1.
Baseball
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Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases, Players on the batting team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the fielding team, which tries to prevent runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the team who reaches a base safely can later attempt to advance to subsequent bases during teammates turns batting. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the team records three outs. One turn batting for both teams, beginning with the team, constitutes an inning. A game is composed of nine innings, and the team with the number of runs at the end of the game wins. Baseball has no clock, although almost all games end in the ninth inning. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century and this game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the sport of the United States. Baseball is now popular in North America and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, in the United States and Canada, professional Major League Baseball teams are divided into the National League and American League, each with three divisions, East, West, and Central. The major league champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series, the top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision, a French manuscript from 1344 contains an illustration of clerics playing a game, possibly la soule, with similarities to baseball. Other old French games such as thèque, la balle au bâton, consensus once held that todays baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular in Great Britain and Ireland. Baseball Before We Knew It, A Search for the Roots of the Game, by David Block, suggests that the game originated in England, recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of other. It has long believed that cricket also descended from such games. The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, David Block discovered that the first recorded game of Bass-Ball took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. William Bray, an English lawyer, recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford and this early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants
2.
Minor League Baseball
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All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the organization known as Minor League Baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any links to Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs, though many relationships are renewed and endure for extended time periods. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league club do not have PDCs with each other and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur every other year, several more independent leagues operate in the United States and Canada. The earliest professional baseball association, the National Association of 1871 to 1875 and this system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, and financially unsound clubs often failed in midseason. This problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League, with a membership which excluded less competitive. Professional clubs outside the National League responded by forming regional associations of their own, there was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games for a championship pennant, the first minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization and it also, along with the National League and the American Association, was a party to the National Agreement of 1883. Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league, teams in the National League and the American Association could only reserve players who had been paid at least $1000. Northwest League teams could reserve players paid merely $750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues, over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement. Eventually, the minor leagues joined together to negotiate jointly, in the late 1890s, the Western League run by the fiery Ban Johnson decided to challenge the National Leagues position. Representatives of the different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5,1901, in response to the National–American battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, called the NAPBL, or NA for short. The purpose of the NA at the time was to maintain the independence of the leagues involved, several did not sign the agreement and continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, in 1903, the conflict between the American and National Leagues ended in the National Agreement of 1903. The NAPBL became involved in the stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the National
3.
Southeastern United States
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The Southeastern United States is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, and the southern portion of the Eastern United States. It comprises 15 states in the southern United States, there is no official Census Bureau definition of the southeastern United States. The OSBO uses the same states, but includes Arkansas and Louisiana, the most populous state in the region is Florida, followed by Georgia, and North Carolina. With tropical air masses influencing the region precipitation is high throughout the year, the tropical air masses do however cause significant hurricanes such as Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina wreaking havoc and causing significant damage to coastal areas. The winters highly vary depending on latitude and elevation, the Southeast has changed dramatically in the last two generations. Since 1980, there has been a boom in its economy, manufacturing base, high technology industries. Fortune 500 companies having headquarters in the region included 20 in Virginia,16 in Florida,15 in North Carolina and this economic expansion has enabled parts of the South to have of some of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States. In Alabama, there is a manufacturing project owned by the German steel megacorporation Thyssen-Krupp. The Cummings Research Park in the Huntsville, Alabama area is the second largest research complex in the nation, located in Huntsville is the Redstone Arsenal, United States Army Missile Command, the U. S. Space and Rocket Center, NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center and many key government, military. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida is the largest laboratory in the devoted to the study of magnetism. There are a number of universities, with several large research universities which exert influence beyond the region. These include the oldest public universities in the country, the University of Alabama, the region is home to the most historically black colleges and universities in the nation. The three largest in the region are North Carolina A&T University, Florida A&M University, and Jackson State University, on this list New Orleans Refers to the Orleans Parish Population. Therefore the population given is for the entire city excluding other incorporated places lying within the county limits, five Major League Baseball teams play in the Southeast, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. The Braves, Nationals and Marlins play in the NL East,4 Major League Lacrosse teams play in the southeast, Chesapeake Bayhawks, Florida Launch, Charlotte Hounds, and the Atlanta Blaze. Seven National Basketball Association teams play in the Southeast, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans. The Wizards, Heat, Hornets, Magic and Hawks are in the Eastern Conference, the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Citrus Bowl are notable college football bowls held in Southeastern cities
4.
South Central United States
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The South Central United States or South Central states is a region of the United States located in the south central part of the country. It evolved out of the Old Southwest, which originally was literally the western U. S. South, the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas are almost always considered the core of the region. As part of the East South Central States sub-group of the Census Bureau classification, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, at the highest extent, Kansas, and Missouri, may be included by some sources. All or parts these states are in the Central Time Zone, at different and changing points in time, all of the above states were/are considered part of the West in American history. The climate varies from the semi-tropical in the Mississippi Delta, South Louisiana, the southeastern portions include the Appalachian mountains in Alabama and Tennessee and the Piney Woods of East Texas, Louisiana, and southern Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta. A large portion of the quarter of the region is mountainous, with the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. The northwest quarter of the region is dominated by the Great Plains which become progressively drier west of 1, 000° W, forming the North American Llano Estacado. The southwestern portions border the Rio Grande, and are drier than other areas of the South Central United States. Texas is the largest South Central state by area and population. Texas is still home to half the regions population. The largest city in the region—Houston, is located in Texas, New Orleans was tied with Oklahoma City but, after Hurricane Katrina, the population of the New Orleans metro area has declined to approximately 900,000. The history of the South Central states is dominated by the conflict, in the 17th and 18th centuries Spain and France maneuvered for control of Texas, with the Spanish based in Mexico and New Mexico and the French in Louisiana. The official West and East South Central states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky was often considered a non-official Confederate state. Oklahoma, although Indian Territory at the time, was home to 5 Native-American tribes, thus, all these states are usually considered to make up a large part of the American South both historically and culturally, as well as classified by the U. S. Census Bureau
5.
