| New Orleans Pelicans Baseball | |
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| Dixie Series titles (2) |
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| Name | New Orleans Pelicans |
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The New Orleans Pelicans or "Pels" were a minor league professional baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. [2]
Founded in 1865 as an amateur social/sporting organization, the Pelicans became a professional franchise when they joined the Southern League in 1887. That league operated off and on until it finally folded in 1899. During that time the team captured three pennants: 1887, 1889, and 1896. [3] [4] The Pelicans then became a founding member of the Southern Association in 1901. [5] From 1887 to 1900, the team played at Sportsman's Park/Crescent City Base Ball Park located at the foot of Canal Street near the New Basin Canal (now the Pontchartrain Expressway). [6]
In 1901, the Pelicans moved to Athletic Park and played there until 1908. After the 1908 season the team moved to Pelican Park, which was located on South Carrollton Avenue, across from present-day Jesuit High School. In 1914, the Pelican Park wooden grandstand was moved by mule teams a quarter-mile down South Carrollton Avenue to the intersection with Tulane Avenue in Mid-City New Orleans. From 1915 through 1936 the facility was known as Heinemann Park after Alexander J. Heinemann, a shareholder in the club and owner of the stadium. The name was changed in 1936 to Pelican Stadium following the death of Heinemann and team owner Charles Somers. The Pelicans played their final game there in 1957. After this, they played for two years at City Park Stadium, now called Tad Gormley Stadium, in City Park. The franchise was sold to Little Rock at the end of the 1959 season. The Southern Association folded after the 1961 season. [7]
The Pelicans won the Dixie Series, a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the Southern Association and the Texas League, in 1933 and 1934. [8] [9]
Notable Pelicans included Shoeless Joe Jackson, Jimmy Dygert, Henry "Cotton" Knaupp, Bill Lindsay, Zeke Bonura, Gene Freese, and Hall of Famers Dazzy Vance, Joe Sewell, Bob Lemon, and Earl Weaver. In Jackson's only season with New Orleans (1910), he hit .354 to win the league batting title and led the team to the pennant with an 87–53 record. The following year, he would hit .408 with the American League's Cleveland Naps. [10]
In the 1950s, the team was associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was managed by Danny Murtaugh. Other notable Pelican managers included Larry Gilbert and Abner Powell, with the latter credited with introducing the perforated "rain check" in 1889.
The Pelicans' name briefly resurfaced during the 1977 season when oilman A. Ray Smith moved his Triple-A Tulsa Oilers to New Orleans to play in the Superdome. Tony La Russa was a reserve infielder for the team, playing most of his games at 2nd base. After a single season, the team then moved to Springfield, Illinois, and was renamed the Redbirds.
On December 4, 2012, it was reported that Tom Benson, owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints and the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, would be changing the Hornets' official name to the Pelicans, possibly as early as the 2013–2014 NBA season. [11] [12]
These reports were officially confirmed on January 24, 2013, when the newly branded Pelicans officially announced the name change and unveiled accompanying logos and a blue, gold and red color scheme. One year later, the Hornets name, logo and color scheme were reclaimed by the now Charlotte Hornets. The basketball Hornets originally came from Charlotte, North Carolina, before relocating to New Orleans in 2002.
The Pelicans were affiliated with the following major league teams:
| Year | Affiliation(s) |
|---|---|
| 1930–39 | Cleveland Indians |
| 1940–42; 1977 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 1943–44 | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| 1946–47 | Boston Red Sox |
| 1948–56 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 1957–58 | New York Yankees |
The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Smoothie King Center. Since 2014, the NBA officially considers New Orleans as an expansion team that began play in the 2002–03 NBA season.
Thomas Milton Benson, Jr. was an American businessman, philanthropist and sports franchise owner. He was the owner of several automobile dealerships before buying the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) in 1985 and the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2012.
The New Orleans Baby Cakes were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, and played their home games at the Shrine on Airline.
Smoothie King Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Caesars Superdome. The arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and has been home to the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 2002. The New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League played their home games in the arena from 2004 until the team disbanded in 2008. The VooDoo resumed play at the arena in March 2011, until after the 2015 AFL season when the franchise folded.
