Charleston Pirates

The Charleston Pirates were a minor league baseball club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and played at College Park from 1973 to 1978. They were an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the class-A Western Carolinas League. In 1976 and 1977, the team played as the Charleston Patriots.^[1][2]

Charleston Pirates
1973–1977 Charleston, South Carolina
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes	Class A (1973-1978)
Previous leagues	Western Carolinas League (1973-1978)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Pittsburgh Pirates (1973-1978)
Team data
Previous names	Charleston Pirates (1978) Charleston Patriots (1976-1977) Charleston Pirates (1973-1975)
Previous parks	College Park

Future Major Leaguers Willie Randolph, John Candelaria, Dale Berra, Dave Dravecky, Steve Farr, Odell Jones, Rick Lancellotti, Steve Nicosia, Junior Ortiz, Tony Pena, Pascual Pérez, and Ed Whitson played for the Charleston Pirates/Patriots franchise.^{[citation needed]}

The Charleston Pirates ceased operations following the 1978 season, and were replaced in the Western Carolinas League by the Greensboro Hornets. The Pittsburgh Pirates changed their affiliation to the Shelby Pirates. The entire Western Carolinas League folded after the 1979 season.^[2]

Charleston regained a minor league team in the Class-A South Atlantic League in 1980, the Charleston Royals. As of 2025^[update], the team still exists as the Charleston RiverDogs of the Carolina League.^[1][3]

Season results

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1973	72-52	1st	Chuck Cottier
1974	71-60	2nd	Larry Sherry	No playoffs
1975	45-96	4th	Mike Ryan	No playoffs
1976	59-80	3rd	Mike Ryan
1977	53-87	6th	Jim Mahoney
1978	47-93	6th	Billy Scripture	No playoffs