack.
- The Smeraldos: Robert Smeraldo and Robert Smeraldo Jr. were the father and son who managed the clubhouse for a long time. The elder Smeraldo has since passed away, and his son no longer works for the team.
No Hitters
A no-hitter is a game where a pitcher (or pitchers) prevents the other team from getting any hits. Kinston Indians pitchers achieved this several times:
- Oscar Muñoz (May 26, 1991) against the Prince William Cannons
- Paul Byrd, Scott Morgan, and Mike Soper (August 23, 1991) against the Prince William Cannons
- Jason Rakers (June 4, 1997) against the Durham Bulls (a 7-inning game)
- Keith Ramsey (September 6, 2004) against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (perfect game, meaning no one reached base at all)
- Marty Popham, Chris Jones, and Cory Burns (September 5, 2010) against the Potomac Nationals (a 10-inning game)
Images for kids
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Kinston Indians Logo
See also
In Spanish: Kinston Indians para niños
- Kinston Eagles – Other baseball teams in Kinston known as the Eagles
