The Raleigh Capitals was a name used by various minor league baseball teams that were based in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

. Most of these teams played at

Devereaux Meadow Devereux (or Devereux) Meadow was a minor league baseball stadium located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was located on the north side of Peace Street (south, right field) between Dawson Street (east, left field), which was later merged into Capit ...

. There have been minor league baseball teams in the past that played in Raleigh using the name Capitals. Some of these Raleigh teams also used names such as Senators, Red Birds, Nats, Mets, Cardinals, and Pirates. The last Raleigh franchise existed from 1958–1967 and played in

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 ...

. This team merged into the Durham, North Carolina based

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

in 1968 who also played in the Carolina League (now playing in the International League).

History of baseball in Raleigh

Raleigh's first professional baseball franchise dates back to 1900 in the form of the Raleigh Senators of the North Carolina Association. The Senators moved to the Virginia–North Carolina League in 1901. The team then switched leagues again to the

North Carolina League North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and changed their name to the Raleigh Red Birds. The team folded after the 1902 season.Holaday, Chris (2016). Professional Baseball in North Carolina: An Illustrated City-by-city History, 1901-1996. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. {{ISBN, 978-0786425532. In 1908, a new franchise was formed and began playing in 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 classifi ...

. This franchise took up the name Red Birds. The second Red Birds franchise folded after the 1910 season. In 1913, another franchise formed and began playing in the

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 ...

. This team took up the name Raleigh Capitals (first Raleigh team called Capitals). The team folded after the 1917 season. In 1920, a new franchise called the Raleigh Nats formed and began playing in the

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Teams The following teams were members of the Piedmont ...

. The team was renamed Red Birds (third Raleigh team to be called Red Birds) in 1921 and was renamed Capitals, reusing the Capitals moniker. This team operated from 1920–1928. The team then folded after that. The last Raleigh franchise which also was the last team to take up the Capitals name was formed in 1958 and began playing in the

as the Capitals from 1958–1962, Mets in 1963, Cardinals in 1964 and 1965, and finally Pirates in 1966 and 1967. The rival Durham, North Carolina based

franchise who also played in the Carolina League and were a

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

affiliate acquired the Raleigh franchise. The Raleigh team then merged into the Durham Bulls. The result was that the Durham Bulls continued as the same franchise while maintaining their affiliation with the Mets and the Raleigh team ceased operations. Despite the Durham Bulls continued as the same franchise, the Bulls were renamed

Raleigh-Durham Mets The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

and split their home games between their home stadium

Durham Athletic Park Durham Athletic Park, nicknamed "The DAP", is a former minor league baseball stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The stadium was home to the Durham Bulls from 1926 through 1994, and is currently home to the North Carolina Central Eagles and t ...

in Durham and at

in Raleigh for the 1968 season. The team then played as the Phillies as a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate in 1969 and Triangles for the 1970 and 1971 seasons and disbanded in 1972. The Durham franchise reformed in 1980 under their original name "Durham Bulls" and returned to the Carolina League as an

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

affiliate. The Bulls now play in the International League at the Triple-A level as a

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

affiliate.

Today

Despite Raleigh not having a professional baseball team since 1972, the area still has professional baseball. The

Zebulon, North Carolina Zebulon is the easternmost town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,903 at the 2020 census. Zebulon is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. Five County Stadium, home to the Carolina Mudcats minor lea ...

based

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

and the Durham, North Carolina based

are the current minor league baseball teams in the area. The Durham Bulls were one of the rival clubs that played against Raleigh baseball teams between the years of 1913–1967.

Notable Raleigh alumni

Hall of Fame alumni *

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

(1930) Inducted, 1956 *

Enos Slaughter Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prima ...

(1961, MGR) Inducted, 1985 * Carl Yastrzemski (1959) Inducted, 1989 Other notable alumni *

Jim Bibby James Blair Bibby (October 29, 1944 – February 16, 2010)Morris, Chri"Former Major League pitcher Jim Bibby dies at 65" ''The News & Advance'' (Lynchburg, Virginia), Wednesday, February 17, 2010 was an American Major League Baseball right-han ...

(1968) MLB All-Star *

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father o ...

(1969) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Gene Clines Eugene Anthony Clines (October 6, 1946 – January 27, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1970 to 1979, most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pir ...

(1967) * Galen Cisco (1958-1959) *

Crash Davis Lawrence Columbus "Crash" Davis (July 14, 1919 – August 31, 2001) was an American professional baseball player whose name inspired that of the main character of the 1988 in film, 1988 movie ''Bull Durham''. Biography Born in Canon, Georgia, ...

(1949-1952) * Rawly Eastwick (1971) 2 × NL saves leader (1975, 1976) *

Gene Garber Henry Eugene Garber (born November 13, 1947) is an American former professional baseball sidearm relief pitcher who played for four Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations from to . Playing career Garber was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirate ...

(1966-1967) * Cliff Johnson (1970) *

Cleon Jones Cleon Joseph Jones (born June 24, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder. Jones played most of his career for the New York Mets and in 1969 caught the final out of the "Mira ...

(1963) MLB All-Star *

Greg Luzinski Gregory Michael "The Bull" Luzinski (born November 22, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies where he wa ...

(1969) 4 x MLB All-Star; 1975 NL RBI leader *

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers. The three-t ...

(1968) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1972 NL Rookie of the Year *

Bob Moose Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 – October 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . Moose was a me ...

(1966) *

Jerry Morales Julio Ruben "Jerry" Morales Torres (born February 18, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from -. Career Morales was originally signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent at the age of 17 in 1966. He went to th ...

(1968) MLB All-Star *

Al Oliver Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won f ...

(1966) 7 x MLB All-Star *

Dick Radatz Richard Raymond Radatz (April 2, 1937 – March 16, 2005) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Monster", the , right-hander had a scorching but short-lived period of dominance for the Boston Red Sox in the e ...

(1959-1960) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Manny Sanguillén Manuel De Jesus Sanguillén Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillén or "Sangy" (born March 21, 1944), is a Panamanian former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in and from through , most notably as a ...

(1966) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Ken Singleton Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter from to , most prominently as a member ...

(1968) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Mike Torrez Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (1 ...

(1965) MLB All-Star *

Wilbur Wood Wilbur Forrester Wood Jr. (born October 22, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched for the Boston Red Sox (1961–64), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1964–65), and the Chi ...

(1960) 3 x MLB All-Star

References

External links

Raleigh, North Carolina Minor League City Encyclopedia for Baseball
Baseball teams established in 1900 Baseball teams disestablished in 1967 Sports in Raleigh, North Carolina Professional baseball teams in North Carolina Defunct Carolina League teams Boston Braves minor league affiliates Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates New York Mets minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Washington Senators minor league affiliates 1900 establishments in North Carolina 1967 disestablishments in North Carolina Defunct baseball teams in North Carolina Piedmont League teams