Commissioner of Baseball
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The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and the associated Minor League Baseball – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as organized baseball. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, the commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams. The current commissioner is Rob Manfred, who assumed office on January 25,2015, the title commissioner, which is a title now applied to the heads of several other major sports leagues as well as baseball, derives from its predecessor office, the National Commission. The National Commission was the body of professional baseball starting with the National Agreement of 1903. It consisted of three members, the two League presidents and a Commission chairman, whose primary responsibilities were to preside at meetings, although the Commission chairman August Herrmann was the nominal head of major league baseball, it was AL President Ban Johnson who dominated the Commission. However, the motivations behind the creation of the Commissioners office were more than the desire to rebuild public relations. The scandal had not only tarnished the image of baseball, but had brought relations between owners and AL President Johnson to a breaking point. In particular, Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey was incensed at what he perceived to be Johnsons indifference to his suspicions that the 1919 World Series had been thrown. As a result, the National League, whose owners had never been on terms with Johnson, agreed to invite the White Sox along with the Boston Red Sox. The NL also unveiled plans to put a team in Detroit. With the American Leagues status as a league and possibly its very existence suddenly in jeopardy. Eventually, at the urging of Detroit Tigers owner and Johnson loyalist Frank Navin, finally, Landis insisted on a lifetime contract. The owners, still reeling from the perception that the sport was crooked, landiss first significant act was to deal with the Black Sox scandal. Following a trial, the eight players suspected of involvement in the fix were acquitted, including Buck Weaver, nevertheless, immediately following the players acquittal, Landis banned them all from baseball for life. Landis explained that though the players had all been acquitted in court. Over the years, he dealt harshly with others proven to have thrown individual games, among the others he banned were New York Giants players Phil Douglas and Jimmy OConnell, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Gene Paulette, Giants coach Cozy Dolan, and Phillies owner William D. Cox. He also formalized the unofficial banishments of Hal Chase and Heinie Zimmerman, in 1921, he banned Giants center fielder Benny Kauff even though he had been acquitted of involvement in a car theft ring. Nonetheless, Landis was convinced Kauff was guilty and argued that players of undesirable reputation, the owners had initially assumed that Landis would deal with the Black Sox Scandal and then settle into a comfortable retirement as the titular head of baseball
6.
1912 in baseball
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The following are the baseball events of the year 1912 throughout the world. April 11 The New York Highlanders, predecessors of the New York Yankees, in the first inning, Boston scores a run against pitcher Ray Caldwell‚ while New York respond with two runs in the bottom against Smoky Joe Wood. That is all the scoring until the ninth inning‚ when the Sox score four runs‚ including two on a Wood single, Boston wins‚ 5–3‚ on Woods seven hitter. New York Giants pitcher Rube Marquard begins a 19-game winning streak with an 18–3 triumph over the Brooklyn Dodgers, april 20 – The Boston Red Sox play their first home game in the history of Fenway Park. The Red Sox open up with an 11-inning, 7–6 victory over the New York Highlanders, Boston outfielder Tris Speaker delivers the game-winning RBI before a crowd of 27,000 fans. Minutes later, the Detroit Tigers christen their Navin Field with a 6–5 victory over the Cleveland Naps, april 26 – Hugh Bradley of the Boston Red Sox became the first player to hit a home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. It was his home run of the 1912 season. May 17 – Fenway Park is officially dedicated, almost one month after hosting its first game, nevertheless, the home town fans had their day spoiled as the White Sox trimmed the Red Sox, 5–2. May 18 – The Cincinnati Reds play the first game in the history of Crosley Field, june 9 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Tris Speaker hits for the cycle, leading his team to a 9–2 victory over the St. Louis Browns. June 10 – New York Giants catcher Chief Meyers hits for the cycle against the Chicago Cubs, june 28 – Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants becomes the eighth pitcher to record 300 career wins. July 2 – At Hilltop Park, Larry Gardner of the Boston Red Sox hit two home runs but Boston still lose to the New York Highlanders, 9–7. July 4 – In the second game of a double-header, George Mullin of the Detroit Tigers tosses a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns in a 7–0 Tigers win. July 25 – Bert Daniels, outfielder for the New York Highlanders, august 15 – Guy Zinn, a little-known New York Highlanders outfielder, steals home twice in a 5–4 win over the Detroit Tigers at Navin Field. This will add to last-place New Yorks major-league record of 18 steals of home for a single season, august 22 – Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner hits for the cycle against the New York Giants. August 30 – St. Louis Browns pitcher Earl Hamilton returns the favor to the Detroit Tigers and he tosses a no-hitter in a 7–1 Browns victory. October 16 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Giants, 3–2, in Game 8 of the World Series, the Red Sox win the World Championship four games to three. Nearly all of the games were close, four games in this series were decided by one run. A sixth was decided by two runs, Game 7 was the only one with a margin greater than three runs
7.
Alabama
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Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Alabama is the 30th-most extensive and the 24th-most populous of the U. S. states. At nearly 1,500 miles, Alabama has one of the nations longest navigable inland waterways, Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the Heart of Dixie and the Cotton State, the state tree is the longleaf pine, and the state flower is the camellia. The largest city by population is Birmingham, which has long been the most industrialized city, the oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana. From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many states in the southern U. S. suffered economic hardship, like other southern states, Alabama legislators disenfranchised African Americans and many poor whites at the turn of the century. Following World War II, Alabama grew as the economy changed from one primarily based on agriculture to one with diversified interests. The state economy in the 21st century is based on management, automotive, finance, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, in the Alabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage is Albaamo. The word Alabama is believed to have come from the Alabama language, the words spelling varies significantly among historical sources. As early as 1702, the French called the tribe the Alibamon, other spellings of the name have included Alibamu, Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, Allibamou. Sources disagree on the words meaning, some scholars suggest the word comes from the Choctaw alba and amo. The meaning may have been clearers of the thicket or herb gatherers, the state has numerous place names of Native American origin. However, there are no correspondingly similar words in the Alabama language, an 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican proposed it meant Here We Rest. This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek, experts in the Muskogean languages have not found any evidence to support such a translation. Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization, trade with the northeastern tribes by the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period and continued until European contact. The agrarian Mississippian culture covered most of the state from 1000 to 1600 AD, with one of its major centers built at what is now the Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama. This is the second-largest complex of the classic Middle Mississippian era, after Cahokia in present-day Illinois, Analysis of artifacts from archaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars formulating the characteristics of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no links to Mesoamerican culture
8.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
9.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
10.
Tennessee
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Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States, Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, Tennessees capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of 654,610. Memphis is the states largest city, with a population of 655,770, the state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1,1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war. Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia and this sharply reduced competition in politics in the state until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-20th century. This city was established to house the Manhattan Projects uranium enrichment facilities, helping to build the worlds first atomic bomb, Tennessees major industries include agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Poultry, soybeans, and cattle are the primary agricultural products, and major manufacturing exports include chemicals, transportation equipment. In the early 18th century, British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi in present-day Monroe County, the town was located on a river of the same name, and appears on maps as early as 1725. The meaning and origin of the word are uncertain, some accounts suggest it is a Cherokee modification of an earlier Yuchi word. It has been said to mean meeting place, winding river, according to ethnographer James Mooney, the name can not be analyzed and its meaning is lost. The modern spelling, Tennessee, is attributed to James Glen, the governor of South Carolina, the spelling was popularized by the publication of Henry Timberlakes Draught of the Cherokee Country in 1765. In 1788, North Carolina created Tennessee County, the county to be established in what is now Middle Tennessee. When a constitutional convention met in 1796 to organize a new out of the Southwest Territory. Other sources differ on the origin of the nickname, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia. Tennessee ties Missouri as the state bordering the most other states, the state is trisected by the Tennessee River. The highest point in the state is Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome, which lies on Tennessees eastern border, is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, and is the third highest peak in the United States east of the Mississippi River
11.
