Editing New Orleans Pelicans (baseball)

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox Minor League Baseball
| name = New Orleans Pelicans Baseball
| firstseason = 1887 
| lastseason = 1977
| allyears = {{Baseball year|1887}}–{{Baseball year|1888}}, {{Baseball year|1890}}, {{Baseball year|1892}}–{{Baseball year|1896}}, {{Baseball year|1901}}–{{Baseball year|1959}}, {{Baseball year|1977}}
| city = New Orleans, Louisiana
| logo = NewOrleansPelicansLogo.PNG

| class level = {{plainlist|
*Triple-A (1977)
*Double-A (1901–1959)
}}
| league = {{plainlist|
*[[American Association (20th century)|American Association]] (1977)
*[[Southern Association]] (1901–1959) 
*[[Texas-Southern League]] (1888)
*[[Southern League (1885–99)|Southern League]] (1887, 1889, 1892–1896, 1898–1899)
}}
| division = 
| majorleague = {{plainlist|
*[[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1977)
*[[New York Yankees]] (1957–1958)
*[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] (1948–1956)
*[[Boston Red Sox]] (1946–1947)
*[[Brooklyn Dodgers]] (1943–1944)
*[[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1940–1942)
*[[Cleveland Indians]] (1930–1939)
}}
| nickname = New Orleans Pelicans
| ballpark = {{plainlist|
*[[Louisiana Superdome]] (1977)
*[[City Park Stadium (New Orleans)|City Park Stadium]] (1958–1959)
*[[Pelican Stadium]]/Heinemann Park (1915–1957)
*[[Pelican Park (New Orleans)|Pelican Park]] (1908–1914)
*[[Athletic Park (New Orleans)|Athletic Park]] (1901–1907)
*[[Crescent City Base Ball Park]]/Sportsman's Park (1887–1900) <ref>{{cite web| title=History of New Orleans Baseball|publisher=neworleansbaseball.com|url=http://www.neworleansbaseball.com/history.html|access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref>
}}
| dixienum = 2
| dixiechamps = {{hlist|1933|1934}}
| pennum = 12
| pennants = {{hlist|1887|1889|1896|1905|1910|1911|1915|1918|1923|1926|1927|1934}} 
| leaguenum = 3
| leaguechamps = {{hlist|1932|1933|1934}}
| divisionchamps = 
}}

The '''New Orleans Pelicans''' or '''"Pels"''' were a [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] professional [[baseball]] team based in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web| title=History of New Orleans Baseball|publisher=neworleansbaseball.com|url=http://www.neworleansbaseball.com/history.html|access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref>

==History==
Founded in 1865 as an amateur social/sporting organization, the Pelicans became a professional franchise when they joined the [[Southern League (1885–99)|Southern League]] in 1887. That league operated off and on until it finally folded in 1899. During that time the team captured three pennants: 1887, 1889, and 1896.<ref>{{cite web| title=New Orleans Baseball History|publisher=[[Minor League Baseball]]|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-41061416|access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=The New Orleans Pelicans: The Heart of the Southern Association|publisher=southernassociationbaseball.com|url=http://www.southernassociationbaseball.com/conferences/2004/derbysPresentation.pdf|access-date=2015-02-09}}</ref> The Pelicans then became a founding member of the [[Southern Association]] in 1901.<ref>{{cite web| title=New Orleans|publisher=southernassociationbaseball.com/|url=http://www.southernassociationbaseball.com/teams/neworleans.php|access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref> From 1887 to 1900, the team played at [[Sportsman's Park (New Orleans)|Sportsman's Park]]/[[Crescent City Base Ball Park]] located at the foot of Canal Street near the [[New Basin Canal]] (now the [[Pontchartrain Expressway]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Somers|first1=Dale A.|title=The Rise of Sports in New Orleans: 1850-1900|year=1966|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=byUq4knThN0C&q=Crescent+City+Base+Ball+Park&pg=PA122|access-date=February 8, 2015|publisher=Pelican Publishing|location=Gretna, Louisiana|isbn=1455611298|page=122}}</ref>

In 1901, the Pelicans moved to [[Athletic Park (New Orleans)|Athletic Park]] and played there until 1908. After the 1908 season the team moved to [[Pelican Park (New Orleans)|Pelican Park]], which was located on South Carrollton Avenue, across from present-day Jesuit High School. In 1914, the Pelican Park wooden grandstand was moved by mule teams a quarter-mile down South Carrollton Avenue to the intersection with Tulane Avenue in [[Mid-City New Orleans]]. From 1915 through 1936 the facility was known as [[Heinemann Park]] after Alexander J. Heinemann, a shareholder in the club and owner of the stadium. The name was changed in 1936 to [[Pelican Stadium]] following the death of Heinemann and team owner Charles Somers. The Pelicans played their final game there in 1957. After this, they played for two years at [[City Park Stadium (New Orleans)|City Park Stadium]], now called [[Tad Gormley Stadium]], in [[City Park (New Orleans)|City Park]]. The franchise was sold to [[Little Rock]] at the end of the 1959 season. The [[Southern Association]] folded after the 1961 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ragtime Baseball in New Orleans|publisher=nxtbook.com|url=http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leh/lcv-fall10/#/34|access-date=2015-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209080917/http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leh/lcv-fall10/#/34|archive-date=2015-02-09|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Pelicans won the [[Dixie Series]], a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the Southern Association and the [[Texas League]], in 1933 and 1934.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57126194/new-orleans-takes-series-off-missions/|via=Newspapers.com|title=New Orleans Takes Series Off Missions|work=The Huntsville Times|location=Huntsville|date=September 27, 1933|page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57126285/pels-capture-dixie-series/|via=Newspapers.com|title=Pels Capture Dixie Series|work=The Brownsville Herald|location=Brownsville|date=October 4, 1934|page=25}}</ref>

[[File:1910NOLAPelicans.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The 1910 Pelicans, Southern Association Champions. #12, [[Shoeless Joe Jackson]], was about to go on to fame in the majors.]]

