'Dads to Honor 75th Anniversary of the '51 Rocks
Published on February 11, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory, NC - The Granite Falls Graniteers may have only lasted one season, but they made history during the 1951 season. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the team, the Crawdads will be hosting a '51 Rocks Night on Friday, June 19th.
The Crawdads will wear specialty jerseys speckled with a granite pattern and throwback double piping, reminiscent of the era. The jerseys will feature a rock number font and a '51 Rocks sleeve patch. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game via the MiLB Auctions platform.
The Granite Falls Graniteers, of the Western Carolina League, finished the 1951 season with a 14-96 record and a .127 winning percentage, the worst in professional baseball history. The Graniteers churned through five managers during the season, none proving able to right the ship. They tried to alter their fortune by changing their name to the "Rocks" and hosting promotions such as Black Cat Night, where fans were encouraged to bring black cats and break other superstitions, thinking purposely evoking bad luck might reverse things.
By the end of the season, the Rocks had lost so many players to other teams or retirement that they needed to find more players to have enough to play their last games. One of the team's owners, Finley German, signed five African American players- pitcher Frank "Boney" Flemming, catcher Bill Smith, pitcher Christopher Rankin, catcher Russell Shuford, and outfielder Eugene Abernathy- from Ridgeview to fill out the Rocks' roster, making history as the first black players in the league. The group saw their first game action in an August 25th doubleheader against the Newton-Conover Twins. Unfortunately, by late August, the team had lost their official scorer and box scores from at least 16 games were never turned into the league, meaning the players were never given official credit or statistics for the games they played.
The Rocks held their games at what is now known as M.S. Deal Stadium, home of the Granite Falls Middle School baseball team. The stadium actually has direct ties to the Crawdads, as it was one of the backup sites chosen in case construction of LP Frans Stadium was not finished in time for the start of their inaugural season in 1993. The Crawdads did end up playing a game at M.S. Deal Stadium many years later, hosting a special event throwback game in 2006.
The Crawdads tribute game will be held on June 19th, Juneteenth, as the team hosts the Columbia Fireflies and will feature a post-game firework show. Tickets for the 75th Anniversary of the '51 Rocks game and all Crawdads home games will go on sale on Friday, February 13th.
Carolina League Stories from February 11, 2026
- 'Dads to Honor 75th Anniversary of the '51 Rocks - Hickory Crawdads
- 2026 Battle for the Paddle Set for Wednesday, March 25th - Augusta GreenJackets
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