America’s pastime has rich history at Carolina

Here’s some Carolina trivia and a fun fact you can use to impress your friends.

The University’s first-ever intercollegiate sporting event took place in spring 1884 on a baseball diamond against Bingham Military School. We don’t know the date or the result, but it was a Great Day to be a Tar Heel.

Beyond serving as a Carolina athletics first, baseball has a rich history in Chapel Hill. In celebration of America250, let’s look at some surprising ties between the nation’s pastime and its first public university.

Baseball was “all the rage” on campus, according to this excerpt from the 1884-85 North Carolina University Magazine.

Moonlight Graham was a Tar Heel

Portrait of Moonlight Graham in his New York Giants uniform.

For only playing one inning of one game, there’s lots of lore around Moonlight Graham.

You know Archibald Wright “Moonlight” Graham if you’ve seen “Field of Dreams,” the film starring Kevin Costner, or read “Shoeless Joe,” the novel it’s based on.

But did you know Graham played for the Tar Heels, graduated from Carolina in 1901 and was the older brother of longtime University president Frank Porter Graham ’09?

Graham’s brief and unique major league career is a topic in both the movie and book (told with some creative liberties).

Team photo of the 1900 Carolina baseball team on the steps of a campus building. Players are in uniform with "Carolina" across the jerseys. Some have bats and gloves. There's also a dog at the front.

Moonlight Graham is seen third from right in this team picture of the 1900 Carolina baseball squad from The Hellenian yearbook.

In real life, Graham appeared in one game for the New York Giants in 1905, entering as a substitute in the ninth inning. Graham never made a plate appearance (he was on deck when the final out was made in the top of the ninth), and he played the bottom half of the inning without recording a putout or assist.

While his professional career was about as short-lived as could be, he enjoyed a long career as a doctor afterward. Read more about Graham’s Tar Heel ties in this University Library blog post and Carolina Alumni Review article.

Ted Williams: Chapel Hill Cloudbuster

Former Red Sox teammates Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio and Ted Williams pictured together in Chapel Hill in the Cloudbuster newspaper with the headline "Reunion in Chapel Hill."

(Left to right) Former Red Sox teammates Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio and Ted Williams pictured together in Chapel Hill in the July 10, 1943, edition of The Cloudbuster, the UNC Naval Pre-Flight program’s weekly newspaper.

Ted Williams, whose baseball career is well documented, also had a connection to Carolina.

Considered one of the best batters of all time, Williams played 19 seasons, all with the Boston Red Sox, and remains the last player to hit .400 in a season. His 521 career home runs were complemented by a .482 on-base percentage, which remains the MLB record.

For a time, Chapel Hill is where he hit baseballs that sometimes landed atop Lenoir Dining Hall.

Two-photo collage: Newspaper clipping from May 11, 1943, edition of The Daily Tar Heel featuring an article about Ted Williams arriving to Chapel Hill; and a signed baseball with Ted Williams' signature that was on display at Wilson Library on the campus of U.N.C. Chapel Hill in 2024.

(Left) Ben McKinnon of The Daily Tar Heel wrote, “His majesty has finally arrived” in the May 11, 1943, edition upon Ted Williams’ arrival to Chapel Hill. (Right) A baseball that was signed by Williams during his time in Chapel Hill was on display at Wilson Library in 2024.

Williams was one of 20,000-plus men who came to campus in the 1940s to complete the U.S. Navy’s intensive preflight training program during World War II.

During the summer of 1943, he starred for the Chapel Hill Cloudbusters, a preflight baseball team that featured other major leaguers. The Cloudbusters faced factory teams, played other teams from the Navy, the Army and Marine Corps as well as college teams from Carolina and NC State and Duke universities.

The University Library also has a baseball signed by Williams from his time in Chapel Hill. Read more about Williams and the Cloudbusters in stories from Jack Frederick ’19 and Anne Keene ’87.

Bell Tower batter’s eye

Black-and-white photo of baseball being played at Emerson Field on the campus of U.N.C. Chapel Hill with the Bell Tower seen in the background.

Baseball being played at Emerson Field in 1966. (Jock Lauterer Collection)

If you know where Carolina’s baseball stadium is now, you’re probably wondering how Williams managed to hit a baseball to Lenoir.

But Boshamer Stadium didn’t open until 1972, and Emerson Field was the longtime home of Carolina baseball, opening as a multisport venue in 1916 and hosting the Diamond Heels until 1967.

Located where Davis Library and the Student Union are today, Emerson’s right field backed up to Lenoir, giving a lefty slugger like Williams something to aim for. As shown in the 1966 photo above from Jock Lauterer ’67, batters at Emerson also had a nice view of the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower.

