Wearn Field was a ballpark located in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

and home to amateur and professional baseball in Charlotte from 1912 to 1940. Wearn Field was built and owned by Hornets club owner J. H. Wearn alongside his lumber mill. Home plate was at the corner of South Graham and Winona Streets; the right field corner was at South Graham and Commerce. Wearn 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

minor-league baseball team, the Charlotte Red Sox negro league team, and was the spring training home of the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

in 1913, the Philadelphia Phillies in 1919, and the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

in 1935 and 1937.

History

The Charlotte Red Sox negro league club attracted many fans from the area. On Labor Day 1918, the team hosted a fundraiser where they played against Camp Greene’s Black soldiers at Wearn Field and the proceeds donated to support the soldiers. In April 1926, Babe Ruth led the Yankees to a win over the Brooklyn Dodgers in a preseason exhibition game before 4,000 fans at Wearn Field. The first integrated baseball game in Charlotte was played at Wearn Field on July 8, 1933 when Highland Park, a white mill team, beat the North Charlotte Black Yankees. Contemporary news accounts differ on the game’s winner. The Charlotte Hornets were purchased by the Washington Senators in 1937. In 1940, the Senators's

Calvin Griffith Calvin Robertson Griffith (December 1, 1911 – October 20, 1999), born Calvin Griffith Robertson, was a Canadian-born American Major League Baseball team owner. As president, majority owner and ''de facto'' general manager (baseball), general m ...

constructed a new 3,200-seat ballpark in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood on Magnolia Avenue, naming it Clark Griffith Park. The Hornets played their last season at Wearn Field in 1940 before moving to Clark Griffth Park in 1941. In March 2014, the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

unveiled four murals at its

Truist Field Truist Field is a baseball stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. 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 ...

along the S Graham Street side to commemorate the former Charlotte-area homes of professional baseball including Wearn Field.

References

External links

* Philadelphia Phillies spring training venues Sports venues in Charlotte, 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 {{MecklenburgCountyNC-geo-stub