The Hickory Rebels were a Class D minor league baseball team based in

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...

, that played from 1939–1940, 1940, 1945–1954, 1960. The Rebels were the predecessor of the current

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 ...

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 ...

History

The Rebels played in the

Tar Heel League The Tar Heel League was a mid-20th century Class D level professional minor baseball league, based in North Carolina in the United States. It operated during the full seasons of , and , and from the opening of the season through June 21, . The ...

(1939–1940, 1953–1954),

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a "Class D" league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league existed from 1913–1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in 1937 i ...

(1942, 1945–1951) and

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 ...

(1952, 1960). They were affiliates of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

(1945–1949) and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1952–1954). A former team of the same name had participated in the independent

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

between 1936 and 1938.Utley, R.G., and Verner, Scott,
The Independent Carolina Baseball League, 1936–1938
', (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1999) pp. 260-61

The ballpark

The Rebels played at Fairgrounds Park. Fairgrounds Park is now called Henkel-Alley Field and serves as home to American Legion baseball and the

Catawba Valley Community College Catawba Valley Community College is a public community college in Hickory, North Carolina. The college, established April 3, 1958, is part of the North Carolina Community College System. The main campus covers and includes 16 buildings. The col ...

Red Hawks.

Notable alumni

John Buzhardt John William Buzhardt (August 17, 1936 – June 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and ...

(1954) *

Red Corriden John Michael "Red" Corriden (September 4, 1887 – September 28, 1959) was a player, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. A shortstop and third baseman in his playing days, Corriden appeared in 223 big league games with the ...

(1949) *

Eddie Haas George Edwin Haas (born May 26, 1935) is a former outfielder, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. Haas spent 14 years as a skipper in the farm system of the Atlanta Braves and replaced Joe Torre as Atlanta's manager after ...

(1953) *

Mickey O'Neil George Michael Jakob O'Neil (April 12, 1900 in St. Louis, Missouri – April 8, 1964), was a professional baseball player who played catcher from 1919 to 1927. O'Neil was coaching third base for the Brooklyn Robins when Babe Herman "doubled int ...

(1949)

References

Baseball teams established in 1939 Professional baseball teams in North Carolina Defunct Western Carolinas League teams Defunct minor league baseball teams New York Giants minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Sports clubs disestablished in 1960 1939 establishments in North Carolina 1960 disestablishments in North Carolina Hickory, North Carolina Defunct baseball teams in North Carolina Baseball teams disestablished in 1960 Tar Heel League teams {{NorthCarolina-baseball-team-stub