(Now back to the Charlotte "Hornets" history.) Following a three-year break during World War II, the Hornets returned to competition now in the Tri-State League (Class B) through the 1953 season when it rejoined the Class-A South Atlantic League. It remained in the league, which was upgraded to Class AA in 1963 and renamed the Southern League the following year, through 1972. (In 1971 the Hornets played in the Dixie Association, a merger of the Texas and Southern leagues.) In 1972, the Twins also placed a Class A Western Carolinas League franchise, the Charlotte Twins, alongside the Double-A Hornets' franchise; it lasted only one season. Through the years, the Hornets won championships in the North Carolina League (1902, 1916 and 1923), Piedmont League (1931 and 1938) Tri-State League (1946, 1947 and 1952) and Southern League (1969,1971).