By 1980, new changes were happening. The team now went by the name O's, dropping their old colors black and orange, and using royal blue and orange for their new colors. For the 1980 season, Charlotte fans would still see the skills of Cal Ripken Jr. for one more year. The 1980 O's were managed by Jimmy Williams, and the team went on to become the Southern League champions, beating the Savannah Braves, then the Expos affiliate Memphis Chicks.

The 1981 season left the O's without a championship, finishing in 4th place with a 74-69 record. Managed by Mark Wiley, the O's didn't win either half of the season. 1982 didn't seem too different either, finishing with a 66-77 record in 9th place, and with no championship. In 1983, things started to change. The O's were now managed by Grady Little, and showed slight improvement that season, finishing the season in 6th place with a 69-77 record. The O's started the 1984 season off terrible, but later advanced to the playoffs against the Greenville Braves, (who replaced Savannah GA. as Atlanta's AA affiliate) and later winning the Southern League Championship against the Knoxville Blue Jays.

During the 1985 season on March 16, a High School baseball game was being held at Crockett Park, when the ballpark went up in flames, burning almost completely to the ground.  The cause was arson, maybe done by a juvenile, or maybe it was set by someone else? Apparently O's owner Jim Crockett had some unpaid wrestling debts, thus people he owed money to got frustrated, and burned down his baseball park. After the fire was put out and everything was clear, temporary seating was put up for the O's to finish 1985 in what still existed of Crockett Park. The roster for the O's included Cal Ripken's brother Billy, who played for Charlotte in both the '85 and '86 seasons. The team was managed by John Hart, and ended up winning the Eastern Divison against the Yankees AA Columbus Clippers, but lost in the league finals against the Huntsville Stars.

The O's would play out their last two seasons (1986 & 1987) in the refurbished ballpark,  finishing in 6th place with a 71-73 record in 1986. In 1987, the O's would advance to the playoffs against the Jacksonville Expos, but would and lose in the league finals against the White Sox affiliate Birmingham Barons. After the 1987 season, NBA Hornets owner George Shinn would

buy the Charlotte O's, and rename the team from a naming contest, as Shinn disliked like

how similar the name "O's" was to the Baltimore Orioles, who were also called the "O's".

Cal Ripken was a star in Charlotte well before he was a star in Baltimore. On April 3, 2003, nearly 24 years after he first appeared in a Charlotte O's uniform, Ripken returned to the area for a special Opening Day appearance at Knights Stadium. 

This is what Cal had to say before his Opening Day appearance:

"I have some great memories of Charlotte from the 1980 season. On the field it was the season that really made me believe that I could play in the big leagues. I think I hit 25 home runs and made the All-Star Team. Off the field, I remember the fans being really passionate about baseball and caring a lot about the team. It felt special to play

in Charlotte. This is a great honor for me and now that I am a minor league owner I look forward to seeing the operation in Charlotte and maybe stealing a few ideas."

A member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ripken helped the Knights open Knights Stadium for year #14 in the stadium's history. The event was a huge success and over 8,200 fans came out to watch Ripken, as well as the Knights beat the Richmond Braves 7-6. Jon Adkins was the winning pitcher for the Knights.

(text from milb.com/charlotte-knights)