Kinston Indians

From SoSH

Kinston Indians

Location:	Kinston, NC
Established:	1987
MLB Affiliation:	Cleveland Indians
League:	Carolina League
Level:	A
Ballpark:	Grainger Stadium
Championships:	8 (1935, 1947, 1962, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, 2006)
Division Titles:	9
Wild Card:

The Kinston Indians are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kinstoin, NC. The team, which plays in the Carolina League, is a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

1 Team History
2 Team Affiliations
3 Team Names
4 Alumni
5 Notable Red Sox who played here
6 External Links
7 See Also

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Team History

Professional baseball in Kinston dates back to 1908 when they fielded a team in the Eastern Carolina League. Kinston adopted the name "Indians" at the start of their relationship with Cleveland, in 1987. They are currently one of the oldest and most successful franchises in their circuit.

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Early Years

Baseball has been popular in Kinston since the late nineteenth century, and it fielded many excellent amateur clubs. Despite this, the small city was unable to sustain a viable professional team until the mid-1920's. Earlier attempts included an aborted campaign in the Class D Eastern Carolina League in 1908 and an "outlaw league" team in 1921 and 1922. The latter was notable for being managed by former major league pitcher George Suggs and College Football Hall of Fame member Ira Rodgers. Due to the efforts of the city's business leaders, former local amateur star Elisha Lewis, and George Suggs, the town secured a team in the Virginia League for the 1925 season.

Despite their lack of wins, the team was successful enough at the gate that they proved the town was capable of sustaining a professional team. Kinston stayed three years in the Virginia League and then moved on to a newly reformed Eastern Carolina League. This later affiliation would collapse along with the stock market in 1929.

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Coastal Plain League

Kinston was without a team for the first few years of the Depression, but by 1934, the city found its way into the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. In 1937, this loop became fully professional and was classified as a Class D league by the National Association. The city would stay in this league every season until it was finally disbanded following the 1952 campaign.

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Carolina League

For three years following the dissolution of the Coastal Plain League, Kinston found itself without a team until the owner of the Burlington Bees of the Carolina League moved his team to Kinston for the 1956 season. At the time, the Carolina League was a Class B loop with teams located in Virginia and North Carolina. The new Kinston Eagles were a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate and featured the town's first African American ball players. In these early days of the Civil Rights Movement, the black players in the Carolina League received much verbal and psychological abuse from the largely white, Southern fan base. One of these first black Kinston ball players, Carl Long, would excel during the 1956 season and set an RBI standard (111) that would never be surpassed by any of the Kinston hitters who have come after him. The other racial pioneer for Kinston baseball was Frank Washington, a holdover from the 1955 Burlington team. Kinston's owner was an inept businessman who brought the club near bankruptcy before it was moved to Wilson in 1957.

Kinston's re-entry into Carolina League baseball in 1962 was successful both on the field and at the turnstile. The Eagles were able to claim the first of its Carolina League crowns. At a time when Kinston's population was only 25,000, the ball club was able to attract over 140,000 fans. Part of the lure for these fans was the talent supplied by Kinston's parent club, the Pittsburgh Pirates, which included Steve Blass (17-3, 1.97 ERA, 209 K's), and Frank Bork (19-7, 2.00 ERA). Another attraction for the fans was that for the first time, the Eagles were a community owned team. The Kinston Eagles Baseball Company was a non-profit organization run by an elected eighteen man, unpaid board of directors. Profits went back into improving the stadium, promoting the team, and supplying playing equipment for the youth of Kinston. This arrangement would continue through all thirteen years of Kinston's second tenure in the Carolina League from 1962 through 1974.

With the reclassification of minor league baseball in 1963, the Carolina League became a "High-A" circuit. The Eagles would fail to win any more championships during this second period of Carolina League play, but they managed to make the playoffs following six of the thirteen seasons. The Pirates stuck with Kinston through the 1965 campaign. The Eagles became affiliated with the new Atlanta Braves during 1966 and 1967. From 1968 through 1973, the Eagles had an affiliation with the New York Yankees, and the fans saw a lot of future all-stars pass through the city including a young Ron Guidry who would establish himself as one of the best pitchers in the American League soon thereafter.

