New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans 1887–1977 (1887 – 1888, 1892 – 1896, 1901 – 1959, 1977) New Orleans, Louisiana
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-level
Triple-A (1977) Double-A (1901-1959)
Minor league affiliations
American Association (1977) Southern Association (1901-1959) Southern League (1892-1896) Texas League (1888) Southern League (1887-1888)
Major league affiliations
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 (1934-1939)
Name
New Orleans Pelicans
Ballpark
Louisiana Superdome (1977) City Park Stadium (1958-1959) Pelican Stadium (1915-1957) Pelican Park (1908-1914) Crescent City Base Ball Park (later called Sportsman's Park and Athletic Park) (1880-1907)
Minor league titles
League titles	1886, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1933, 1934

The New Orleans Pelicans were a Minor league professional baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Team history

Founded in 1887, the Pelicans became part of the Southern Association in 1901. From 1915 through 1957, they played home games at Heinemann Park (later known as Pelican Stadium), formerly located at the riverside downriver (Southeastern) corner of Carrollton Avenue's intersection with Tulane Avenue in Mid-City New Orleans. After this, they played for two years at City Park Stadium, now called Tad Gormley Stadium, in City Park. The franchise was sold to Little Rock at the end of the 1959 season. The Southern Association folded after the 1961 season.

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, 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.

In the 1950s, the team was associated with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was managed by Danny Murtaugh. Other notable Pelican managers included Larry Gilbert and Abner Powell, with the latter credited with introducing the "rain check" in 1889.

The Pelicans' name briefly resurfaced during the 1977 season when oilman A. Ray Smith moved his Triple-A Tulsa Oilers to New Orleans to play in the Superdome. Tony La Russa was the starting shortstop for the team. After a single season, the team then moved to Springfield, Illinois, and were re-named the Redbirds. Rights to the New Orleans Pelicans name are currently owned by Tom Benson, owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints.

Affiliations

The Pelicans were affiliated with the following major league teams:

Year	Affiliation(s)
1934-39	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

External links and references

• Baseball in New Orleans by S. Derby Gisclair (Arcadia Publishing, 2004)
• NewOrleansBaseball.com
• 1910 Pelicans - The Greatest New Orleans Sports Team of All Time