Tides were established as members of the Class A South Atlantic League. They played some home games at Frank D. Lawrence Stadium in Portsmouth and some at High Rock Park in Norfolk. The Tides had a limited affiliation with Major League Baseball's Kansas City Athletics. Their inaugural season opener was a 7–4 victory in Portsmouth over the Charlotte Hornets with 3,158 people in attendance on April 17, 1961. In 1962, they became an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Tides dropped out of the Sally League after losing their working agreement with St. Louis and following what Tides general manager Marshall Fox called "unfair treatment" by the league. Carolina League (1963–1968) The Carolina League, a Class A circuit, accepted the Tides as members for 1963. At this point, the team became known as the Tidewater Tides, taking their geographic identifier from the Tidewater region, and began playing their home games exclusively at Lawrence Stadium in Portsmouth. They were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team in their first Carolina League season. The Tides became the Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in 1964. Under manager Allen Jones, they qualified for the playoffs that year for the first time in team history and defeated the Kinston Eagles in the semifinals to advance to the championship round where they lost to the Winston-Salem Red Sox. Outfielder Ed Stroud won the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. Jones led the team back to the postseason in 1965. After defeating the Peninsula Grays in the semifinals, the Tides won the Carolina League championship by sweeping the Durham Bulls, 2–0. Tidewater became an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1966. They made the postseason in 1967 and 1968, but they were defeated in the finals by Durham in 1967 and eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Raleigh-Durham Mets in 1968. International League New York Mets (1969–2006) In 1969, the New York Mets moved their Triple-A International League (IL) affiliate, the Jacksonville Suns, from Jacksonville, Florida, to Portsmouth as the Tidewater Tides. The team was operated by Tidewater Professional Sports and owned by the Mets. The Triple-A Tides carried on the history of the Class A team that preceded them. International League Manager of the Year Clyde McCullough led the team to a league-best 76–59 record in their first Triple-A season, but they were eliminated in the semifinals of the Governors' Cup