Latta Park Baseball Field

Latta Park Baseball Field
	Latta Park Baseball Field between 1908 and 1911
Location	Lennox Ave & East Blvd; Charlotte, NC 28203
Owner	Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company
Capacity	1,000
Field size	Left Field – ft ; Center Field – ft; Right Field – ft
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	May 20, 1891
Renovated	1892, 1897
Closed	1912
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

^ Morrill, Dan L. (July 2020). "Dilworth's Early History 1890-1911" (PDF). historysouth.org. History South. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
^ "Passed Balls". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 17, 1899. p. 4.
^ "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.
^ 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.
^ "Clemson Beats the Tar Heels in Charlotte". The Morning Post. November 29, 1901. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 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.
^ Pomrenke, Jacob (April 5, 2011). SABR Spring Training Database: Sorted by host city (PDF). Society for American Baseball Research. p. 29.
^ Perry, Maria (March 14, 2015). "Wearn Field". Lost Charlotte: The Queen City of the South’s Past Revisited. MariaPerry1. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
^ "Knights Pay Tribute to Charlotte Baseball Past, Present & Future". milb.com. MLB Advanced Media. March 27, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
^ "A history of baseball in Charlotte". cmlibrary.org. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. August 15, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2023.

External links

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

This article about a baseball venue is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a location in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[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.

[1]

v t e Davidson Wildcats football
Venues	Latta Park Baseball Field (1896–1903) Sprunt Athletic Field (1905–1922) Richardson Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1969 Tangerine Bowl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024