Montgomery, Alabama
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Montgomery /mɒntˈɡʌməri/ is the capital of the U. S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for Richard Montgomery, it is located on the Alabama River, as of the 2013 Census, Montgomery has a population of 201,332. It is the second-largest city in Alabama, after Birmingham, and is the 115th largest in the United States, the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area had a 2010 estimated population of 374,536. It is the fourth-largest in the state and 136th among United States metropolitan areas, the city was incorporated in 1819 as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River. In February 1861, Montgomery was selected as the first capital of the Confederate States of America, until the seat of government moved to Richmond, Virginia, in May of that year. During the mid-20th century, Montgomery was a center of events and protests in the Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Two ships of the United States Navy have been named after the city, Montgomery has also been recognized nationally for its downtown revitalization and new urbanism projects. It was one of the first cities in the nation to implement Smart Code Zoning, prior to European colonization, the east bank of the Alabama River was inhabited by the Alibamu tribe of Native Americans. The Alibamu and the Coushatta, who lived on the west side of the river, were descended from the Mississippian culture. This civilization had numerous chiefdoms throughout the Midwest and South along the Mississippi and its tributaries and its largest location was at Cahokia, in present-day Illinois east of St. Louis. The historic tribes spoke mutually intelligible Muskogean languages, which were closely related, present-day Montgomery is built on the site of two Alibamu towns, Ikanatchati, meaning red earth, and Towassa, built on a bluff called Chunnaanaauga Chatty. The first Europeans to travel through central Alabama were Hernando de Soto and his expedition, the next recorded European encounter occurred more than a century later, when an English expedition from Carolina went down the Alabama River in 1697. The first permanent European settler in the Montgomery area was James McQueen and he married a high-status woman in the Coushatta or Alabama tribe. Their mixed-race children were considered Muskogean, as both tribes had a system of property and descent. The children were considered born into their mothers clan. In 1785, Abraham Mordecai, a war veteran from a Sephardic Jewish family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Coushatta and Alabama had gradually moved south and west in the tidal plain. By the time Mordecai arrived, Creek had migrated into and settled in the area, as they were moving away from Cherokee, when her people had to cede most of their lands after the 1813-14 Creek War, she joined them in removal to Indian Territory. Mordecai brought the first cotton gin to Alabama, the Upper Creek were able to discourage most European-American immigration until after the conclusion of the Creek War
12.
Jacksonville, Florida
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Jacksonville is a seaport city and the seat of Duval County, Florida, United States. With an estimated 868,031 residents as of 2015, Jacksonville is the most populous city in both the state of Florida and the southeastern United States. It is estimated to be the 12th most populous city in the United States and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1,603,497 and is the 34th largest in the United States and fourth largest in the state of Florida. The city is situated on the banks of the St. Johns River, in the First Coast region of North Florida, prior to European settlement, the Jacksonville area was inhabited by Native American people known as the Timucua. In 1564, the French established the colony of Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River. In 1822, a year after the United States gained Florida from Spain, Jacksonville is the cultural, commercial and financial center of North Florida. A major military and civilian deep-water port, the citys riverine location supports two United States Navy bases and the Port of Jacksonville, Floridas third largest seaport. The two US Navy bases, Blount Island Command and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Jacksonville is also home to several colleges and universities, including University of North Florida, Jacksonville University and Florida State College at Jacksonville. The area of the city of Jacksonville has been inhabited for thousands of years. In the 16th century, the beginning of the era, the region was inhabited by the Mocama. At the time of contact with Europeans, all Mocama villages in present-day Jacksonville were part of the powerful chiefdom known as the Saturiwa, centered around the mouth of the St. Johns River. One early map shows a village called Ossachite at the site of what is now downtown Jacksonville, French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault charted the St. Johns River in 1562 calling it the River of May because he discovered it in May. Ribault erected a column near present-day Jacksonville claiming the newly discovered land for France. In 1564, René Goulaine de Laudonnière established the first European settlement, Fort Caroline, philip II of Spain ordered Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to protect the interest of Spain by attacking the French presence at Fort Caroline. On September 20,1565, a Spanish force from the nearby Spanish settlement of St. Augustine attacked Fort Caroline, the Spanish renamed the fort San Mateo, and following the ejection of the French, St. Augustines position as the most important settlement in Florida was solidified. The location of Fort Caroline is subject to debate but a reconstruction of the fort was established on the St. Johns River in 1964. Spain ceded Florida to the British in 1763 after the French and Indian War, the British introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits as well the export of lumber
13.
St. Augustine, Florida
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St. Augustine is a city in the Southeastern United States, on the Atlantic coast in northeastern Florida. It is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States, the county seat of St. Johns County, it is part of Floridas First Coast region and the Jacksonville metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 12,975, the United States Census Bureaus 2013 estimate of the citys population was 13,679, while the urban area had a population of 69,173 in 2012. Saint Augustine was founded on September 8,1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Floridas first governor. He named the settlement San Agustín, as his ships bearing settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted land in Florida eleven days earlier on August 28, the feast day of St. Augustine. The city served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years, since the late 19th century, St. Augustines distinct historical character has made the city a major tourist attraction, and it is also the headquarters for the Florida National Guard. Founded in 1565 by the Spanish conquistador, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, in 1562, a group of Huguenots led by Jean Ribault arrived in Spanish Florida to establish a colony in the territory claimed by Spain. They explored the mouth of the St. Johns River, calling it la Rivière de Mai, then sailed northward, Spain learned of this French expedition through its spies at ports on the Atlantic coast of France. The Huguenot nobleman René de Laudonnière, who had participated in the expedition and he arrived at the mouth of the River May on June 22,1564, sailed up it a few miles, and founded Fort Caroline. He was ordered as well to drive away any intruders who were not subjects of the Spanish crown. On July 28, Menéndez set sail from Cádiz with a led by his 600-ton flagship, the San Pelayo, accompanied by several smaller ships, and carrying over 1,000 sailors, soldiers. On the feast day of St. Augustine, August 28, Menéndez then sailed north and confronted Ribaults fleet outside the bar of the River May in a brief skirmish. On September 6, he returned to the site of his first landfall, naming it after the Catholic saint, disembarked his troops, and quickly constructed fortifications to protect his people and supplies. Menéndez then marched his soldiers overland for an attack on Fort Caroline. Jean Ribault had already put out to sea with his ships for an assault on St. Augustine, there they were confronted by the Spaniard and his men on the opposite side. After several parleys with the Spanish, Jean Ribault and the Frenchmen with him surrendered, almost all of them were executed in the dunes near the inlet, in 1572, the settlement was relocated to the mainland, in the area just south of the future town plaza. Confident that he had fulfilled the conditions of his contract with the King, including the building of forts along the coast of La Florida. After several more transatlantic crossings, Menéndez fell ill and died on September 17,1574, succeeding governors of the province maintained a peaceful coexistence with the local Native Americans, allowing the isolated outpost of St. Augustine some stability for a few years
14.
