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History of Baseball in the Upstate TEXTILE LEAGUE BASEBALL The new game of baseball was already a passion among mill workers. Owners understood the game also offered participants preparation for working at the mill. Baseball provided an atmosphere to teach respect for authority. It taught self-control, discipline and increased employee morale. It also provided a place for people to One of the earliest games in the South was in 1873 in Cokesbury, S.C. By the late 1880s, leagues were popping up throughout South Carolina. These weren’t just baseball games, they were social events. Hundreds flocked to watch the games. But outside of mill-village life, little credence was given to Textile League baseball. The city folks referred to the mill workers as "lintheads" and paid little attention to their game. That all changed when a player from Piedmont - Champ Osteen - took his skills to the North. He played in the majors before returning to coach at Furman University and Erskine College. Osteen made more money playing baseball than many of the well-to-do city folks. The success of Osteen and some of the early players from the South helped create a shift in attitude. Mill workers were no longer severely judged as second-class citizens. City businesses began to see the large crowds attending games. They also recognized there were opportunities to advertise in front of a big, consumer-oriented crowds. And as advertising revenue poured in, mill owners began to scale back the work week in order to give players more time to prepare for games. It became a money-making opportunity for mill owners. Teams began bidding for players to stay competitive. At Greenville’s Brandon Mill, a young 13-year-old floor sweeper started attracting attention with his great talent. Young Joe Jackson began to create a stir among the pro scouts from the North. As pro scouts came south to look at Jackson in the pre-White Sox years, they got to see a plethora of talent they didn’t realize existed. Players such as Ware Shoals’ Johnny Wertz were also drawing attention. This pitcher took his talents to the big leagues in the 1920s before arm trouble cut short his career. But a recruiting base was forming and with this came some interesting happenings on mill grounds. There were rules about who could participate in Textile League games. The most important rule: You had to be a mill employee. Suddenly, young men were walking around mill grounds with jobs that required little more skill than carrying a hammer. If you looked the part, you were an employee and thereby qualified to play. By the end of the 1920s, the Textile Leagues were known as the unofficial farm system of the major leagues. The 1930s were considered textile ball’s glory years. Where the average mill worker would make $7-$10 per week, the average mill worker/ball player could make as much as $100-$200 a week. The increased revenue for players and owners meant bigger and better fields. Some fields were ridiculously large. Ware Shoals’ Riegel Stadium - which still stands - was said to be so big that virtually no one could hit the ball over the center field fence. At the same time, women’s Textile Leagues and Negro Leagues began to flourish. Unfortunately, few newspaper reporters covered Negro League games. Rosel Williams, who still lives in Ninety Six, played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues and later with the Cincinnati Reds organization. Greenwood Negro League player Chino Smith was recently voted to Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Athletes of the Century. War came in the 40s and wreaked havoc on many leagues. But there were still many great players who emerged from war-time textile ball. Lou Brissie, a pitcher from Ware Shoals, played with the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Dodgers. And Bill Voiselle put his little town of Ninety Six on the map by wearing the No. 96 jersey. He is the only player to ever wear the name of his hometown on his jersey. He had to get special permission from the league in order to do so because pitchers weren’t allowed to wear such high numbers. While war time was having its effects, leagues were still surviving. Advertising on outfield fences - the kind you see today at minor league parks - became commonplace. But following the war, work began to overshadow recreation - and baseball. The 1950s saw a major decline in Textile League baseball. By the mid-50s, there were mass league shutdowns throughout the South. Some leagues held on through the 60s, and even a few into the early 70s. But the old-time magic of Textile League ball had passed. PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL IN THE UPSTATE The Upstate has been the birthplace of its fair share of Major League stars - from “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, to Jim Rice, to Larry Doby. Like Carl Yastrzemski and Ted He is one of only two American League players ever to lead his league in both triples and home runs in the same season, and he remains the only player ever to lead his league, and Major-league Baseball in triples, home runs, and RBIs in the same season. His 406 total bases that year was the most in the A.L. since Joe DiMaggio had 418 in 1937, and it made Rice the first major leaguer with 400 or more total bases since Hank Aaron's 400 in 1959. Larry Doby, born in Camden, SC, is a member of baseball's Hall of Fame and the first black player in the American League. Doby, a seven-time All-Star, hit .283 with 253 home runs and 969 RBI in his 13-year career in the major leagues. He joined the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947, 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Doby played in just 29 games that first season and collected 5 hits in 32 at-bats. The next season, he began to make his mark, hitting .301 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs. Doby was signed by the Indians when he was 22 years old and two years later he hit a home run in Game 4 of the World Series. He hit .318 in that series and reports say to 10,000 greeted him -- both white and black -- when he returned to Patterson, N.J., after the season. He led the American League in home runs in 1952 and 1954, hitting 32 in each season. In 1954, he led the league with 126 RBI. In 1949, he joined Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe as baseball's first black All-Stars. He played in six straight All-Star games. In addition, several Hall-of-Famers have called the Upstate home during their minor league playing days en route to Cooperstown. A member of the 1966 Greenville Mets, Nolan Ryan established himself as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. During his lone season in Greenville, Ryan posted a 17-2 record while becoming