Pelican Stadium, originally known as Heinemann Park (1915–1937), was a sports stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1915 to 1957.
New Orleans is home to a wide variety of sporting events. Most notable are the home games of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), the annual Sugar Bowl, the annual Zurich Classic and horse racing at the Fair Grounds Race Course. New Orleans has also occasionally hosted the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal game and the NCAA college basketball Final Four.
Harry Frederick Abbott was an American Major League Baseball catcher. Born Harry Frederick Winbigler, he played three seasons of Major League baseball for the Cleveland Naps and the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Loyola Wolf Pack are the athletic teams representing Loyola University New Orleans in intercollegiate athletics. The Wolf Pack are a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) since the 2010–11 academic year. They previously competed in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) from 1995–96 to 2009–10.
The Dixie Series was an interleague postseason series between the playoff champions of Minor League Baseball's Southern Association (SA) and Texas League (TL). The best-of-seven series was held at the conclusion of each season from 1920 to 1958, with the exception of 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. It was revived by the Dixie Association for one year in 1967, pitting the Texas League champion against the Southern League (SL) champion.
The New Orleans Pelicans are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team commenced play in 2002 after the NBA granted founder George Shinn an expansion franchise to play in New Orleans. The Pelicans' establishment was unusual compared to most modern expansion teams in that New Orleans' roster was not stocked through an expansion draft. Instead, Shinn transferred the entire basketball organization of his former team, the Charlotte Hornets, to his new franchise.
The Xavier Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets are the athletic teams that represent Xavier University of Louisiana, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) since the 2021–22 academic year. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets previously competed in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) from 1981–82 to 2020–21.
Crescent City Base Ball Park, originally known as Sportsman's Park (1886–1887), was a sports stadium in New Orleans from 1886 to 1900. The stadium was renamed Crescent City Base Ball Park in 1888 and reopened on February 9, 1888. The ball park was located at City Park Avenue and what is now the Pontchartrain Expressway across from Greenwood Cemetery.
The Southern League was a Class B and Class C minor league baseball league which operated intermittently in the Southern United States from 1885 to 1899. Financial problems plagued the league and its member teams throughout their existence. It was not unusual for teams to depart the league during the season or for the league to cease operations without completing the season. It was this lack of financial support which ultimately caused the league to permanently disband in 1889. In 1901, a new league, called the Southern Association, was created from its remnants.
Athletic Park was a sports stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana which opened in 1901. Some sources say the ballpark was located on the south side of Tulane Avenue between South Carrollton Avenue and South Pierce Street. The Sanborn map from 1908 shows the actual boundaries as Tulane Avenue, Scott Street, the proposed Gravier Street extension, and then railroad tracks and the canal ; and the proposed Pierce Street extension. Carrolton Avenue was a block west of Pierce.
Pelican Park was a sports stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1908 to 1914. The ballpark was bound by South Carrollton Avenue, Palmyra Street, Banks Street and Scott Street. A contest was conducted to name the new ballpark. "Pelican Park" won out over scores of other entries.
The 1910 New Orleans Pelicans season was a season in professional baseball. The Pelicans played in the Southern Association and won their second league pennant. One sportswriter ranked them as the greatest sports team in the history of New Orleans. The team was owned and managed by Charlie Frank.
The 1905 New Orleans Pelicans season represented the New Orleans Pelicans baseball team in the Southern Association and won their first league pennant, finishing with a record of 84 – 45. An outbreak of yellow fever resulted in a quarantine of New Orleans. The Pelicans were forced to play most of their games out of town. The team was led by pitcher Jimmy Dygert and Otto Williams. The team also included Ted Breitenstein, George Rohe and Erve Beck. Breitenstein went 21–5, and Dygert put up a record of 18–4.
Wesley "Big Train" Barrow was an American Negro league player and manager in the 1940s who was once regarded as "one of the best developers of Negro talent in the South."
The Robert E. Lee's were a minor league baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1886, the uniquely named Robert E. Lee's played as members of the Gulf League in the league's only season of play, placing last in the four–team league.
