The Greenville Greenies was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

between 1928 and 1951. Greenville teams played as members of the

Eastern Carolina League The Eastern Carolina League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in the Eastern part of North Carolina. The league had two distinct periods of operation: 1908 to 1910 and a revival of the league in 1928 and 1929. It was classifie ...

from 1928 to 1929 and

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 ...

from 1934 to 1941 and 1946 to 1951. The Greenville Greenies were an affiliate of the Washington Senators in 1939.

History

1928 to 1929 Eastern Carolina League

The first minor league baseball team in Greenville, North Carolina was the 1928 Greenville Tobacconists. The Tobacconists played as members of the Class D level

. The Greenville Tobacconists finished last in the 1928 six–team Eastern Carolina League, which had reformed. Greenville finished 43–71 under Managers James Jolliff and Tom Abbott. Greenville was 6th in the league standings, behind the

Fayetteville Highlanders Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois * Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayett ...

(53–60), Goldsboro Manufacturers (66–48), Kinston Eagles (55–59), Rocky Mount Buccaneers (55–56) and

Wilmington Pirates The Wilmington Pirates were a minor league baseball team located in Wilmington, North Carolina. From 1928 to 1929, they played in the Class D Eastern Carolina League. From 1932 to 1935, they played in the Class B Piedmont League. From 1946 to 1950 ...

(68–46). Continuing play in the 1929 Eastern Carolina League, Greenville had three different managers and finished in 5th place. The Tobacconists had a record of 45–68 under

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music c ...

, Guy Smith and Dan Pasquella. The Eastern Carolina League permanently folded after the 1929 season.

1934 to 1941 Coastal Plain League

In 1934, the Greenville Greenies began play as charter members of the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

six–team

. The Coastal Plain League became classified as a Class D League for the 1937 season. The Greenville Greenies ended the season with a record of 40–58, finishing in 7th place in the eight–team Coastal Plain League. Their manager in 1937 was

Bo Farley Roland "Bo" Farley (March 25, 1907 – April 1, 1999) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He was the head football, basketball and baseball coach of the East Carolina Pirates at the East Carolina Teachers College, now known ...

. Under managers Alfred Joyner and Halley Wilson, the Greenville Greenies finished the 1938 season with a record of 45–68, placing 7th in the Coastal Plain League. The team began play at Third Street Park. In 1939, the Greenville Greenies won the 1939 Coastal Plain League Pennant as the Greenville franchise became a Washington Senators minor league affiliate. With a Record of 75–47, Greenville placed 1st in the Coastal Plain League regular season, playing under manager Halley Wilson, In the 1939 Playoffs, the Kinston Eagles defeated the Greenville Greenies 4 games to 2. The 1940 Greenville Greenies finished with a record of 53–71, to place 7th in the Coastal Plain League standings under returning manager Halley Wilson. The 1940 season was their last at Third Street Park. The Greenville Greenies League advanced to the 1941 Coastal Plain League Finals. Playing at Guy Smith Stadium, the Greenies had a record of 64–54, placing 2nd in the regular season under returning player/manager Halley Wilson. In the 1941 Coastal Plain League Playoffs, the Greenville Greenies defeated the New Bern Bears 4 games to 2 and advanced. In the Finals, the

Wilson Tobs The Wilson Tobs are an amateur baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League, an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at Fleming Stadium in Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the ...

defeated Greenville 4 games to 2.

1946 to 1951 Coastal Plain League

The 1946 Greenville Greenies returned to play after the Coastal Plain League was idle in the 1942–1945 seasons due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Greenies ended the season with a 58–67 record in the regular season, placing 6th in the eight–team league. The 1946 manager was Virgil Payne. Returning to play at Guy Smith Stadium, season attendance was 62,354, an average of 998 per game. Greenville finished last in the 1947 Coastal Plain League. The Greenies' regular season record of 58–82 placed the team 8th in the Coastal Plain League final standings. The 1947 Greenville Greenies were managed by John Pare, Larry Baldwin and Ordie Timm. Continuing play at Guy Smith Stadium, Greenville drew 66,316 fans for the season. The 1948 Greenville Greenies again finished last in the Coastal Plain League. The Greenville Greenies finished 50–89 and placed 8th in the Coastal Plain League final standings. The team again had three managers: Bill Phebus, Izzy Cohen and Kelly Kee. Their home attendance at Guy Smith Stadium was 60,938, an average of 877 per game. The 1949 Greenville Greenies won the Coastal Plain League Championship. The Greenies finished the regular season with a 71–67 record, placing 4th in the Coastal Plain League under player/manager Fred Williams, qualifying for the playoffs. In the 1st round of the 1949 Coastal Plain League playoffs, Greenville defeated the