a Western Carolinas League All-Star, in which he was named the game’s MVP. Ryan was also named the league’s Pitcher of the Year. Ryan went on to having a successful 27-year career in the Major Leagues, establishing Major League records with seven no-hitters, and 5,714 strikeouts. Ryan had stints with the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers, en route to setting 53 major league records. An eight-time All-Star, Ryan also ranks second in percentage of Hall of Fame votes received (98.79%). He is also the only player in MLB history to have his jersey retired by three different teams – Astros, Angels, and Rangers. In just one season with the Spartanburg Phillies during 1979, second baseman Ryne Sandberg made in an impact in the South Atlantic League while leading the league in games played (136) and at bats (539). After making his major league debut in 1981 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Sandberg was seen as only as a utility infielder and was traded to the Chicago Cubs. After winning his first Gold Glove in 1983, Sandberg went onto a breakout year in 1984 in which he batted .314 with 200 hits, 114 runs, 36 doubles, 19 home runs, 19 triples, and 84 RBI, leading the Cubs to the NL Eastern Division title and being named MVP. Sandberg established himself as a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove candidate, making 10 consecutive All-Star appearances and winning 9 Gold Gloves from 1983-1991. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, and still has career marks for fielding percentage (.990) and most consecutive errorless games (123) by a second baseman. THE LEGEND OF "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON He obtained the nickname "Shoeless" when he played the second game of a doubleheader against the Anderson Electricians in 1908. Joe had bought a pair of new spikes and wore them the first game of the doubleheader, and they caused blisters on his feet. Joe wanted to sit out the second game of the doubleheader, but they didn't have enough players that day, so Joe had to play. He played the first inning in the new shoes, but they hurt his feet badly, so he took them off and played the rest of the game in his stockinged feet. During the 7th inning of that game, Joe hit a triple and as he was sliding into third base stands, one of the Anderson fans stood up and hollered, "You shoeless son of a bitch." There was a cub reporter for the Greenville News present that day, who heard the comment and wrote the next day about "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Joe only played one game in his stockinged feet, but the nickname lives on. Joe Jackson began his professional baseball career in 1908 with the Philadelphia Athletics organization. For his first two years Jackson was up and down between the minor and the major leagues, playing only ten games with the Athletics. Becoming increasingly unhappy Jackson was traded to the Cleveland Naps in 1911 where he played his first full season. The Cleveland organization would eventually be called the Indians in 1915. That year Jackson compiled a .408 batting average, a record that still stands for rookie seasons. Coming into the prime of his career, Jackson batted .395 and led the American League in triples in 1912. The next year Jackson led the league with 197 hits and .551 slugging average. In August of 1915 Jackson was traded to the Chicago White Sox. Even with his new surroundings his tremendous career continued. In 1917, Jackson and the White Sox accomplished the greatest feat in all of baseball, a World Series title. During the series Jackson batted .307 and led the White Sox to victory over the New York Giants. In 1919, Jackson and the White Sox found themselves back in the running for another World Series ring. Jackson batted .351 during the regular season and .375 with perfect fielding in the World Series. The heavily favored Sox found themselves in a losing battle against the Cincinnati Reds. During the next year while batting .385 and leading the American league in triples Jackson was suspended after allegations that 8 members of the White Sox threw the previous World Series. In 1921, a Chicago jury acquitted Jackson of helping to fix the 1919 World Series, but Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first commissioner of Baseball went against the ruling and banned all eight players including Joe Jackson from baseball for life. After being banned from baseball Jackson returned to Greenville, where he ran a liquor store and never stayed far from baseball. Jackson is reported to have hit in Textile League games when he was in his late 50s. Jackson died on Dec. 5, 1951, just 10 days before he was scheduled to appear on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" in an effort to clear his name. With Jackson's death the effort to vindicate him was put on hold for many years. ONE OF THE GREATEST MINOR LEAGUE TEAMS EVER From the batters box, the ’92 G-Braves were led by their hard-hitting catcher, Javy Lopez (.321-16-60). This performance garnered him All-Star honors and he repeated the feat in the International League the following year. Lopez joined Atlanta for good in 1994, just in time in to be part of the Braves’ pennant machine. While in the big leagues, he was named to two All-Star teams (1997-98), the second based on his 34-homer season. In mid-season, a young shortstop joined Greenville from Class A Durham. In 67 games, Chipper Jones, the first player selected in the 1990 June draft, batted an impressive .346, while collecting 37 extra base hits in only 266 at bats. Despite his brief stint, he was named to the Southern League All-Star team while also being selected Double-A Player of the Year. In 1993, Jones batted .325 for Triple AAA Richmond, picking up another slew of awards. After sitting out the 1994 season with an injury, he joined the parent Braves in 1995. So far, the high point of his stellar major league career occurred in 1999, when he batted (.319-45-110) and was named National League Most Valuable Player. The 1992 Greenville Braves, paced by a pair of future Atlanta All-Stars, won the pennant with a dominating performance. In doing so the team set two league records. No other Southern League team, past or present, has been able to better the Braves’ total of 100 wins or their winning percentage of .699. |
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socialize outside of work. 
Williams before him, Anderson’s Jim Rice was a power-hitting left fielder who played his entire career for the Red Sox. In 1978, Rice won the Most Valuable Player award in a campaign where he hit .315 (3rd in the league) and led the league in home runs (46), RBIs (139), hits (213), triples (15) and slugging percentage (.600). 
strikeouts (1,010) and shutouts (24).
