Railroaders beginnings . Constructed in 1893, the station is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the
Rocky Mount Central City Historic District. Rocky Mount first hosted minor league baseball in 1909, when the Rocky Mount "Railroaders" were formed and began minor league play as members of the six–team,
Class D level
Eastern Carolina League, in the second season of play for the league. Rocky Mount and the newly formed
Fayetteville Highlanders franchise joined the returning
Goldsboro Giants,
Raleigh Red Birds,
Wilmington Sailors and
Wilson Tobacconists teams in beginning league play on June 3, 1909. The Eastern Carolina League was first formed in 1908 as a six-team league. The new Rocky Mount and Fayetteville teams replaced the folded
Kinston and
New Bern franchises in the league. The Rocky Mount "Railroaders" nickname corresponds to local history and industry in the region in the era. The
Norfolk—Rocky Mount Line was constructed in 1893 at the junction with the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's main line in Rocky Mount. Rocky Mount became the northern headquarters of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which established major repair shops and yard facilities in the city, employing many railroad workers at their facilities. In 1900, Rocky Mount's population was around 3,000 and on February 28, 1907, with a population around 7,500 when the city was officially incorporated.
Jim Thorpe ,
New York Giants. Thorpe played for the Railroaders in 1909 and 1910, his first professional baseball seasons. Thorpe won two gold medals for the
United States in the
1912 Olympic Games and was later inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame. At age 22,
Jim Thorpe played for Rocky Mount in his first professional baseball seasons before going on to forge a professional football career and make the 1912 United States Olympic. Later, because of his participation in professional baseball in Rocky Mount and the amateur rules in the era, Thorpe was forced to relinquish the gold medals he won representing the
United States of America in the
1912 Olympic Games. Thorpe won both the
pentathlon and the newly created
decathlon competitions in the Olympic games. In 1913, Thorpe's gold medals were stripped by the
International Olympic Committee, after the IOC learned that Thorpe had taken expense money for playing baseball, violating contemporary Olympic
amateurism rules. Almost 70 years later, in 1982, the IOC reversed course and ruled that Thorpe's disqualification had been improper, as no protest against Thorpe's eligibility had been brought within the required 30 days. The IOC then reinstated Thorpe's gold medals. The medals were presented to his children in 1983, an event that occurred 30 years after Thorpe's death. Lastly, in 2022, the IOC declared Thorpe as the sole winner of the pentathlon and decathlon events after extensive consultations with his former competitors' families who said they had always viewed Thorpe as the winner. After the original ruling against Thorpe,
Norway’s
Ferdinand Bie, the pentathlon original second-place finisher, was awarded the gold medal. But Bie refused to accept the gold medal and never changed his mind. After beginning his professional baseball career at age 22 with Rocky Mount in 1909, Thorpe played 29 games with Rocky Mount in 1910 hitting .237, before moving to the Fayetteville Highlanders where he played 16 games. Coincidently, the two teams met in the 1910 finals, won by Fayetteville. Thorpe later made his professional baseball debut with the
New York Giants in 1913 and he played six major league seasons. Thorpe began playing professional football in 1915. When the
National Football League was formed in 1920, Thorpe was named as the first president of the league, while continuing as an NFL player through 1928. Thorpe was elected into the Por Football Hall of Fame in 1963. In 1950, Thorpe was selected by
The Associated Press as the greatest athlete of the half-century, receiving 252 of the 393 first-place votes from sportswriters and broadcasters. Second place was
Babe Ruth with 86 first-place votes.
1909 and 1910 Eastern Carolina League play In the era, the Railroaders players ate pre-game meals at the Cambridge Hotel in Rocky Mount before heading to the ballpark for home games. The team dressed at the hotel and then walked to the ballpark. Youngsters who helped carry their equipment were given free admission to the game. and pitcher/player Jim Thorpe were both 22-year-olds signed from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Beginning Eastern Caroling League play in their first season of play, the Railroaders finished in last place, playing the season under managers W. B. Fenner and Joe Walsh. The Rocky Mount Railroaders ended the 1909 season with a record of 27–61 to finish 22.5 games behind the first place Wilson Tobacconists (50–39) in the final standings of the six–team league. While pitching for Rocky Mount on July 14, 1909, Jim Thorpe pitched a complete game in the Railroaders' 3–1 victory over the Wilmington Sailors. The game was played in 90-degree heat. Catcher/manager Joe Walsh suffered from heat exhaustion during the game at League Park in Rocky Mount and had to be given time to recover. A Wilmington player fainted in the heat while playing the outfield during the game. Rocky Mount placed fourth in the 1910 Eastern Carolina League overall standings. The Railroaders ended the season with a record of 43-45 and qualified for the playoff in the split-season format by winning the second half pennant. Rocky Mount was managed by Marty Phelan and James Connors and finished 6.0 games behind the first place
Fayetteville Highlanders in the overall standings. Fayetteville won the first half pennant in the split season schedule. Meeting in the finals, Fayetteville won the playoff series against the Rocky Mount Railroaders 4 games to 1. In the final game of their playoff series, Rocky Mount was at bat and trailing Fayetteville 2-1 in the 9th inning. Fayetteville turned a
triple play to end the game and the season. After the Eastern Carolina League folded following the 1910 season, Rocky Mount next hosted minor league baseball in 1915, when the
Rocky Mount Carolinians began a tenue of play as members of the
Class C level
Virginia League, winning the league pennant in their first season. ==The ballpark==