A montage of aerial shots of Carolina's campus, including an undated image of Emerson Field and a 2021 image of build on the Emerson field site.

The black-and-white image on the left of this montage from a 2021 “Carolina then and now” story shows Lenoir Dining Hall just beyond right field of Emerson Field. (UNC-Chapel Hill Collection at Wilson Library; Rob Holliday/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Yankees come to town

Wide-angle shot of a fans watching a Yankees-Tar Heels exhibition baseball game at Boshamer Stadium on a cloudy and rainy day on April 3, 1979.

The April 3, 1979, game between the New York Yankees and Carolina, won 9-4 by the Yankees, drew 7,000-plus fans. (Hugh Morton Collection)

Five days before the 1977 New York Yankees began a season that ended with the team’s 21st World Series title, the Bronx Bombers faced the Tar Heels in an exhibition at the Bosh in front of 7,000 fans.

According to The Daily Tar Heel’s recap of the Yankees’ 8-1 win, future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson homered and also clowned around with the Carolina pep band.

The Yanks returned to Chapel Hill in 1979 and 1981. Jenny Steinbrenner, the daughter of longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, graduated from Carolina in 1981. In 2006, George Steinbrenner donated $1 million to renovations to the Bosh, and the stadium’s entrance is named the Steinbrenner Family Courtyard.

Two-photo collage: U.N.C. Chapel Hill ram mascot, Rameses, wearing a New York Yankees hat and holding a a three-year-old child, Brian Roberts, who went on to become an MLB all-star; and newspaper clipping from the April 4, 1977, Daily Tar Heel with a photo of New York Yankee Reggie Jackson batting with the headline "Yankee home runs, antics entertain Carolina crowd; players cherish 8-1 loss.

(Left) Rameses holds a 3-year-old Brian Roberts, son of former Carolina coach Mike Roberts, at the 1981 exhibition between Carolina and the Yankees. Brian Roberts, who played for the Tar Heels in the 1990s, enjoyed a 14-season MLB career, made two All-Star Games and spent his final season with the Yankees. (Right) Clipping from the April 4, 1977, edition of The Daily Tar Heel featuring Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who homered at Boshamer Stadium.

A class you can take

U.N.C. Chapel Hill teaching professor Matthew Andrews holding his glasses in one hand while addressing students in a lecture hall.

Teaching professor Matthew Andrews teaches several courses on sports, including baseball, basketball, boxing and the Olympic Games. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Since we’re on the topic, let’s discuss HIST 362: Baseball and American History.

Taught by teaching professor Matthew Andrews ’09 (PhD) in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, the course “explores the historical significance” of baseball in the U.S., going well beyond the game itself.

In a 2018 story in The Well, Andrews said he uses a quote from writer Roger Angell in his syllabus to describe the essence of the class: “Baseball seems to have been invented solely for the purpose of explaining all other things in life.”

Modern success

Carolina baseball players running onto the field and chasing after Owen Hull following his walk-off double against Southern California at Boshamer Stadium.

The Tar Heels celebrate after their walk-off victory against Southern California on June 7 to win the Chapel Hill Super Regional and advance to the College World Series. (Joe Bray/GoHeels)

Carolina baseball is creating its own place in history. Coming off their third championship series appearance, the Tar Heels have reached the College World Series 13 times, the 12th most appearances in the country, and also have nine ACC Tournament titles.

One of the premier programs of the 21st century, Carolina has made nine appearances at the CWS since 2006, tied for the most in that span.

With the Red Sox’s selection of shortstop Jake Schaffner 20th overall this month, 27 Tar Heels have been picked in the first round of the MLB Draft — including catcher BJ Surhoff, taken first overall in 1985.

This season, seven former Tar Heels are playing in the pros, and the Atlanta Braves manager, Walt Weiss ’86, is a Carolina alumnus.

Pro parents

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Some big-name players have learned to embrace Carolina Blue through their children. Aaron Boone, a former All-Star and Yankees manager since 2018, is the father of a Tar Heel junior, Brandon.

Alex Rodriguez, the three-time American League most valuable player, is also now a Tar Heel dad. His daughter Ella is an incoming first-year student. Casey Cuddyer, the son of two-time All-Star Michael Cuddyer, will also be a first-year player for Carolina baseball next season.

Banana Ball

Wide-angle nighttime photo of a Savannah Bananas baseball game at Kenan Stadium. The Bell Tower is seen in the upper left frame.

Banana Ball took over Chapel Hill in April. (Rob Holliday/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Carolina used its football stadium as a baseball stadium for the first time this spring when hosting the Savannah Bananas. The two games drew 100,000-plus spectators eager to see the Bananas’ barnstorming brand of baseball complete with dancing and hijinks.

For the first time since the Emerson Field days, home plate offered a Bell Tower view.