Albany, Georgia
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Albany is a city in the U. S. state of Georgia, and is the seat of Dougherty County. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the city of the Albany. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U. S. Census, the area where Albany is located was formerly inhabited by the Creek Indians, who called it Thronateeska after their word for flint because of the mineral flint that was found near the river. The Creeks used this flintstone to make tools and weapons such as arrowheads, American settlement began with Nelson Tift, from Groton, Connecticut, who took land along the Flint River in October 1836 after Indian removal. The Creek were forced to relocate to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, Tift named his new town Albany after the capital of New York, both were located at the navigable heads of rivers. Alexander Shotwell laid out the town in 1836 and it was incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia on December 27,1838. Tift for decades was the citys leading entrepreneur, an ardent booster, he promoted education, business, and railroad construction. During the Civil War he provided naval supplies and helped build two ships and he opposed Radical Reconstruction inside the state and in Congress, and was scornful of the Yankee carpetbaggers who came in. John Fair concludes that Tift became more Southern than many natives and his pro-slavery attitudes before the war and his support for segregation afterward made him compatible with Georgias white elite. The area was developed by planters using slave labor for clearing land, by 1840, Dougherty Countys majority population was black, composed overwhelmingly of slaves. The market center for cotton plantations, Albany was in a location for shipping cotton to markets by steamboats on the river. In 1858, Tift hired Horace King, a slave and bridge builder. Kings bridge toll house still stands, already important as a shipping port, Albany later became an important railroad hub in southwestern Georgia. Seven lines were constructed to the town, an exhibit on trains is located at the Thronateeska Heritage Center in the former railroad station. While integral to the life of the town, the Flint River has flooded regularly. There was extensive property damage in 1841 and 1925, some late twentieth-century floods were extreme. In 1994, a flood was caused by rainfall from Tropical Storm Alberto, it killed 14 people. The state supported a $150 million renovation of the Albany State University campus to repair storm damage, New housing was built on the south side of town to replace what had been destroyed
15.
Columbus, Georgia
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Columbus is a city in the U. S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it is consolidated. According to the 2013 estimates from the U. S. Census Bureau, Columbus has a population of 202,824 residents, with 316,554 in the greater Columbus-Phenix City metropolitan area. The metro area joins the nearby Alabama cities of Auburn and Opelika to form the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika Combined Statistical Area, Columbus is directly to the east across the Chattahoochee River from Phenix City, Alabama. Situated at the heart of the Chattahoochee Valley, Columbus is Georgias second-largest city, Columbus lies 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. Fort Benning, home of the United States Army Infantry School, Columbus is home to museums and tourism sites, including the National Infantry Museum, dedicated to the United States Armys Infantry Branch. It has the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the world constructed on the Chattahoochee River and this was for centuries and more the traditional territory of the Creek Indians, who became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast after European contact. Those who lived closest to white-occupied areas conducted considerable trading and adopted some European-American ways, the city was named for Christopher Columbus, its founders likely influenced by the writings of Washington Irving. The plan for the city was drawn up by Dr. Edwin L. DeGraffenried, the citys commercial importance increased in the 1850s with the arrival of the railroad. In addition, textile mills were developed along the river, bringing industry to an area reliant upon agriculture. By 1860, the city was one of the important industrial centers of the South, earning it the nickname the Lowell of the South. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the industries of Columbus expanded their production, during the war, Columbus ranked second to Richmond in the manufacture of supplies for the Confederate army. In addition to textiles, the city had an ironworks, a factory. Wilson attacked the city and burned many of the industrial buildings, john Stith Pemberton, who later developed Coca-Cola in Columbus, was wounded in this battle. After becoming addicted to morphine, Pemberton sought out a replacement for his addiction, after creating Coca-Cola, he carried it to Atlanta before he died in 1888. Col. Charles Augustus Lafayette Lamar, owner of the last slave ship in America, was killed here. A historic marker has been erected in Columbus and it notes that this was the site of the Last Land Battle in the War from 1861 to 1865. Reconstruction began almost immediately and prosperity followed, factories such as the Eagle and Phenix Mills were revived and the industrialization of the town led to rapid growth, the city outgrew its original plan. The Springer Opera House was built on 10th Street, attracting such notables as British writer Oscar Wilde, the Springer is now the official State Theater of Georgia
16.
Savannah, Georgia
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Savannah is the oldest city in the U. S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia, a strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgias fifth-largest city and third-largest metropolitan area, Downtown Savannah largely retains the original town plan prescribed by founder James Oglethorpe. Savannah was the host city for the sailing competitions during the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta. On February 12,1733, General James Oglethorpe and settlers from the ship Anne landed at Yamacraw Bluff and were greeted by Tomochichi, the Yamacraws, Mary Musgrove often served as an interpreter. The city of Savannah was founded on that date, along with the colony of Georgia, in 1751, Savannah and the rest of Georgia became a Royal Colony and Savannah was made the colonial capital of Georgia. By the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Savannah had become the southernmost commercial port of the Thirteen Colonies, British troops took the city in 1778, and the following year a combined force of American and French soldiers failed to rout the British at the Siege of Savannah. The British did not leave the city until July 1782, Savannah, a prosperous seaport throughout the nineteenth century, was the Confederacys sixth most populous city and the prime objective of General William T. Shermans March to the Sea. Early on December 21,1864, local authorities negotiated a surrender to save Savannah from destruction. Savannah was named for the Savannah River, which derives from variant names for the Shawnee. The Shawnee destroyed another Native people, the Westo, and occupied their lands at the head of the Savannah Rivers navigation on the fall line and these Shawnee, whose Native name was Ša·wano·ki, were known by several local variants, including Shawano, Savano, Savana and Savannah. Still other theories suggest that the name Savannah originates from Algonquian terms meaning not only southerners, Savannah lies on the Savannah River, approximately 20 mi upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 108.7 square miles. Savannah is the port on the Savannah River and the largest port in the state of Georgia. It is also located near the U. S. Intracoastal Waterway, Georgias Ogeechee River flows toward the Atlantic Ocean some 16 miles south of downtown Savannah. Savannahs climate is classified as humid subtropical, in the Deep South, this is characterized by long and almost tropical summers and short, mild winters. Savannah records few days of freezing temperatures each year, due to its proximity to the Atlantic coast, Savannah rarely experiences temperatures as extreme as those in Georgias interior. Nevertheless, the temperatures have officially ranged from 105 °F, on July 20,1986, down to 3 °F
17.
Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
18.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
19.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
20.
