Tombstone
Born: 1964 – Affiliation change from Raleigh Mets
Re-Branded: 1966 (Raleigh Pirates)
First Game: April 17, 1964 (L 7-2 @ Kinston Eagles)
Last Game: September 4, 1965 (L 3-0 @ Kinston Eagles)
Carolina League Championships: None
Stadium
Devereux Meadow
Opened: 1938
Demolished: 1979
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners: Earl Jones & Garland Jones
Major League Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals
Attendance
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Source: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.), Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, 2007. P. 526-530.
Background
Raleigh, North Carolina hosted a franchise in the Carolina League from the formation of that loop in 1945 until 1971. Raleigh’s final decade in the loop was turbulent, as the ball club changed Major League affiliations and identities six times between 1962 and 1971. The Raleigh Cardinals were the city team for the summers of 1964 and 1965. George Kissell managed the Raleigh Cards in 1964 and Ray Hathaway helmed the team in 1965.
Notables
The best player to come out of Raleigh during the Cardinals era was pitcher Mike Torrez, who went 4-8 for the team as an 18-year old in 1965. Torrez went on to win 185 games in an 18-year Major League between 1967 and 1984.
Other top Cards included 21-year old outfielder Ed Chasteen who led the Carolina League in home runs in 1964 with 28. 22-year old pitcher Don Hagen paced the circuit in wins (16) and strikeouts (202) that same summer. Neither made the Major Leagues.
The Pittsburgh Pirates took over the affiliation in 1966 and the team was re-named the Raleigh Pirates.
Devereux Meadow ballpark was demolished in 1979.
Links
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