During the 1970s the popularity of minor league baseball reached its lowest point and the attendance in Kinston fell to only 30,000 for the 1973 season. The city needed a revival of interest, and the Expos were turned to for help. The young Montreal franchise boasted a strong farm system with a lot of talent. So much talent in fact, that they decided to experiment with having two High A affiliates. Instead of dividing the players evenly between the two High A teams, the West Palm Beach club ended up with all the best men while the newly renamed Kinston Expos had to make due with castoffs. The Kinston team soon found itself overmatched among its Carolina League rivals. The Expos fell to last place and attendance fell to only 27,000 for the year. Montreal declared their experiment a failure and withdrew from Kinston following the 1974 season. With no major league sponsor and very little fan support, Kinston withdrew from the league.

Former airline pilot Ray Kuhlman brought minor league baseball back to Kinston by investing in a Carolina League franchise in the late seventies. The renamed Kinston Eagles flew unaffiliated their first season back in the circuit in 1978. By the next campaign, they were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto stayed with Kinston for seven years, and the team eventually took on the Blue Jay name. Kinston did not win any championships during the Blue Jays years. Kuhlman and his wife ran the team themselves and oversaw steady annual increases in attendance each year. They brought a string of marketing ideas that have taken hold and remain to this day. These included increased promotional days, fireworks displays, the introduction of Kinston baseball cards, an increase in branded souvenir merchandise, the establishment of the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and the hiring of a team mascot. Also attracting fans was a collection of future major league stars including Tony Fernandez, Fred McGriff, and Cecil Fielder.

Following the 1985 season, the Blue Jays dropped Kinston as a franchise, and professional baseball in the city seemed to be in doubt once again. There was talk of moving the franchise, but the city remained in the Carolina League with an independent ball club that took on the Eagles name. 1986 proved to be disappointing in the standings and at the gate, and talk of a move was renewed, but ownership secured an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians during the off season. For more than twenty years, Cleveland and the KTribe, as they have come to be known, have enjoyed a successful partnership which has produced sixteen playoff appearances and five Carolina League championships (1988, 1991, 1995, 2004, and 2006). The value of the team has risen along with its onfield success. In 1983, Kuhlman sold the team for one hundred thousand dollars. The franchise was sold in 1985 for two hundred twenty five thousand, and it was sold again in 1989 for seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. The team's value in 1992 was estimated at one and a half million.

Six figure attendance totals became the norm throughout the 1990s and into the new century. General Manager North Johnson fostered closer bonds with the mayor's office and helped create the Mayor's Committee for Professional Baseball in 1987. Dedicated to increasing season ticket sales and promoting ties with businesses, the committee accomplished much in a short span of time. Attendance increased by nearly twenty thousand in 1987 and by more than twelve thousand the following year. By 1991, the number of fans through the turnstiles topped 100,000 for the first time since 1964. Although a new ownership group purchased the franchise in 1994, continuity in the day-to-day operations has been maintained through general manager North Johnson, and front office mainstay Shari Massengill who took over the reins in 2006.[28] Ties with the local government also remain strong, as prospects for the start of a second century of baseball in 2008 look all but assured with new renovations to the ballpark and a renewed affiliation with Cleveland.

The Kinston Indians are currently managed by Chris Tremie, a former major league catcher. Their current General Manager, Shari Massengill, and Assistant General Manager, Jessie Hays, make up the only all-female General Manager/Assistant General Manager team in the Minor Leagues.

In 2007, the Indians won the Southern Division crown for both halves of the year, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the wildcard team, the Salem Avalanche. It was the seventh season in a row that they made the post season which is a new Carolina League record formerly held by the Burlington Bees (1945-1950). It was the second time a Kinston team has accomplished this feat. The Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League also made it to seven post seasons in a row (1946-1952).

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