Selma Cloverleafs
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The Selma Cloverleafs were a baseball team based in Selma, Alabama. The original Cloverleafs played in the Southeastern League and Alabama–Florida League at various times between 1928–1962, in 2002 a new version of the team was charter members of the Southeastern League of Professional Baseball. They played their games in Selma, Alabama, at Bloch Park. The team left Selma after playing three games in 2003 and playing the remainder of that season as the Southeastern Cloverleafs before folding at seasons end. In April 2002, it was announced that Selma was the recipient of a team in the newly formed Southeastern League of Professional Baseball, for their inaugural season Merritt Bowden served as the manager. The season would begin on May 31,2002, against the Americus Arrows on opening night, with Selma mayor James Perkins. Dennis Gomez was the pitcher for the Leafs. Throwing 6 innings with 8 Ks and giving up 1 earned run, picking up the win, both feats were firsts for the Cloverleafs since the 1960s. The opening series drew over 2,000 fans to the stadium before the teams would embark on an 18-game roadtrip. On June 25,2002, the team returned after the extended roadtrip to play in front of many Cloverleaf alumni from the 1950s-1960s teams that called Selma home, the season would end after a 3-0 loss to the Pensacola Pelicans in the league tournament on August 29. The 2002 squad finished with an record of 29-29. The team had initial player tryouts in March followed by an invitation only try-outs in April to fill out the team roster. After the announcement, the team would play on May 29 and these games against the Montgomery Wings were played in Selma due to a scheduling conflict at Paterson Field. Of note, the traveling Cloverleafs team made national press upon signing the late Ted Williams son, John Henry Williams and his first game came against the Pensacola Pelicans on June 12. John played in 13 games with the Cloverleafs with an average of.051, the 2003 squad finished with an overall record of 23-44, and finished sixth in the overall standings. Gates will open early for Leafs opener, Selma team hits pair of slams in inning. The Associated Press State & Local Wire, Ted Williams son signed by pro league from the Sporting News, extracted 19 October 2006. 2003 Selma Cloverleafs Statistics from The Baseball Cube, extracted 19 October 2006
21.
Ozark, Alabama
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Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Dale County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 14,907, Ozark is the principal city of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area, as well as a part of the Dothan-Enterprise-Ozark Combined Statistical Area. Fort Rucker, the flight training base for Army Aviation. The Ozark area was inhabited by the Muscogee people. It is said that Ozark received its name after a traveler visited and was reminded of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, the first known European settler in Ozark was John Merrick, Sr. a veteran of the Revolutionary War, in 1822. In honor of him, the town was named Merricks and it was later changed to Woodshop, which was its name when the town received its post office. The first appearance of the name Ozark was in 1855, when the citizens requested a name change, the county seat was moved from Newton to Ozark 1870. Ozark is home to three sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Claybank Log Church, the Samuel Lawson Dowling House, Ozark is located at 31°26′53″N 85°38′31″W. It is part of the Wiregrass Region, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.5 square miles of which 34.2 square miles is land and 0.2 square miles is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 15,119 people,6,126 households, the population density was 441.5 inhabitants per square mile. There were 6,955 housing units at a density of 203.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 68. 28% White,28. 30% Black or African American,0. 67% Native American,0. 70% Asian,0. 05% Pacific Islander,0. 46% from other races, and 1. 53% from two or more races. 2. 08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,27. 7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was out with 24. 9% under the age of 18,8. 5% from 18 to 24,26. 0% from 25 to 44,24. 7% from 45 to 64. The median age was 39 years, for every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males, the median income for a household in the city was $29,330, and the median income for a family was $38,633. Males had an income of $30,236 versus $19,564 for females
22.
Selma, Alabama
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Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 20,756 as of the 2010 census and it had been a trading center and market town during the years of King Cotton in the South. It was also an important armaments manufacturing and iron shipbuilding center during the Civil War, the undermanned Confederate forces were defeated during the Battle of Selma. Before settlement by European peoples, the area of present-day Selma had been inhabited for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the Europeans encountered the historic Native American people known as the Muscogee, who had been in the area for hundreds of years. French explorers and colonists were the first Europeans to explore this area, in 1732, they recorded the site of present-day Selma as Écor Bienville. Later Anglo-Americans called it the Moores Bluff settlement, the city was planned and named as Selma by William R. King, a politician and planter from North Carolina who was a future Vice President of the United States. The name, meaning seat or throne, came from the Ossianic poem The Songs of Selma. During the Civil War, Selma was one of the Souths main military manufacturing centers, producing tons of supplies and munitions, the Selma iron works and foundry was considered the second-most important source of weaponry for the South, after the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. This strategic concentration of manufacturing capabilities eventually made Selma a target of Union raids into Alabama late in the Civil War, because of its military importance, Selma had been fortified by three miles of earthworks that ran in a semicircle around the city. They were anchored on the north and south by the Alabama River, the works had been built two years earlier, and while neglected for the most part since, were still formidable. They were 8 feet to 12 feet high,15 feet thick at the base, in front of this was a 5 feet high picket fence of heavy posts planted in the ground and sharpened at the top. At prominent positions, earthen forts were built with artillery in position to cover the ground over which an assault would have to be made, the North had learned of the importance of Selma to the Confederate military, and Federal military planned to take the city. On March 30,1865, Union General James H. Wilson detached Gen. John T. Croxtons brigade to destroy all Confederate property at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Wilsons forces captured a Confederate courier, who was found to be carrying dispatches from Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest describing his scattered forces, Wilson sent a brigade to destroy the bridge across the Cahaba River at Centreville, which cut off most of Forrests reinforcements from reaching the area. He began a fight with Forrests forces that did not end until after the fall of Selma. On the afternoon of April 1, after skirmishing all morning, Wilsons advanced guard ran into Forrests line of battle at Ebenezer Church, Forrest had hoped to bring his entire force to bear on Wilson. The outnumbered and outgunned Confederates fought for more than an hour as reinforcements of Union cavalry and artillery were deployed, Forrest was wounded by a saber-wielding Union captain, whom he shot and killed with his revolver. Finally, a Union cavalry charge broke the Confederate militia, causing Forrest to be flanked on his right, early the next morning, Forrest reached Selma, he advised Gen. Richard Taylor, departmental commander, to leave the city
23.
