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Lawrence "Crash" Columbus Davis (1919 – 2001)

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.

Vince Barton (1908 - 1973)

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.

Glenn "Razzy" "Preacher" Alan Miller (1909 - 1981)

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.

George Barley (1914 - 2011)

Photo: George Barley fires one off the pitcher's mound in spring training with the New York Yankees, 1941. 

Eric G. Tipton (1915 - 2001) and Tracy Corbin Hart (1910 - 1985)

Born in Virginia, Eric Tipton was an All-American football and baseball star at Duke University. In the summers, he played for the Kannapolis Towelers, including the two years they were in the ICBL "Outlaw" League. Later at Duke University, Tipton led an undefeated Blue Devils team to the Rose Bowl in 1939. (They lost to Southern California 7–3.)  That same year, Tipton signed with the Philadelphia Athletics as an outfielder. He played seven years for the “A’s,” before signing with the Cincinnati Reds.

Ulmont Baker (1908 – 1997)

Born in Kentucky, second baseman, Ulmont Baker began his baseball career in Greensboro, North Carolina in the Piedmont League in 1928.

During the early thirties, Baker played for a variety of teams from Texas to Florida to South Carolina. Like so many of the players in the ICBL, Baker was drawn to the Concord Weavers in 1938 because of the money. Sadly, that was the last year of the league.

Baker continued playing baseball until 1942 when he was drafted during WWII and joined the Navy Seabees:

Herman "Ginger" Hugh Watts (1907 - 1978) and Marvin Craig Watts (1905 - 1997)

Brothers “Ginger Watts”, catcher, and Marvin Watts, third base, were from Watts Crossroads area in rural Cabarrus County, home of the Kannapolis Towelers and Concord Weavers.  At the time of this 1941 photograph, the brothers were playing for Concord in the Class “D” North Carolina State League.

The Players

 

In the 1930s, there were so many good baseball players that not all of them could get signed with a team. With offers of decent pay as well as regular jobs in the off season, professional players from all over the country descended upon the Carolinas for the opportunity to play baseball.

Though some were professional, others came fresh out of high school or colleges to obtain the experience that would take them to the majors. The opportunity to be paid to play the game they loved was the lure, the dream, and the hope.     

William “Bill” Robert Steinecke (1907 - 1986)

Bill Steinecke (aka Bill Selph) seen here when he played catcher for the Williamsport Grays of the Class A New York-Penn League in 1936.  Steinecke played catcher for and managed the Concord Weavers under the name of Bill Selph to avoid detetection from Judge Bramham. He led the team to a league win in 1937. Some local fans blamed Steinecke for contributing to the break up the Carolina Outlaw League through his many fights and his departure from the team before the playoffs.

James Virgil “Coddle Creek” Taylor (1910 – 1970)

    Growing up on a farm along Coddle Creek in western Cabarrus County, “Coddle Creek” Taylor developed his pitching skills by knocking out knotholes inside the family’s barn. Winnie Taylor Watkins often traveled with her husband.