NEW ORLEANS HORNETS HISTORY 

When Charlotte selected the nickname for its National Basketball Association franchise, it wasn’t a decision based solely on esoteric criteria. The city’s affiliation with the aggressive, pain-inflicting insects has implications of historical significance, dating back to the American Revolution.As the history books tell it, British General Charles Cornwallis felt the Carolinas were open to defeat once Charleston was captures in the early summer of 1779. Many Mecklenburgers were among the casualties in Charleston. As the summer progressed, he appeared to be right.

On August 16, the British at Camden soundly defeated General Horatio Gates, commanding the American forces in the South, was soundly defeated by the British at Camden. Gates fled on horseback toward Charlotte, reached the village during the night and warned that the British were coming and continued northward toward Hillsboro.

Ten days later, the British arrived at Charlotte, but met with terrific resistance from the Mecklenburg militiamen. The Americans retreated slowly out the Salisbury road before Colonel William R. Davie, who would later be governor and founder of the University of North Carolina, commanded the troops on that eventful day in Charlotte’s history.After a bitter skirmish, Cornwallis and his forces occupied the village, but the British commander would shortly discover that his expected push through the Carolinas was to end in Charlotte. Though there were few soldiers to oppose him, his troops were harried on both sides and soon, the British were running short of provisions. When Cornwallis sent out patrols to obtain supplies, they were fired upon. "There’s a rebel behind every bush," Cornwallis declared in a letter. "It’s a veritable nest of hornets."At the McIntyre farmhouse, a two-story log home seven miles from Charlotte, the Britishers were fired upon by a group of 14 youthful Americans. So much confusion followed that the pillaging soldiers overturned several bee hives in the yard, which added considerably to the confusion. This skirmish, locally famous, came to be known as the "Battle of the Bees."

The British drive northward would soon be pushed back through South Carolina and never again would they ride the crest of a victorious surge northward. The name Hornets also has historical significance in Charlotte’s sports history. For many years, local baseball fans turned out to see the Charlotte Hornets, a Minnesota Twins farm club, play minor league ball at Griffith Park, later to become known as Crockett Park. Charlotte was later home to the Hornets of the World Football League.It was another football effort that brought Shinn to the sports forefront in Charlotte, originally launching an effort to land a United States Football League franchise here. After two highly-successful exhibition games at Memorial Stadium in 1984, he appeared to be well on his way.

But as the fledgling league fell upon hard times, Shinn turned his attention to a sport and league for which expansion was imminent, the National Basketball Association.

It was the perfect marriage. The effort to "Bring the NBA to Basketball Country" gradually gained momentum and, as Charlotte surged to the forefront on candidate cities for a team, the community exploded with civic pride. The original name of the team was the Spirit, selected by a committee from a pool of suggested names. Due to popular demand, Shinn held another "Name the Team" campaign, soliciting suggestions from the community via the Charlotte Observer. An overwhelming number of votes for Hornets poured in and Charlotte’s NBA team had a new name.It was a name that would characterize one of the NBA’s newest franchises through historical implications and spirit of the team and the community.

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