Pensacola, Florida
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Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, in the U. S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 51,923. Pensacola is the city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which had an estimated 461,227 residents in 2012. Pensacola is a sea port on Pensacola Bay, which is protected by the island of Santa Rosa. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center, the area was originally inhabited by Muskogean peoples. The Pensacola people lived there at the time of European contact, Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna founded a short-lived settlement in 1559. In 1698 the Spanish established a presidio in the area, from which the city gradually developed. The area changed several times as European powers competed in North America. During Floridas British rule, fortifications were strengthened, other nicknames include Worlds Whitest Beaches, Cradle of Naval Aviation, Western Gate to the Sunshine State, Americas First Settlement, Emerald Coast, Red Snapper Capital of the World, and P-Cola. The original inhabitants of the Pensacola Bay area were Native American peoples, at the time of European contact, a Muskogean-speaking tribe known to the Spanish as the Pensacola lived in the region. This name was not recorded until 1677, but the tribe appears to be the source of the name Pensacola for the bay and thence the city. Creek people, also Muskogean-speaking, came regularly from present-day southern Alabama to trade, so the peoples were part of a broader regional and even continental network of relations. The best-known Pensacola culture site in terms of archeology is the Bottle Creek site and this site has at least 18 large earthwork mounds, five of which are arranged around a central plaza. Its main occupation was from 1250 AD to 1550 and it was a ceremonial center for the Pensacola people and a gateway to their society. This site would have had access by a dugout canoe. The areas written recorded history begins in the 16th century, with documentation by Spanish explorers who were the first Europeans to reach the area. The expeditions of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539 both visited Pensacola Bay, the latter of which documented the name Bay of Ochuse. In 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano landed with some 1,500 people on 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico
24.
Americus, Georgia
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Americus is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 17,041, the city is the county seat of Sumter County. Americus is the city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area. Americus is located at 32°4′31″N 84°13′36″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.7 square miles, of which,10.5 square miles of it is land and 0.2 square miles of it is water. Americus was founded by General John Americus Smith, while out on a scouting mission with his men, he noticed that there was a great deal of distance between two cities. He decided that he would come back and purchase land to build on in 1825, as he built on his land, his plantation grew very large in cotton production. Soon, more and more people started moving to the location until in 1832 the town of Americus was founded, gen Johns plantation was a huge part in helping Americus grow and providing income for the town. Gen John would later pass of the flu in 1868 at the age of 62 years, after his death his plantation was divided up into sections and auctioned off to different farmers that had now moved into the area. For its first two decades, Americus was a courthouse town. It was known as the Metropolis of Southwest Georgia, a reflection of its status as a distribution center. In 1890, Georgias first chartered electric street car system went into operation in Americus, One of its restored cars is on permanent display at the Lake Blackshear Regional Library, a gift from the Robert T. Crabb family who acquired the street car in the 1940s. The town was already graced with an abundance of antebellum and Victorian architecture when local capitalists opened the Windsor Hotel in 1892, a five-story Queen Anne edifice, it was designed by a Swedish architect, Gottfried L. Norrman, in Atlanta. Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall gave a speech from the balcony in 1917, on January 1,1976, the city center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Americus Historic District. The district boundaries were extended in 1979, for the local minority community, Rev. Dr. Major W. Reddick established the Americus Institute. Booker T. Washington was a guest speaker there in May 1908, Rev. Alfred S. Staley was responsible for locating the state Masonic Orphanage in Americus, which served its function from 1898 to 1940. Both men engineered the unification of the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia in 1915, the former as president, the public school named in honor of A. S. Staley was designated a National School of Excellence in 1990, two other institutions of higher learning were also established in Americus, the Third District Agricultural and Mechanical School in 1906, and the South Georgia Trade and Vocational School in 1948. South Georgia Technical College is located on the site of Souther Field
25.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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Baton Rouge is the capital of the U. S. state of Louisiana and its second-largest city. It forms the seat of East Baton Rouge Parish and is located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. As the Capital City, Baton Rouge is the hub for Louisiana. The metropolitan area surrounding the city, known as Greater Baton Rouge, is also the second-largest in Louisiana, the urban area has around 594,309 inhabitants. Baton Rouge is an industrial, petrochemical, medical, research, motion picture. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is the tenth largest in the United States in terms of tonnage shipped, the Baton Rouge area owes its historical importance to its strategic site upon the Istrouma Bluff, the first natural bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta. This allowed development of a business quarter safe from seasonal flooding, in addition, the city built a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect the riverfront and low-lying agricultural areas. The city is a rich center, with settlement by immigrants from numerous European nations. It was ruled by seven different governments, French, British, and Spanish in the era, West Floridian, United States territory and state, Confederate. Human habitation in the Baton Rouge area has been dated to 12000 –6500 BC based on evidence found along the Mississippi, Comite, earthwork mounds were built by hunter-gatherer societies in the Middle Archaic period, from roughly the 4th millennium BC. Eastern Muskogean began to diversify internally in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, at the time, the region appeared to be occupied by a collection of moderately-sized native chiefdoms interspersed with autonomous villages and tribal groups. French explorer Sieur dIberville led a party up the Mississippi River in 1699. The explorers saw a red pole marking the boundary between the Houma and Bayogoula tribal hunting grounds, see also Red Sticks for the ceremonial use of red sticks among the Muscogee. The location of the red pole was presumably at Scotts Bluff and it was reportedly a 30-foot-high painted pole adorned with fish bones. The settlement of Baton Rouge by Europeans began in 1721 when a military post was established by French colonists. Since European settlement, Baton Rouge has been governed by France, Britain, Spain, Louisiana, the Republic of West Florida, the Confederate States, and the United States. In 1755, when French-speaking settlers of Acadia in Canadas Maritime provinces were driven into exile by British forces, popularly known as Cajuns, the descendants of the Acadians maintained a separate culture. During the first half of the 19th century, the city grew steadily as the result of steamboat trade, Baton Rouge was incorporated in 1817
26.
Ozark Patriots
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The Ozark Patriots was a short-lived baseball team based in Ozark, Alabama. In 2002 they were members of the Southeastern League of Professional Baseball and they played their home games in Ozark, Alabama, at historic Eagle Stadium, which was constructed in 1946. A few Patriot standouts were Sergio Cairo, Junior Braddy, Cortney Jenkins, Steve Crampton, Ryburn, a pitcher, has the distinction of leading all Minor Leagues with a.141 opponents batting average during 2002. Patriot ownership had financial problems and the team folded at the all-star break, Eagle Stadium is a baseball stadium where the Ozark Patriots played here before folding midway through the 2002 season. Professional baseball was played here in the 1940s and 1950s as part of the Alabama-Florida League. The park features a small, covered grandstand that contains all bench seating, the dimensions of the field are huge here as center field is 440 feet from home plate. It is currently used for school, American Legion
27.
