Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
About Greenville
Greenville and Pitt County are located in the north central coastal plain region of Eastern North Carolina, approximately 85 miles east of Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina. Greenville is approximately 87 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean and approximately 265 miles south of our nation's capital, Washington, DC.
Pitt County consists of 646 square miles of agricultural land. The highest elevation point in Pitt County is 126.4 feet above sea level, in the northwest part of the county.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pitt County has a population of 159,057. The City of Greenville has a population of 81,747 and is one of the fastest growing large cities in the state.
Greenville is the home to the East Carolina University (ECU) Pirates. ECU has an enrollment of just over 28,000 students. East Carolina athletic teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. ECU's 50,000 seat Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (football), 8,000 seat Williams Arena @ Minges Coliseum (basketball and volleyball), 5,000 seat Clark-Leclair Stadium (baseball) and the 1,000 seat ECU Softball Stadium are all within a 10 minute walk of Elm Street Park.
Pitt County has a relatively mild climate and experiences all four seasons each year. The average summer temperature is 84oF while the average winter temperature is 44o F. The average yearly rainfall for Pitt County is approximately 48.24 inches.
Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Greenville Baseball
Greenville is proud of its rich baseball tradition. Professional baseball began in Greenville in 1928. The Greenville Tobacconists (or Tobs) played for two seasons in the Class D Eastern Carolina League. The league and the team folded after the 1929 season. In 1937 the Greenville Greenies joined the Class D Coastal Plain League. After struggling their first two seasons the Greenies moved into brand new Guy Smith Stadium for the 1939 season. The Greenies captured the Coastal Plain League title with a 75-47 mark besting their nearest competitior by 6 1/2 games. After a 7th place finish in 1940 and a second place finish in 1941 the Coastal Plain League suspended operations through 1946 due to World War II. In 1947 and 1948 the Greenies finished in the league's basement before rebounding with a 4th place finish in 1949. The 1950 season saw the team change its name to the Robins and fall to a 6th place finish. Due to a lack of attendance, the Robins folded in June of the 1951 season. Greenville has not had professional baseball since. Guy Smith Stadium though remains in constant use to this day. J.H. Rose High School calls Guy Smith Stadium home during the spring and one can always find a youth baseball game in progress at Guy Smith during the summer months. Guy Smith Stadium is cared for and kept in top notch condition by the Greenville Recreation and Parks Department.
East Carolina University also boasts a great baseball tradition. The Pirate baseball team has consistently finished with a winning record over the past several years. They have been regular season conference champions 12 times and conference tournament champions 10 times. The Pirates have gone to the NCAA Tournament 25 times and last appeared in the NCAA regionals in the Charlottesville Regional (2011) and the North Carolina Super Regional in 2009. East Carolina has won 40+ games in six of the last eight seasons. Over the years, many players have been honored as All-Americans, over 100 former players have played in the Major Leagues, and in 1961 the Diamond Bucs won the NAIA National Championship. The current coach is Cliff Godwin.
The J. H. Rose Rampant baseball team won their sixth state championship in the 2008 baseball season. The five other state championships occurred in 1975, 1997, 1999, 2003, and 2004. The Rampants are led by North Carolina's all time winningest high school baseball coach Ronald Vincent. Coach Vincent was also the manager of the 1970 Tar Heel Little League team which won North Carolina's State Championship. Several of the players from his 1970 Little League team were a part of his first State Champion team at Rose in 1975.
Little League Baseball in Greenville began in 1951 with the formation of the North State League. The Tar Heel League began play three years later in 1954. Both the North State and Tar Heel Leagues operate with eight 9-12 year old teams for a total of 16 Little League teams here in Greenville. The two leagues utilize Elm Street Park, The Perkins Complex (Kiwanis and VFW Fields) and Guy Smith Little League Field for Little League games. North State and Tar Heel, have combined to win 22 North Carolina State Championships. .
Each of Greenville's two Little Leagues has made a Little League World Series appearance. In 1998 Tar Heel Little League made Greenville's first trip to Williamsport. While there Tar Heel defeated Jenison, Michigan, lost to Toms River, New Jersey, and defeated Cypress, California in pool play games. Their 2-1 pool play record allowed them to advance to the United States Championship Game where they were defeated by eventual Little League World Series Champion Toms River.
In 2017 Greenville's North State Little League made its first (Greenville's second) trip to Williamsport. There they defeated Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, and Lufkin, Texas. The win over Texas allowed them to advance to the United .States Championship game where they once again had to face Texas. In that game they suffered their first loss of the series which allowed Texas to advance to the World Championship game where they were defeated by Tokyo, Japan.
Greenville and Elm Street Park have been proud hosts of the Tournament of State Champions (9-11) since 2010 and (8-10) since 2014.
Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium
Guy Smith Stadium