The Charlotte Twins were a minor league baseball team based in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. In 1972, the Charlotte Twins were a

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

affiliate and played as members of the Class A level

Western Carolinas League Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league base ...

, placing 5th in the league standings. In their only season of minor league play, the Twins hosted minor league home games at

Clark Griffith Park Clark Griffith Park or better known as Griffith Park was a stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, located at 400 Magnolia Avenue (the south corner of Magnolia and Lyndhurst Avenue) in the Dilworth section of town. It replaced Hayman Park, which ...

, sharing the ballpark with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

level Southern League.

History

On January 14, 1972, a Charlotte franchise entered the Class A level

as the city's second minor league team. The new Twins franchise was part of an unusual arrangement that saw the

operate two affiliate teams simultaneously out of Charlotte’s Clark Griffith Park. Both teams were owned and operated by the Twins and their owner

Calvin Griffith Calvin Robertson Griffith (December 1, 1911 – October 20, 1999), born Calvin Griffith Robertson, was a Canadian-born American Major League Baseball team owner. As president, majority owner and ''de facto'' general manager (baseball), general m ...

. The

of the

level Southern League had begun minor league play in the league in 1937 when the Twins were still the Washington Senators, after being founded in 1892. 1972 proved to be the final year for both teams in Charlotte. The Charlotte "Twins" became members of the six–team, Class A level

, as the Anderson Giants, Gastonia Pirates, Greenville Rangers,

Greenwood Braves The Greenwood Braves were a single-A minor league baseball team located in Greenwood, South Carolina that existed from 1968 to 1979. History Affiliated with the Atlanta Braves, the Braves were members of the Western Carolinas League. The Brave ...

and

Spartanburg Phillies Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offic ...

joined Charlotte in beginning league play on April 14, 1972. On opening day of April 15, 1972, Charlotte hosted both affiliate teams in their home openers. First, the Charlotte Twins hosted the Gastonia Pirates at 6:30 PM in the Western Carolina League season opener, followed by the Charlotte Hornets against the

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

in the Southern League second game. For the rest of the season, the two teams played home games at Clark Griffith Park while the other team was on the road. In their only season of play, the Twins placed 5th in the 1972 Western Carolinas League standings. The Twins ended the regular season with a record of 50–79, finishing 37.5 games behind the 1st place Spartanburg Phillies. Bob Sadowski served as manager. It was the only season of play for the Class A Charlotte franchise. Spartanburg (89–43) led the Western Carolinas League and were followed by the Greenville Rangers (71–57), Greenwood Braves (70–61), Gastonia Pirates (60–70), Charlotte Twins (50–79) and Anderson Giants (51–81) in the final regular season standings. Spartanburg then defeated Greenville in a playoff to claim the championship. Charlotte Twins players

Lyman Bostock Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr. (November 22, 1950 – September 23, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played Major League Baseball for four seasons, as an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels (1978), with a li ...

and

Rob Wilfong Robert Donald Wilfong (born September 1, 1953) is an American professional baseball scout (sports), scout and a former Major League Baseball second baseman for the Minnesota Twins (1977–1982), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California Angels (19 ...

both went on to major league careers. Bostock, who played his first professional season for Charlotte after being drafted from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

was the son of former

negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

player Lyman Bostock Sr.. While playing for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, Bostock was shot to death in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

on September 23, 1978, after playing in a game at the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

earlier in the day. In September 1972, the Minnesota Twins announced that both the Twins and the Hornets would not play in Charlotte in 1973. After the 1972 season, the Minnesota Twins folded the Charlotte Twins franchise and relocated the Charlotte Hornets franchise. The Hornets moved to become the

Orlando Twins Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, continuing play in the 1973 Southern League. In 1976, the

Charlotte O's The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

franchise rejoined the Southern League and resumed play at Clark Griffith Park.

The ballpark

The Charlotte Twins hosted 1972 home minor league home games at

. The ballpark was constructed in 1941 and was later renamed as Jim Crockett Memorial Park and Knights Park. The ballpark hosted minor league baseball until the 1988

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

last played in the park after it was nearly destroyed by fire in 1985, reducing seating from 10,000 to 3,000. The ballpark was located at 400 Magnolia Avenue ( Magnolia & Lyndhurst Avenue). The site today is residential.

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

(1972) * Steve Hertz (1972) * Bob Sadowski (1972, MGR) *

(1972)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links