Notable Pelicans included [[Shoeless Joe Jackson]], [[Jimmy Dygert]], [[Henry "Cotton" Knaupp]], [[Bill Lindsay (third baseman)|Bill Lindsay]], [[Zeke Bonura]], [[Gene Freese]], and Hall of Famers [[Dazzy Vance]], [[Joe Sewell]], [[Bob Lemon]], and [[Earl Weaver]]. In Jackson's only season with New Orleans (1910), he hit .354 to win the league batting title and led the team to the pennant with an 87–53 record. The following year, he would hit .408 with the [[American League]]'s [[Cleveland Naps]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Greatest N.O. sports teams of all time: 1910 New Orleans Pelicans|publisher=nola.com|url=http://blog.nola.com/gladow/2008/06/greatest_no_sports_teams_of_al_9.html|access-date=2015-02-08}}</ref>

In the 1950s, the team was associated with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] and was managed by [[Danny Murtaugh]]. Other notable Pelican managers included [[Larry Gilbert (MLB outfielder)|Larry Gilbert]] and [[Abner Powell]], with the latter credited with introducing the perforated "[[English language idioms derived from baseball#R|rain check]]" in 1889.

The Pelicans' name briefly resurfaced during the 1977 season when oilman [[A. Ray Smith]] moved his Triple-A [[Tulsa Oilers (baseball)|Tulsa Oilers]] to New Orleans to play in the [[Louisiana Superdome|Superdome]]. [[Tony La Russa]] was a reserve infielder for the team, playing most of his games at 2nd base. After a single season, the team then moved to [[Springfield, Illinois]], and was renamed the [[Louisville Redbirds|Redbirds]].

==Name revival==
On December 4, 2012, it was reported that [[Tom Benson]], owner of the [[National Football League|NFL's]] [[New Orleans Saints]] and the [[National Basketball Association|NBA's]] [[New Orleans Pelicans|New Orleans Hornets]], would be changing the Hornets' official name to the Pelicans, possibly as early as the 2013–2014 NBA season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/8711940/new-orleans-hornets-change-nickname-pelicans-according-report |title=New Orleans Hornets to change nickname to Pelicans, according to report – ESPN |publisher=Espn.go.com |date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2013-08-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New Pelicans won't erase memories of city's minor league baseball past|publisher=nola.com|url=http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2013/03/new_pelicans_wont_erase_the_me.html|access-date=2013-08-16}}</ref>

These reports were officially confirmed on January 24, 2013, when the newly branded Pelicans officially announced the name change and unveiled accompanying logos and a blue, gold and red color scheme. One year later, the Hornets name, logo and color scheme were reclaimed by the new expansion [[Charlotte Hornets]]. The previous basketball Hornets originated in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], before relocating to New Orleans in 2002.

==Affiliations==
The Pelicans were affiliated with the following [[major league baseball|major league]] teams:
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Year
! Affiliation(s)
|-
| 1930–39 || [[Cleveland Indians]]
|-
| 1940–42; 1977 || [[St. Louis Cardinals]]
|-
| 1943–44 || [[Brooklyn Dodgers]]
|-
| 1946–47 || [[Boston Red Sox]]
|-
| 1948–56 || [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]
|-
| 1957–58 || [[New York Yankees]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Gisclair, S. Derby (2004) ''Baseball in New Orleans''. Charleston, SC: [[Arcadia Publishing]]. ISBN 0738516147

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.neworleansbaseball.com NewOrleansBaseball.com]
* [http://www.southernassociationbaseball.com/teams/neworleans.php SouthernAssociationBaseball.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150209080917/http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leh/lcv-fall10/#/34 "Ragtime Baseball in New Orleans" by S. Derby Gisclair (Louisiana Cultural Vistas, 2010)]
* [http://blog.nola.com/gladow/2008/06/greatest_no_sports_teams_of_al_9.html 1910 Pelicans&nbsp;– The Greatest New Orleans Sports Team of All Time]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Louisville Colonels (minor league baseball)|Louisville Colonels]]
| title  = [[Boston Red Sox]]<br>Double-A affiliate
| after  = [[Birmingham Barons]]
| years  = 1946–1947
}}
{{s-end}}

{{New Orleans Pelicans (baseball)}}

[[Category:New Orleans Pelicans (baseball)| ]]
[[Category:Professional baseball teams in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Defunct American Association (1902–1997) teams]]
[[Category:Defunct Southern Association teams]]
[[Category:Southern League (1885–1899) teams]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:New York Yankees minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates]]
[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1887]]
[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1977]]
[[Category:1887 establishments in Louisiana]]
[[Category:1977 disestablishments in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball teams in Louisiana]]