Kinston Indians

History

Kinston fielded numerous amateur teams from the late 1800s onward, but a stable professional club did not arrive until the mid-1920s. Early efforts included a failed season in the Class D Eastern Carolina League and an "outlaw league" squad managed by former major league pitcher George Suggs and College Football Hall of Famer Ira Rodgers. With backing from local business leaders, former amateur star Elisha Lewis, and Suggs, the town finally secured a Virginia League franchise called the Eagles.

The Great Depression devastated minor league baseball, leaving only thirteen teams nationwide by 1933. Kinston sat idle for the Depression's early years but returned in the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. When that circuit later became a fully professional Class D league, the city remained a member until the league dissolved. During this stretch, Kinston made multiple playoff runs and won league championships.

One standout was Charlie "King Kong" Keller, whose .410 on-base percentage ranks among the top 40 in major league history. After a three-year gap without baseball, the Burlington Bees' owner relocated his Carolina League club to Kinston in 1956. The renamed Kinston Eagles, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, integrated with Frank Washington and Carl Long. Long drove in 111 runs that season, a single-season RBI record for any Kinston hitter that still stands.

The Eagles' owner, however, proved a poor businessman, driving the franchise near bankruptcy before moving it forty miles to Wilson.

Annual Awards

Each year, usually on the weekend of the last home games, the Kinston Indians presented awards to deserving individuals. The team MVP Award was named for "Cap'n Pat" Crawford, a longtime Kinston resident who reached the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals during the Gashouse Gang era. The award for the player who overcame the greatest adversity was named for Tex Drake, a batboy for the Kinston Blue Jays who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease on the last day of the campaign.

The club president arranged for Drake to work as a batboy for the last three home games of the Toronto Blue Jays season, and Drake overcame his cancer through chemotherapy. The sportsmanship award was named for Steve Gaydek, a former member of the club's Board of Directors who attended every home game for over twenty years despite living over thirty miles from the ballpark. An award named for Lewis B. "Mac" McAvery, the head groundskeeper, was given to the individual who did the most to "preserve and enhance" professional baseball in Kinston.

Local baseball personalities

Chris Hemeyer was the radio voice of the Indians and host of Tribe Talk, an interview television program shown on local public access stations in southeastern North Carolina. The show highlighted recent Kinston games and interviewed team members and staff. Anne "Mama" Robinson and Evelyn "Mama" Kornegay were local residents who hosted players during their stay in Kinston. Mama Robinson hosted players for the first eleven years of the current franchise (1987–1997), while Mama Kornegay took over until her death in 2010.

The homes became popular gathering places for the club. Delmont Miller was the longtime scoreboard operator for the Indians, known for his humorous first inning chatter and "shout-outs" before each game. The front office held special "Delmont Miller Nights" and built promotions around his personality. He died of a massive heart attack on October 25, 2008, at age 42.

Robert Smeraldo and Robert Smeraldo Jr. were the longtime father/son clubhouse managers for the ballclub; the senior Smeraldo has since died.

Playoffs

The Kinston Indians won Carolina League championships in 1988 (defeated Lynchburg 3–2), 1991 (defeated Lynchburg 3–0), 1995 (defeated Wilmington 3–0), 2004 (defeated Wilmington 3–2), and 2006 (defeated Frederick 3–0). They also reached the championship series in 1987 (lost to Salem 3–1), 1990 (lost to Frederick 3–2), 1996 (lost to Wilmington 3–1), 1997 (lost to Lynchburg 3–1), 2002 (lost to Lynchburg 3–1), 2005 (lost to Frederick 3–2), and 2011 (lost to Frederick 3–1).