Pensacola Pelicans
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The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues from 2002–2010 and they played their games at Pelican Park. The initial incarnations Pelicans began play in 2002 as charter members of the new, the league folded after the 2003 season, and team owner Quint Studer purchased a franchise in the Central Baseball League, moving the Pelicans to the new organization. When the CBL folded in 2004 the Pelicans joined the new American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and they won the Southeastern League championship in 2002. In 2010 Studer sold his American Association franchise to a group in Amarillo, the franchise became the Amarillo Sox for the 2011 season, the new team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, began play in 2012. The Pensacola Pelicans were incorporated in 2002, when the Southeastern League decided to place a team in the Pensacola area, midway through the 2002 season, Quint Studer and his wife Rishy Studer bought the team from the league and was approved under the Commissioner James Gamble. The 2002 season was a successful one for the Pelicans, they had the leagues best record. The 2003 season was successful, with the Pelicans once again claiming the leagues best record. Before the 2004 season, the affiliated Orlando Rays of the Southern League moved to Montgomery, Alabama, unable to compete with an affiliated baseball club in one of its cities, the Southeastern League folded, and the Pelicans were left without a league in which to play. Former major league standout Bernie Carbo was the manager and he was aided by former major leaguer Pedro Borbon as pitching coach. The CBL folded in 2005 and the Pelicans joined the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball after the 2005 season, after leading the Pelicans to a 39-57 season, Beauchamp was released of his managerial duties. The Pelicans were led by Mac Seibert in 2007 and 2008, finishing 39-56 in 07, Seibert left after his second year to take a job in the New York Mets organization. The Pelicans won the South Division in 2009, making the round before losing to the Lincoln Saltdogs in 5 games. In 2010 Studer orchestrated a series of purchases and moves to bring affiliated Class Double-A baseball to Pensacola. First, he sold his American Association franchise to a group in Amarillo, Texas, then, he purchased the Carolina Mudcats, a Southern League team from Zebulon, North Carolina. To settle the deal, however, he had to facilitate the move of the Kinston Indians to Zebulon, additionally, as Pensacola is within the franchise territory of the Mobile BayBears, he had to compensate that team. The arrangements cost Studer a total of $2 million and it was initially reported that Studers team would take up the Pelicans name, but it was later announced a new name would be chosen by fan contest. Per said contest, the team was named the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, aabfan. com - yearly league standings & awards Pensacola Pelicans official site aabfan. com Pensacola Pelicans Guide
28.
Macon, Georgia
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Macon /ˈmeɪkən/ is a city located in the state of Georgia, United States. Macon lies near the center of the state, approximately 85 miles south of Atlanta. Settled near the line of the Ocmulgee River, Macon is the county seat of Bibb County and had a 2014 estimated population of 153,691. Macon is the city of the Macon metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 231,259 in 2014. In a 2012 referendum, voters approved the consolidation of Macon and Bibb County, the two governments officially merged on January 1,2014. Macon is served by three highways, I-16, I-75, and I-475. The city has several institutions of education, as well as numerous museums. The area is served by the Middle Georgia Regional Airport and the Herbert Smart Downtown Airport, the mayor of Macon is Robert Reichert, a former Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives. Reichert was elected mayor of the consolidated city of Macon–Bibb. Macon lies on the site of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, where the historic Creek Indians lived in the 18th century and their prehistoric predecessors, the Mississippian culture, built a powerful chiefdom based on an agricultural village and constructed earthwork mounds for ceremonial, burial and religious purposes. The areas along the rivers in the Southeast had been inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples for 13,000 years before Europeans arrived. Macon developed at the site of Fort Benjamin Hawkins, built from 1806–1809 at the line of the Ocmulgee River to protect the new frontier. The fort was named in honor of Benjamin Hawkins, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southeast territory south of the Ohio River for more than two decades and he lived among the Creek and had a Creek wife. This was the most inland point of navigation on the river from the Low Country, president Thomas Jefferson forced the Creek to cede their lands east of the Ocmulgee River and ordered the fort built. A gathering point of the Creek and American cultures for trading, it was also a center of state militia, the fort served as a major military distribution point during the War of 1812 against Great Britain and also during the Creek War of 1813. Afterward, the fort was used as a trading post for years and was garrisoned until 1821. It was decommissioned about 1828 and later burned to the ground, a replica of the southeast blockhouse was built in 1938 and stands today on a hill in east Macon. Part of the site is occupied by the Fort Hawkins Grammar School
29.
Houma, Louisiana
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Houma is the only city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The citys powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, the population was 33,727 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1,334 over the 2000 tabulation of 32,393. Many unincorporated areas are adjacent to the city of Houma, the largest and it is not included in the citys census counts, and is a separate census-designated place. If the populations of the urbanized census-designated places were included with that of the city of Houma, the city was named after the historic Native American tribe of Houma people, believed to be related to the Choctaw. The United Houma Nation Tribe is recognized by the state of Louisiana, Houma was rated as an Affordable city by Demographias International Housing Survey. Houma was founded by European Americans in 1834 at a settlement of the Houma people. The city was named after them, the city of Houma was incorporated in 1848. The United Houma Nation and two other Houma tribes have been recognized by the state, Houma is also rated as a medium size city. The area was developed for plantations in the years, which were worked primarily by enslaved African Americans. Since the late 19th century, the area has become industrialized and developed for trade. In 1862, four Union soldiers en route by wagon from New Orleans to Houma were ambushed by armed citizens. Two of the Union men were killed, and the two were seriously wounded. In retaliation, Union officers brought 400 troops into Houma, where began a wholesale arrest of residents. In his 1963 book, the historian John D, winters describes the events, The investigation of the murders lasted several days but failed to reveal the guilty parties. To frighten the citizens, the home of a Doctor Jennings was burned, the soldiers next began to seize sheep, cattle, mules, wagons, and saddle horses. Negroes began to desert their masters and to flock to the protection of the troops, the frightened citizens had no means of resistance, and many found it hard to stand by and see their country despoiled by a few hundred troops. Houma is located at 29°35′15″N 90°42′58″W and has an elevation of 10 feet. BY SQ According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 14.2 square miles
30.
Macon Peaches
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The Macon Peaches was the predominant name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Macon, Georgia, during the 20th century. The Peaches nickname was used from 1961–1964, 1966–1967. Much of that time, the Peaches played in the original South Atlantic Sally League, although they made appearances in the Southeastern League. During the 1980s, the Peaches were members of the modern South Atlantic League, after 1929, the team played at Luther Williams Field. Macon was represented by baseball teams in the 19th century. From 1956–1960, Macons team was known as the Macon Dodgers, in 1980, a new Macon Peaches team formed and after 1982, this franchise adopted the name Redbirds and then Pirates. This team relocated to Augusta, Georgia and became the Augusta Pirates and were renamed again to Augusta GreenJackets, the Macon Braves relocated to Rome, Georgia and were renamed Rome Braves. From 1962–1964, the Peaches were an important upper-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, producing Pete Rose, Tony Pérez, Lee May, all four were members of Cincinnatis first Big Red Machine team, the 1970 National League champions. Macon was Roses last minor league address before he launched his Major League career as the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year and he had batted.330 for the 1962 Peaches. The Macon Braves were a minor league baseball team associated with the Atlanta Braves and was the transplanted Sumter Braves. The team was known as the Macon Braves from 1991 to 2002, in 2003, the Macon Braves were moved to Rome, Georgia. The team is now known as the Rome Braves, Luther Williams Field was the home stadium for the Macon Braves. Many well known major league players came from the Macon Braves, such as Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Rafael Furcal, Tony Graffanino, John Rocker, John Smoltz, an independent league baseball team called the Macon Peaches played in the 21st century Southeastern League in 2003. Macon Braves Macon Dodgers Notes Sources
31.
