The Latta Park Baseball Field was a ballpark located in
Latta Park
Latta Park is a 31-acre urban park at 601 East Park Avenue in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina. It features courts for tennis, volleyball, and basketball, as well as many benches and picnic facilities, playgrounds, walking tr ...
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 ...
. Its capacity was approximately 1,000 for baseball.
Edward Dilworth Latta, Mayor F. B. McDowell, and others formed the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company (the "Four Cs") in 1890 to develop the
Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte. To attract visitors and residents, the Four Cs constructed an electric trolley route at the end of which they built a recreational area called
Latta Park
Latta Park is a 31-acre urban park at 601 East Park Avenue in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina. It features courts for tennis, volleyball, and basketball, as well as many benches and picnic facilities, playgrounds, walking tr ...
with gardens, walking paths, a lake, and playing fields including the Latta Park Baseball Field.
The first game was played at the park's grand opening on May 20, 1891 with a game between teams from Winston, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. A grandstand for the baseball field was built in 1892, and the field renovated and rededicated in September 1897. As of 1899, a third of a mile bicycle track encircled the playing field.
Latta Park Baseball Field was home to 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 ...
minor-league baseball team until the opening of
Wearn Field
Wearn Field was a ballpark located in Charlotte, North Carolina and home to amateur and professional baseball in Charlotte from 1909 to 1940. Wearn Field was built and owned by Hornets club owner J. H. Wearn alongside his lumber mill. Home plate w ...
in 1912.
The first college football game in Charlotte was played at Latta Park in 1892 when the University of North Carolina defeated Virginia Tech 32-5.
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan†...
played football games at the Latta Park Baseball Field between 1896 and 1903.
On November 28, 1901, Clemson defeated the University of North Carolina in football at Latta Park in front of 1,000 fans.
Charlotte and Latta Park hosted the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
for spring training in 1896, 1897, and 1901; the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
in 1899 and 1900; and the
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...
in 1902.
As the Dilworth neighborhood grew, the Four Cs made plans to redevelop recreational areas of Latta Park. The Charlotte Hornets had played at Latta Park through the 1908 season but moved to the newly opened Wearn Field constructed and managed by the team's owner, J.H. Wearn. The Charlotte Baseball Association had signed a ten year lease to utilize Latta Park's Baseball Field and played games at Latta Park through the 1912 season.
Latta Park is commemorated at Charlotte's
Truist Field
Truist Field is a baseball stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Uptown-area stadium hosts the Charlotte Knights, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team in the International League. It is also the third sports building to be built in Uptow ...
along the outer wall of South Graham Street.
External Links
References
College football venues
Davidson Wildcats football
Los Angeles Dodgers spring training venues
Philadelphia Phillies spring training venues
Sports venues in Charlotte, North Carolina
Sports venues in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Defunct minor league baseball venues
Defunct baseball venues in the United States
Baseball venues in North Carolina
Defunct sports venues in North Carolina
1891 establishments in North Carolina
Sports venues completed in 1891
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