Born and raised in Cliffside, North Carolina, "Pick" Biggerstaff attended Gardner-Webb College. In 1936, he was an outfielder and manager of the 1936 playoff champion Valdese Textiles. He remained active in the minor leagues until joing the service during the Korean Conflict.
Tennessee native Ken Chitwood played for the Concord Weavers and was notorious for aiming at the batter's head. Fights usually broke out when one of Chitwood's pitches struck the batter. Ulmont Baker recalls his teammate,:
Yes, there really was a "Crash" Davis who was born in Georgia, but grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina. He went onto play baseball in high school, the American Legion, Duke University, for the Philadelphia Athletics, and for one summer in 1937, the Gastonia Spinners, a team in the infamous Independent Carolina "Outlaw" Baseball League.
Davis was seventeen at the time and had just completed his freshman year at Duke when he signed up to play with the Spinners.
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Barton played for the Chicago Cubd in 1931 and 1932 as an outfielder. He joined the Carolina Outlaw League and played for the Kannapolis Towelers in 1936 and 1937 and later for the Hickory Rebels. Oddly enough, Barton batted left handed and threw with his right.
In school, Glenn Miller was nicknamed "Razzy," and in pro baseball, his teammates called him "Preacher." Born in Rockwell, North Carolina, Miller went onto play baseball, basketball, and football at Lenoir Rhyne College. After graduation in 1930, he taught school in Landis, North Carolina, and spent his summers playing ball. Miller decided to enter the ministry and graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary in June of 1934 and served two parishes while still playing centerfield in semi-professional baseball.
Photo: George Barley fires one off the pitcher's mound in spring training with the New York Yankees, 1941.
The 1936 Kannapolis Towelers
Front row, kneeling, left to right: Batboy, George Barley (P), Grey Clarke (3B), “Razz” Miller (OF), Reynolds (INF), Beams (INF), Ginger Watts (C-MGR); Back row, standing: Vince Barton (OF), Fletcher Heath (2B), Marvin Watts (SS), Frank Hopkins (1B), Wilson (P), Horne (P), Gillespie (P), “Lefty” Archer (P), Rhem (P). Not Shown: Virgil “Coddle Creek” Taylor (P), "Chick" Suggs (OF).
The 1937 Kannapolis Towelers. Kneeling, left to right: Dunbar, Fletcher, Heath, “Coddle Creek” Taylor, Hayes (P), Bill Parker (P), Parks, Herman “Ginger” Watts (C), Harris. Back row, standing: Ellis Taylor, Tracey Hart (P), Marvin Watts (SS), Jim White (P), “Razz” Miller (OF), Eric Tipton, "Chick" Suggs (OF), Vince Barton (OF), Morris Wilson (P).
Outlaw behavior was common among owners, team management, and players before and during the time of the ICBL. Fights were not uncommon among the players or the fans if an umpire made an unpopular call. Managers, on the behalf of the owners, made financial offers to out-of-work players that were impossible to refuse, contract or not.
The roots of the Independent Carolina Baseball League (ICBL), nicknamed the Outlaw League began in the Carolina Textile League. Various textile owners supported local baseball teams. The local clubs served as training grounds for unemployed, professional baseball players, and college baseball stars who all hoped to be noticed by scouts for the major ball clubs. Assured of a mill job in the off-season, the Textile League attracted players from all over the country.