Kinston Eagles (Coastal Plain League)


The Kinston Eagles were a Minor League Baseball team of the Coastal Plain League. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina. The team played its home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 fans. Prior to that they played in Grainger Park.
The Eagles won the CPL Championship in 1947 as an affiliate of the Atlanta Crackers.

History

Coastal Plain League

took a great toll on the minor leagues, with only thirteen teams operating across the U.S. at a 1933 low point. Like most, Kinston sat out the first few years of the Great Depression but reentered play for the season in the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. By the circuit had become a fully professional, Class D league as ranked by the National Association. The city remained in the Coastal Plain League continuously until it was disbanded after. As a member of this affiliation, Kinston saw many playoff appearances and won league championships in and. Among the superior talent during this period was a young player named Charlie "King Kong" Keller who is listed as among the top forty major league players of all-time in terms of on-base percentage.

Grainger Stadium

From 1949 on, the Kinston Eagles played their home games at Grainger Stadium located at 400 East Grainger Avenue in Kinston. The original structure was built by architect John J. Rowland in 1949 at a cost of $170,000 inclusive of everything except the land. $150,000 of the money was raised by bond issue. A dedicatory plaque identifies the structure as "Municipal Stadium", but it has been called Grainger Stadium since it was first built.

Season by season results

YearNameLeagueLevelAffiliationRecordManagerPlayoffs
EaglesCoastal Plainsemipro36–24Bunn HearnLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal Plainsemipro41–26Bunn HearnLeague Champs
EaglesCoastal Plainsemipro40–32Herschel CaldwellLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainDSt. Louis Cardinals32–65Bess/Taylor
EaglesCoastal PlainDSt. Louis Cardinals60–50Tommy WestLost in 1st round
EaglesCoastal PlainDSt. Louis Cardinals65–59Henry/Lucas/HerringLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainD63–60Sothern/AeretteLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainD42–77McHenry/DeMasi
EaglesCoastal PlainD67–56Frank RodgersLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainDAtlanta Crackers74–65Steve CollinsLeague Champs
EaglesCoastal PlainD80–59Steve CollinsLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainD74–64Steve CollinsLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainDBoston Red Sox70–68Wally MilliesLost League Finals
EaglesCoastal PlainD79–47Wes LivengoodLost in 1st round
EaglesCoastal PlainDDetroit Tigers76–47Wayne BlackburnLost in 1st round

TABLE NOTES: