Early Fayetteville teams Minor league baseball began in Fayetteville with the 1909
Fayetteville Highlanders, who began a tenure of minor league play in joining the
Eastern Carolina League, The Highlanders won the 1910 Eastern Carolina Association championship, with
Jim Thorpe, Olympic Champion and
Pro Football Hall of Fame member on the roster. The Cubs were preceded in minor league play by the 1929 Fayetteville Highlanders who played in the final season of the Eastern Carolina League.
1946 to 1948: Fayetteville Cubs / Coastal Plain League & Tri-State League The Fayetteville "Cubs" resumed minor league play in 1946, playing as members of the reformed
Coastal Plain League as a minor league affiliate of the
Chicago Cubs. The
Goldsboro Goldbugs (
Boston Red Sox affiliate),
Greenville Greenies,
Kinston Eagles,
New Bern Bears,
Rocky Mount Rocks,
Tarboro Tars and
Wilson Tobs teams joined with Fayetteville in beginning league play on May 2, 1946. The Fayetteville Cubs began playing at Cumberland County Memorial Stadium, drawing over 77,000 fans despite a last place finish in their first season of play. Fayetteville ended the 1946 Coastal Plain League regular season with a final record of 51–75 to place eighth in the eight-team league, playing under managers John Intlekofer and Don Anderson. The league Tri-State League expanded from six teams to eight teams, as the
Reidsville Luckies joined Fayetteville as the two new teams in the league. Following his honorable discharge from the
U.S. Army in 1947,
Rocky Marciano traveled to Fayetteville with friends to try out for the Fayetteville Cubs team before the season began. Marciano lasted three weeks before being cut from the team. He then returned home to
Brockton, Massachusetts and began his professional boxing career. In their first season of Tri-State League play the Cubs finished in seventh place, ending the 1947 season with a record of 61–78 under manager Clyde McDowell. Burgess then led the
Southern Association with a .386 average, in after leaving Fayetteville. A member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of fame and a 9 time major league All-Star, Burgess had returned to professional baseball with Fayetteville after serving in the
U.S. Army during
World War II. In his service, Burgess was injured in a military automobile incident in
Germany, severely injuring his throwing shoulder. Skeeter Scalzi became the Fayetteville Cubs manager in 1948. With a brief major league playing career, Scalzi played 17 seasons in minor league baseball and also managed in the minor leagues for 12 seasons. Scalzi had been a player/manager for the
Hopkinsville Hoppers in 1947 in his first manager role, before joining Fayetteville for his second player/manager dual position at age 35. With Scalzi as player/manager, the Fayetteville Cubs captured the 1948 Tri-State League championship. With a fourth place finish and a 73–71 record, the Cubs qualified for the playoffs as player/manager Skeeter Scalzi hit .321 on the season. Fayettsville's Floyd Fogg had 144 RBI, to lead the Tri-State League. Cubs' pitcher
Bob Spicer had an 18-4 record to lead all league pitchers. There he helped to establish the Slidell Bantam Baseball Association youth organization. Fogg remained active with the youth baseball players and was still conducting hitting clinics at his backyard batting cage until his death in 2018 at age 91.
1949 Fayetteville Scotties Despite winning the league title the season before, Fayetteville did not return to the 1949 Tri-State League, replaced by the unaffiliated
Sumter Chicks franchise in the league. The Chicago Cubs did not have an affiliate team in the 1949 league. Leaving the Tri-State League and becoming unaffiliated, the 1949 team continued play known as the Fayetteville "Scotties." The Scotties played as one season as a member of
Class D level
Tobacco State League. Fayetteville replaced the
Warsaw Red Sox franchise in the league. The Scotties joined the
Clinton Sampson Blues,
Dunn-Erwin Twins,
Lumberton Auctioneers,
Red Springs Red Robins (
Philadelphia Athletics affiliate),
Sanford Spinners,
Smithfield-Selma Leafs and
Wilmington Pirates teams in beginning Tobacco State League play on April 20, 1949. The Scotties ended the 1949 season in sixth place in the Tobacco State League final standings. Fayetteville ended the season with a record of 61–76, playing under managers Zip Payne, Joe Roseberry, Nicholas Rhabe and John Helms. The Scotties finished 21.0 games behind the first place Dunn-Erwin Twins in the regular season final standings. Fayetteville did not qualify for the four-team playoffs won by the Red Springs Red Robins. The
Burlington Bees,
Danville Leafs,
Durham Bulls (
Detroit Tigers affiliate),
Greensboro Patriots,
Raleigh Capitals,
Reidsville Luckies,
Winston-Salem Cardinals (
St. Louis Cardinals) teams joined with Fayetteville in beginning league play on April 19, 1950. Named to manage the Fayetteville Athletics in 1950, former player
Mule Haas won two world series while playing with the 1929 and 1930 Philadelphia Athletics. In 1929, Haas was one of six Athletics players to post batting averages above .310 with a batting average of .323, while hitting 16 home runs with 82 RBI. ,
Chicago White Sox, Goudey baseball card. Haas managed for the Fayetteville Athletics in 1950. Haas came to Fayetteville after having managed the
Hollywood Stars of the
Pacific Coast League in 1948 and the
Montgomery Rebels of the Class B level
Southeastern League in 1949. After a poor managerial record with Fayetteville, Haas never managed in the minor leagues again. Haas returned to his hometown of
Montclair, New Jersey and became the athletic director at the Fort Montclair Army base, coaching Fort Montclair Army Signaleers basketball and baseball teams. One of his players was future Yankee pitcher and
Baseball Hall of Fame member
Whitey Ford. Fayetteville had a regular season record of 59–79 in 1951, improving to seventh place, playing the season under manager Red Norris. Fayetteville ended the season 24.0 games behind the first place Durham Bulls. Fayetteville did not qualify for the playoffs, won by the Winston-Salem Cardinals for the second consecutive season. Playing under managers Red Norris (42–42) and
Ducky Detweiler (21–31), the Athletics ended the season with a record of 63–73. Finishing in seventh place, Fayetteville ended the season 16.0 games behind first place Raleigh Capitals, drawing 58,203 fans for the season. Matarazzo played for Fayetteville again in 1953 and retired from baseball after the 1954 season. Fayetteville manager Ducky Detweiler served as player/manager for the last season in his professional baseball career in 1952. He returned to managing after serving as player/manager of the 1950 Red Springs Red Robins in the Tobacco State League. Detweiler paused his baseball career as he served during
World War II in the
U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. Detweiller was first assigned to the 1301st Service Unit, and also played for the New Cumberland Reception Center baseball team with teammates
Tommy Hughes,
Pat Mullin,
Fred Caligiuri and
Harry Marnie. After retiring from baseball, with Fayetteville, Detweiler operated a tavern called "Ducky's Tavern" in
Easton, Maryland from 1960 to 1969, while also becoming a letter carrier for the
U.S. Postal Service, giving 20 years of service in that role before his retirement. The Highlanders won the 1953 Carolina League championship. The Hilanders later won another Carolina League championship in 1956. The Hilanders were affiliates of the
Baltimore Orioles (1955) and
Cleveland Indians (1956) in their tenure of league play. ==The ballpark==