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4 games to 2 and advanced. In the 1949 Finals, the Greenville Greenies beat the Kinston Eagles 4 games 2 to win the 1949 championship. Season attendance was 72,420, a per-game average of 1,050. Greenville remained in the 1950 Coastal Plain League, playing with the new Greenville Robins moniker. With a Coastal Plain League regular season record of 67–70, the Greenville Robins placed 6th in the Coastal Plain League final standings, missing the playoffs. The Robins' manager was

Randy Heflin Randolph Rutherford Heflin (September 11, 1918 – August 17, 1999) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 25 games in Major League Baseball for the 1945– 46 Boston Red Sox. Listed at , , Heflin was ...

. Season attendance was 49,140. The 1951 Greenville Robins folded from the Coastal Plain League mid-season. The Greenville Robins and Tarboro A's both folded from the league on June 6, 1951. The Robins had a 10–24 record under manager John Streza when the franchise folded. Playing their last season at Guy Smith Stadium, Greensville had overall attendance of 5,932, an average of 349 per game, during the partial season. Greenville, North Carolina has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballparks

Early Greenville minor league teams played home minor league games at Elm Street Park through 1937. Also called "High School Park," the ballpark had a capacity of 1,200. Elm Street Park is still in use today and has a lighted youth baseball field and other youth baseball fields. Elm Street Park is located at 1058 South Elm Street, Greenville, North Carolina. From 1938 to 1940, the Greenville Greenies minor league teams played home games at Third Street Park. The ballpark had a capacity of 1,500 in 1938 and 3,000 in 1940. The field dimensions were (Left, Center, Right): 320–390–320. Beginning in 1941, Greenville minor league teams hosted home games at Guy Smith Stadium. The ballpark was built in 1939 for $50,000 as a

Works Project Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

Project. Guy Smith Stadium is located within Guy Smith Park and is still in use as a baseball stadium. The location is 1051 Moye Boulevard, Greenville, North Carolina. Little League Baseball at Elm Street Park

Little League Baseball at Elm Street Park

Timeline

Notable alumni

* Johnny Allen (1928) MLB All-Star *

Luis Arroyo Luis Enrique "Tite" Arroyo, (February 18, 1927 – January 13, 2016) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1955 to 1963. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican player to appear for the New York Yankees and was a key part of their pennant winning s ...

(1948) 2x MLB All-Star *

Fred Caligiuri Frederick John Caligiuri (October 22, 1918 – November 30, 2018) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played during and for the Philadelphia Athletics. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed. Biography ...

(1937–1940) *

(1937, MGR) *

(1950, MGR) *

Bobo Newsom Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all or ...

(1928) 4x MLB All-Star * Bill Phebus (1948, MGR) *

Vinnie Smith Vincent Ambrose Smith (December 7, 1915 – December 14, 1979) was an American Major League Baseball baseball player, player and umpire from Richmond, Virginia. During his playing days, the , Smith threw and batted right-handed. Career Smith's p ...

(1938–1939) *

Sid Varney Harry Eugene "Sid" Varney (December 22, 1927 – November 25, 2011) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as ...

(1949) * Fred Williams (1949, MGR)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Greenville - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Greenville, North Carolina Coastal Plain League Washington Senators minor league affiliates Pitt County, North Carolina Baseball teams disestablished in 1949 Baseball teams established in 1934 Defunct baseball teams in North Carolina Professional baseball teams in North Carolina 1934 establishments in North Carolina 1949 disestablishments in North Carolina Coastal Plain League (minor league) teams