Southern League (baseball)
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The Southern League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the Southern United States. Classified a Double-A league, it is headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, the league acquired its name in 1964, after the South Atlantic League, which had started in 1936, renamed itself to Southern League. The original Southern League existed from 1885 to 1899, a new league, the Southern Association, was formed in 1901, consisting of twelve teams. The association shut down after the 1961 season, in 1964, the original South Atlantic League changed its name to the Southern League. The original South Atlantic League was a mid- to higher-classification circuit that played from 1904 to 1917,1919 to 1930,1936 to 1942, the old South Atlantic League grew from Class C status to Class B and then Class A. In its final season, it was elevated to Double-A, the Southern League is divided into two divisions, North and South. Before 2005, the divisions were East and West, however, in 2012, the Carolina Mudcats relocated to Pensacola, Florida to become the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. In 2015, the Huntsville Stars relocated to Biloxi, Mississippi to become the Biloxi Shuckers, League members Other Current League Other Defunct League In 1971, the Southern League and Texas League were both down to 7 teams so they formed the Dixie Association for one season. They played interlocking schedules but held their own separate playoffs
32.
Walt Disney World
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The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida. The resort is the destination of Disneys worldwide corporate enterprise. Opened on October 1,1971, Walt Disney World is the most visited vacation resort in the world, the resort is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was initially operated by Walt Disney World Company, Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open in the complex, in 1971, followed by Epcot in 1982, Disneys Hollywood Studios in 1989, and the most recent, Disneys Animal Kingdom in 1998. Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the Florida Project, as it was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of rides. Walt Disneys original plans called for the inclusion of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney died on December 15,1966, before construction began, without Disney spearheading the construction, the company created a resort similar to Disneyland, abandoning experimental concepts for a planned community. In 1959, Walt Disney Productions began looking for land to house a second resort to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955. Market surveys at the revealed that only 5% of Disneylands visitors came from east of the Mississippi River. Additionally, Walt Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland, Walt Disney flew over a potential site in Orlando, Florida – one of many – in November 1963. To avoid a burst of land speculation, Walt Disney World Company used various dummy corporations to acquire 30,500 acres of land, in May 1965, some of these major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest of Orlando in Osceola County. In addition, two tracts totaling $1. Some are now memorialized on a window above Main Street, U. S. A. in Magic Kingdom, the smaller parcels of land acquired were called outs. They were 5-acre lots platted in 1912 by the Munger Land Company, most of the owners in the 1960s were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostly swamp at the time. Another issue was the rights to the land, which were owned by Tufts University. Without the transfer of rights, Tufts could come in at any time. Eventually, Disneys team negotiated a deal with Tufts to buy the rights for $15,000. Working strictly in secrecy, real estate agents unaware of their clients identity began making offers to landowners in April 1964 in parts of southwest Orange and northwest Osceola counties
33.
Montgomery Biscuits
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The Montgomery Biscuits are a minor league baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. The team is the Class AA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and plays in the Southern League, the team was founded in Orlando, Florida in 1973 as the Orlando Twins, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. After remaining in the Minnesota minor league organization for 20 seasons, in 1999, the team became an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and they have remained in the organization ever since. Over the years, the club changed several times. They were the Orlando Twins for 17 seasons, then were known as the SunRays, Cubs, the club became known as the Biscuits when it moved from the Orlando area to Montgomery in 2004. The club played at Tinker Field near downtown Orlando from 1973 until 2000, since moving to Montgomery in 2004, the Biscuits have played at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium, a 7000 seat facility which was built for the club in the downtown area. The franchise joined the Southern League in 1973 as the Orlando Twins, a affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. The Orlando Twins played at Tinker Field in downtown Orlando, near the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, in 1990, the team was renamed the Orlando Sun Rays. In 1993, the Chicago Cubs became the teams new major-league affiliate, while still a Chicago Cubs affiliate, the team renamed itself again in 1997 and became the Orlando Rays. The following year, for one only, the Seattle Mariners were the Rays major-league affiliate. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, an American League expansion team in 1998, the Orlando Rays last season at Tinker Field was 1999. From 2000 to 2003, the Orlando Rays played in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, while in Orlando, the franchise won three Southern League championships, in 1981,1991, and 1999. The Biscuits owners, Sherrie Myers and Tom Dickson, were selected six different ownership groups during an extensive search for a public-private partner by the City of Montgomery. Myers and Dickson selected the nickname from over 4,000 entries in a name the team contest, due in part to tying into indigenous affiliation and potential marketing. Several successful minor league teams have campy, quirky names to relate to families, during games, biscuits are shot from an air cannon, into the stands. On September 15,2006, in just their third year of existence, one year later, in 2007, the Biscuits again defeated the Huntsville Stars to win their second consecutive Southern League championship. They became the first team since the 1975 to 1977 Montgomery Rebels to win back-to-back championships and their mascots are Big Mo, an orange beast that loves biscuits, and Monty, an anthropomorphized buttermilk biscuit. Monty appears in the logo and on the hat and is also the star of the documentary, the mascot for the Orlando Rays was Spike, a bear
34.
Houma Hawks
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The Houma Hawks was a short-lived baseball team based in Houma, Louisiana. In 2003 they were members of the Southeastern League of Professional Baseball. They played their games in Houma, Louisiana at Southland Field. This was the second stint of a baseball team in Houma. From 1946 through 1952, the Houma Indians of the Evangeline League played as the communities first professional baseball team, the team was officially announced to the public on October 24,2002 at the Terrebonne Parish Courthouse Annex. The team was the brainchild of Gus Brown, Jr. the teams CEO and his son Gus Brown III, for the inaugural season, the United Parcel Service was the teams’ primary sponsor. Locally, games were broadcast on KTIB 640-AM in Houma, in May 2003 the name of the mascot was released following an internet poll to determine the name. Parrain the Hawk received 52 percent of the votes, while Homer the Hawk was in second place, on May 16, spring training commenced at Vandebilt Catholic High School. The 72-game regular season would commence on May 30, the team would open the 2003 season at home against the Pensacola Pelicans, and defeat the defending league champs by a score of 11-5 behind pitching ace Steven Locklar. Infielder Ray Crawford was 4-4 in the game with a pair of RBIs, todd Brown also drove home a pair of runs in the home opener. However, ownership failed to submit the proper workers compensation paperwork to the state in order to use Southland Field. As a result, the Hawks would play games at Morgan City High School stadium in Morgan City. By July, the team has gone as far as to have eight home games at Pete Goldsby Park in Baton Rouge. By the end of the season, the team would play their home games at the visitors’ ballpark. Its official, Houma becomes Hawks nest, Hawks announce 13 signees, introduce mascot. Hawks ready to play ball in Houma, Hawks close exhibition play with win. Claiming breach of contract, Hawks sue Recreation District 2-3
