The Hickory Rebels were a Class D

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team based in

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city in western North Carolina primarily located in Catawba County, North Carolina, Catawba County. The List of municipalities in North Carolina, 25th most populous city in the state, it is located approximately northwest of Charlot ...

, 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 (MiLB) team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans St ...

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 h ...

History

The Rebels played in the Tar Heel League (1939–1940, 1953–1954),

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a Class D level league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league played from 1913 to 1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in ...

(1942, 1945–1951) and

Western Carolinas League The Western Carolinas League was a Class D level (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A level (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league baseball. The Western Carolinas League changed its name prior to the 1980 season and has been ...

(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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(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 a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(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 American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

and the

Catawba Valley Community College Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) 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. ...

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 (1949) * Eddie Haas (1953) * Mickey O'Neil (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 and teams 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 North Carolina State League teams Western Carolina League teams {{NorthCarolina-baseball-team-stub