Charlotte Hornets

1937 - 1960

37-60 hornets logos timeline

The 1937 season featured a brand new Hornets ball club. With the Carolina League Hornets now in Gastonia as the Gastonia Spinners, Charlotte got a new club, and back into the Piedmont League. Senators owner Clark Griffith (left photo) made the Hornets the Washington's class B affiliate. The club had 4 managers that season. Lee Head, Bill Rodgers, Zinn Beck, and Alex McColl. The new 37' Bees finished their first season in the Queen City with a 66-75 record in 7th place. For the 1938 season, the Bees were managed by Clark's son Calvin Griffith. The '38 Bees beat the former 1935 Hornets franchise, then playing as the Rocky Mount Red Sox, in the league finals and the club became league champs, finishing in 2nd place with a 84-53 record. Griffith would again manage the Bees in the 1939 season, but the Hornets would drop down to 7th place, with a 68-74 record. For the 1940 season, the club improved and finished in 5th with a 68-75 record.

Calvin Griffith (right photo) would play for and manage the Bees for the last time in 1941. This season was also the inaugural season at the new Clark Griffith Park, the new ballpark that Clark Griffith had constructed for the Hornets. In this inaugural season, the Hornets finished with a 65-70 record in 6th place.

70-62 4rth. Harry Smythe would manage the Hornets ball club in 1942, but they would lose against the Greensboro Patriots in the first round of the playoffs.

Hornets baseball would not be held for the following three seasons, due to World War II. The Hornets even offered some of their players to join the service.

Some former Hornets players who were hoping to be prominent Senators players after the war were 1939 - 1940 Hornet Lefty Brewer, and 1940 Hornet Elmer Gedeon, but unfortunately, they never did make it back.

Baseball would resume in 1946, with the Hornets now playing in the Tri-State League. The '46 club would be managed by Spencer Abbott, and they ended up finishing with a 93-46 record in 1st place. After defeating the Knoxville Smokies in the league finals, the Bees became league champions that season. For the 1947

season, the Hornets ended up finishing 4th, with a 72-68 record. With Spencer Abbott

retiring on June 21, Cal Ermer took over as Hornets manager. The club again were league

champions after defeating the Spartanburg Peaches in the league finals.

For the 1948 season, with Joe Bowman now manager for the Hornets, the club finished with a 72-74 record in 5th place. Clyde "Rabbit" McDowell would manage the Hornets in the 1949 season. The Hornets were in Orlando, Florida training for the season, and came back to Charlotte once the season began. The club would finish the season with a 62-80 record in 7th place. Managed by Clyde "Rabbit" Mcdowell and later Joe Bird, the Bees finished the season in 5th place with a 72-73 record, again missing the playoffs. The 1951 club was ranked number 36 in the top 100 MiLB teams on MiLB.com back in 2001. Cal Ermer (left photo) would return as hornets manager. The club finished the season with a 100-40 record in 1st place, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Spartanburg Peaches.

The Bees were league champs in the 1952 season, with Ivan Kuester as manager and players like Hal Briggs and George Bradshaw on the club's roster. The Hornets finished the 1952 season with a 87-51 record in 2nd place. In the playoffs they beat the St. Louis Browns affiliate Anderson Rebels, and then won the pennant after beating the Indians affiliate Spartanburg Peaches in the league finals. 1953 was another great season for Charlotte, as they became league champs yet again. Managed by Pete Appleton, the Bees finished the season with a 74-71 record in 3rd place. They beat the Spartanburg Peaches and Anderson Rebels, and won the pennant. 1953 was also the year that Hornets general manager Phil Howser integrated the Bees.

In 1954, the Hornets were now a class A level team in the South Atlantic League. Pete Appleton would manage the Hornets, and later Ellis Clary. The roster included Carlos Paula (left photo), who would later integrate the Washington Senators after being called up from the Minor Leagues. The '54 Bees finished the season with a 62-77 record in 6th place. The Hornets were managed by Jimmy Bloodworth in 1955, but finished with a 54-86 record in 8th place, worse than the previous season.

The 1956 season saw a 20 year old Harmon Killebrew play in Charlotte in the Senators farm system. Killebrew would later become a Major League legend and Hall of Fame inductee. Rollie Hemsley would manage the Hornets that season. They would lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Jacksonville Braves, and finish the season with a 79-61 record in 2nd place. For the 1957 season, the Bees would be managed by former 1956 Hornets player Gene Verble, and would finish with a 86-87 record in 2nd place. Having defeated the Knoxville Smokies in the playoffs, and then the Augusta Tigers, the Hornets would become league champions. For the next three seasons, the Bees were managed by Gene Verble, (who would also play for the club) but lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Jacksnoville

Braves in 1958, Columbus / Gastonia Pirates in 1959, and Knoxville Smokies in 1960.

Hornets players / managers that served in WWII: