Charlotte's Forgotten Ballpark

Many Charlotteans fondly remember Crockett Park, the old minor league baseball park on Magnolia Avenue. The old wooden ballpark hosted Charlotte's minor league teams from 1941 up until a fire destroyed the ballpark in the 1980's. I suspect, though, that most Charlotteans have never heard of the ballpark that came before Crockett Park. Known originally as Wearn Field and later as Hayman Park, the facility on South Mint St. was the home of the Charlotte Hornets from 1908 through the 1940 season. Many of the legendary figures from baseball's early history played there including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Mel Ott and many others. The ballpark was part of the old streetcar route. From looking at old copies of the Observer on microfilm at the library, I learned that just about every game received extensive front page coverage on the sports page. Baseball was the only game in town in those days and the park must have held a lot of fond memories for generations of Charlotteans. It just seems surprising that we don't hear more about this ballpark because it obviously represents an important part of Charlotte's history during the 20th century. Even finding a quality photo of the ballpark proved to be impossible, but I did find some grainy photos on microfilm that I've posted below. I wish I had more to say and more to show, but that's why I call it Charlotte's forgotten ballpark. Maybe somebody will write a book about it some day.