Special Announcement Re: Coastal Plain League
Eastern North Carolina pro circuit set to return!
After going dark for four seasons due to World War II, the
Coastal Plain League will relaunch in the spring of 1946. The league – essentially the eastern North Carolina version of the North Carolina State League – will feature eight clubs in its rebirth. Finances will be similar to the NCSL – about 65-70 percent of the flagship Carolina League.
Here are the teams taking the field in the Coastal Plain League in the spring of 1946!
Fayetteville Cubs
Goldsboro Goldbugs
Greenville Greenies
Kinston Eagles
New Bern Bears
Rocky Mount Rocks
Tarboro Tars
Wilson Tobacconists
The league will play with a 124-game schedule, with its top two teams advancing to a best-of-seven championship series.
In real life, the Coastal Plain League became a pro circuit in 1937 after a couple of seasons of semi-pro action. It ran through 1941 before pausing for the war, then resumed in ‘46. (It is now the name of a summer college wood-bat league that stretches from Georgia to Virginia).
Defunct CPL teams that operated during the pre-war era included the Ayden Aces (1937-38), Snow Hill Billies (1937-40 – greatest small-town baseball nickname ever) and Williamston Martins (1937-41). We may see these franchises revived at some point down the line. Boone Tucker might just be intrigued enough to manage a team known as the Hill Billies one day!
There were no repeat champions during the pre-war iteration of the CPL with Snow Hill (1937), New Bern (1938), Williamston (1939), Tarboro (1940) and Wilson (1941) each enjoying single-season title runs. The Tobs posted an eye-catching 87-30 record in ‘41, winning the regular season by an astounding 23.5-game margin over Greenville before the league shut down...