The Gastonia Rangers were a class A minor league baseball team located in

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2010 ...

. The team played first as the Rangers in the

Western Carolinas League file:John Henry Moss.png, 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 Am ...

(1973–1974). In 1983 and 1984, they played as the Gastonia Expos, as an affiliate of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. They later returned to the Rangers name in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(1987–1992), and were affiliated with the Texas Rangers. Their home stadium was

Sims Legion Park Sims Legion Park is a 3,000-seat baseball park in Gastonia, North Carolina that is the home field for Gaston College baseball. It has hosted the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plain League, as well as American Legion Baseball, American Legion b ...

. After the 1992 season, the team moved to another North Carolina city,

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

, and have been known as the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

ever since.

The End in Gastonia

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 ...

and

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 ...

owner George Shinn purchased the Gastonia franchise from Jack Farnsworth prior to the 1989 season. In doing so, it allowed Shinn the freedom to move the

Fort Mill, SC Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. Some businesses and resid ...

without the move being challenged by the Gastonia franchise under Minor League Baseball's 35-mile territorial right rule. Once Shinn was able to acquire a Class AAA expansion franchise to play in Fort Mill, he no longer needed to control the interests of the Gastonia franchise and sold the team to Donald Beaver.

"Donald C. Beaver is Owner/President of the New Orleans Zephyrs. He is also the owner and President of the Class-A South Atlantic League Hickory (NC) Crawdads and owner of the Class AAA International League Charlotte Knights. He has ownership in the Pittsburgh Pirates and is on their board of directors. Beaver received his Bachelor of Science degree from Appalachian State University in 1962 and followed it up with a Masters of Business Administration in 1964. He embarked on a career as a hospital administrator and in 1975 he founded the Brian Center Corporation, where he served as CEO until 1995. While he achieved success as a nursing home pioneer, Beaver never forgot his love of baseball. He was thrust into the spotlight at an early age as a pitcher in the 1952 Little League World Series. 40 years later he purchased the Gastonia Rangers from
George Shinn George Shinn (born May 11, 1941) is the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, as well as the Charlotte Knights and Gastonia Rangers minor league baseball teams, along with the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks, of the World League of Americ ...
and relocated the franchise to Hickory, and since then several clubs have been added. In 2000, he was inducted into the Little League World Series Hall of Fame

This
is the last known statistical link of the Gastonia Rangers baseball club. In their last season, they went 66-70 (.485), 12 games back in the SAL's Northern Division. While Gastonia, NC no longer has a team in the South Atlantic League it has since 2002 has been home to the

Gastonia Grizzlies The Gastonia Grizzlies were a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League. The team played its home games at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina, where they were known for their unique promotional events and firew ...

of the collegiate

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal League which operated in the area from 19 ...

. Gastonia, NC currently has a team, The Gastonia Honey Hunters, which is owned by property developer Brandon Bellamy.

Notable alumni

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...

Jeff Frye Jeffrey Dustin Frye (born August 31, 1966) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Currently, he is a baseball sports agent, player agent. Frye played in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, ...

* José Hernández *

Robb Nen Robb Allen Nen (born November 28, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He spent most of his career as a closer. He is the son of former major league first baseman Dick Nen. He currently works in the Giants' front ...

Darren Oliver Darren Christopher Oliver (born October 6, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a second generation major league player, as his father Bob Oliver played in the major leagues for nine seasons between 1967 and 1975. E ...

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...

Wilson Alvarez Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Rod ...

* Kevin Belcher * Juan Gonzalez * Donald Harris *

Bill Haselman William Joseph Haselman (born May 25, 1966) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 13 seasons between 1990 and 2003. A first-round selection in the 1987 MLB draft, he ...

Jonathan Hurst Jonathan Hurst (born October 20, 1966 in New York City, USA) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Montreal Expos (1992) and New York Mets (1994) of Major League Baseball (MLB). He's been the pitching coach of New York Mets ...

Cris Colon Cris is a familiar form of the names Christopher, Cristian, Chris, Cristina. Cris may also refer to: Places * Criș, the Romanian name for the river Körös in Hungary * Criș (Târnava Mare), a tributary of the Târnava Mare in Mureș County, ...

Dean Palmer Dean William Palmer (born December 27, 1968) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1989 to 2003. He played for the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers, all of the American Leag ...

Rey Sánchez Rey Francisco Guadalupe Sánchez (born October 5, 1967) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball infielder. He attended high school in California and was drafted in the 13th round of the amateur baseball draft by the Texas Rangers. He pla ...

Benji Gil Romar Benjamin Gil Aguilar (born October 6, 1972) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Anaheim Angels. He is infield coach for the Los Angeles Angels of MLB, and ...

Danny Patterson Danny Shane Patterson (born February 17, 1971) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Texas Rangers (1996–1999) and the Detroit Tigers (2000–2004). In his career, he is 24–22 with a 4.14 ERA, 250 strikeouts, ...

Tug McGraw Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became th ...

Jim Sundberg James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg estab ...

Mike Hargrove Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Guardians. Hargrove batted and threw left-handed. He played for the Texas Rang ...

Dell Curry Wardell Stephen Curry (born June 25, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1986 until 2002 and retired as the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leader in points (9,839) ...

(one day contract promotion) P *

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is a former American basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season caree ...

(one day contract promotion) 2B

Former owners

*Jack Farnsworth *George Shinn Fred Nichols - 1974 Pat McKernan - 1973

Stadium

The Gastonia Rangers (as well as the future Gastonia Grizzlies) played at

References

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/teams.cgi?yid=1992&lid=SAL&tid=GST
http://www.openchecklist.com/oc_browse.php?pagetype=set&subpage=setcards&objectkey=08LB http://louisville.bats.milb.com/about/page.jsp?ymd=20061214&content_id=148682&vkey=about_l112&fext=.jsp&sid=l112 http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Tug-McGraw.shtml Defunct South Atlantic League teams Defunct Western Carolinas League teams 1973 establishments in North Carolina 1974 disestablishments in North Carolina 1987 establishments in North Carolina 1992 disestablishments in North Carolina Defunct baseball teams in North Carolina Baseball teams disestablished in 1992 Baseball teams established in 1973 Gastonia, North Carolina