Cap Anson and His Great Bankruptcy-Inducing Semi-Pro Ballpark
What I may conclude to do in the future it is hard to say, and if I return again to my first love, baseball, it will not be as a player, but whatever I may be or whatever I may do I shall still strive to merit the approval and good will of my friends. – Adrian C....
The Chicago White Sox and the Raising of Their 1906 World Series Banner
Chicago White Sox of 1906 The American League’s Chicago White Sox, known as the Hitless Wonders, upset the National League’s Chicago Cubs, featuring Tinker to Evers to Chance, in the 1906 World Series. The White Sox celebrated their victory on Tuesday, May 14, 1907,...
The Charlotte Hornets Were (Probably) Throwing Games in 1912
Something fishy took place in the Class D Carolina Association in 1912. The Charlotte Hornets were probably throwing games, losing intentionally for reasons unknown. The sports editors of the newspapers that covered the Carolina Association dropped hints of rotten...
Allandale Field – Asheville’s Rough Hillside Mountain Diamond
The Asheville Baseball Club has bounced in, out, and around the North Carolina town for over 130 years, perpetually seeking a home within an ever-evolving urban landscape. In 1892, the club’s ballpark was off Depot Street on a lot south of the Glen Rock Hotel. The...
Billy Laval’s Spartanburg Red Sox and the Bad Series at Rock Hill
Billy Laval's passion was coaching college football. Between 1915 and 1949, Laval's teams compiled a record of 168 wins, 136 losses, and 17 ties, taking home three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships. In 2009 the Columbia State newspaper...
Shoeless Miller, Greensboro’s Green Recruit
Frank Doyle, manager of the Greensboro Patriots, had a new recruit. His name was Miller and somebody had dug him up down in South Carolina. A couple of weeks before, pitching for a team in Greer, he’d struck out 13 of the big mill workers from Easely. Someone said...
Spartanburg’s Unique Carolina Association Ballpark
Spartanburg, South Carolina, is sited on the Piedmont Plateau between the more crowded civilizations of Charlotte and Greenville. Thomas Wolfe, in Look Homeward, Angel, described Spartanburg as a "sleepy junction" within a "hot baked autumnal land, rolling piedmont...
The Glorious Life of a Class D Ballplayer in 1909
Excerpts from the in-progress biography of Jack Corbett entitled The Book About Jack Corbett and a Lot of Other Stuff. Corbett began the 1909 season playing for the Charleston Sea Gulls of the Class C South Atlantic League. A good infielder who was outmatched by Class...
Robbery in the Park and the Attack on Umpire Bailey
The following is an excerpt from the in-progress biography of Jack Corbett entitled, The Book About Jack Corbett and a Lot of Other Stuff. The incident occurred in Columbia, South Carolina, on the afternoon of June 11, 1909, following a minor league baseball game...
The Book About Jack Corbett and a Lot of Other Stuff – Part 1
The Name on the Base Jack Corbett's best friend is Jack Corbett; his ideal, Jack Corbett; his criterion, Jack Corbett; and his hero, Jack Corbett… It has been said that we must judge a man by the enemies he makes. Corbett has plenty of them, but it is safe to say that...
