Asheville native George Howard “Buck” Redfern attended North Carolina State University before signing with the Chicago White Sox during the 1928 and 1929 seasons. Redfern's talents enabled him to play shortstop as well as second and third base. He eventually served as the third baseman for the Concord Weavers in 1937 before moving on to the Kannapolis Towelers as their third baseman and manager in 1938.
Born in High Point, North Carolina, "Dick" Culler graduated from High Point College in 1935, where he excelled in basketball, soccer, and baseball. Known as one of the most intelligent fielders, Culler played shortstop during most of his career.
Born in South Carolina and a graduate of Furman University, "Blackie" Carter enjoyed a brief career in the majors when he played for the New York Giants between 1925 and 1926. During the 1936 innaugural season of the Carolina "Outlaw" League, Carter was managing the Charlotte Hornets. In all, he played for over eight different minor league ball clubs in North Carolina. Eventually, he settled down in his native South Carolina and became a scout for the then Brooklyn Dodgers.
Born in Alabama, Grey Clarke enjoyed a long baseball career as a third baseman. He left Quincy, Illinois, to play ball in Asheville then later joined the Kannapolis Towelers during the 1936-1937 season.
Shown here batting for a team in Dallas, Clarke hit an amazing .361 to lead the Texas League in 1941. Clarke went onto the majors and became a league leader at the plate, with a batting average of .346 for the Milwaukee Braves in 1943 and for the Chicago White Sox in 1944.
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,:
A mock funeral for the Towelers, the Kannapolis franchise, held in 1938 by Concord Weavers pitchers Ken Chitwood, Bud Voight and Witt Guise. Chitwood and Guise jumped organized baseball contracts to play in the "Outlaw League." The tombstone reads “Here lies Kannapolis - Died of growing pains.”
In 1992, Marvin Watts explained that the reason behind the small number of players appearing in this photograph was that the Outlaw League was beginning to collapse, and the professionals did not want their picture taken for fear of being banned from the major leagues.
Front row, left to right: Mickey O’Neil, Wilbur McGill, Davis (bat boy), “Buck” Redfern (3B, MGR), "Chick" Suggs (OF), “Ginger” Watts (C).
Back row: Jake Daniel, Chief Daney, Jim White (P), Marvin Watts and Terry Terhune.
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).