Hurricane Helene: Appalachian History

So many greats have appeared in Asheville within McCormick Field's white lines: Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, manager Cal Ripken Sr. and batboy Cal Ripken Jr. As player Tom Nevers said, "When you think of all the great people that have played on this field before us, it's kinda neat being a part of history."

Asheville, North Carolina, is not widely recognized as a baseball crazy city. However, for a small town where flat land is hard to find and everything is far removed from the bright lights of the big cities, Asheville's part in professional baseball is remarkable. In these pages you'll find little-known stories of baseball's stars, the ups and downs of the national pastime in the Land of the Sky and a number of local heroes. Meet "Struttin' Bud" Shaney, a pitcher from the 1920s who served as athletic director, umpire and the McCormick Field groundskeeper at various times in the diamond's past. Despite his inexperience, gritty Tourists general manager Ron McKee's efforts revived the flagging franchise in the 1980s. Most recently, fiery skipper Joe "Mik" Mikulik has helped bring record numbers of fans to McCormick to cheer the Tourists to victory.

Baseball has served as the pastime of preference in Asheville, North Carolina, for more than a century. Nearly anywhere a flat lot can be found in the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, baseball has been played by locals and visitors alike, with many of the city's greatest thrills created by the hometown Tourists, who have been mainstays in the professional ranks for most of the past 80 years. Oates Park, where author Thomas Wolfe toiled as a batboy prior to attending the University of North Carolina, served as the home of the Mountaineers, Tourists, and the semi-pro Asheville Royal Giants during the first three decades of the 20th century until McCormick Field was built in the mid-1920s. The ballpark, just south of downtown Asheville, welcomed the likes of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth during exhibition contests, while future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Willie Stargell and current standouts Todd Helton and Juan Pierre honed their skills in the mountains on their way to the game's top level.

Baseball first became popular in Catawba County as a means of entertainment and competition between mills and small towns. The county's longest standing baseball program started at Lenoir College in 1903. By the mid-1920s, a mill-supported semi-pro league had been firmly established. In the 30 years that followed, three different periods of professional minor league play were anchored by legendary players like Norman "Pinkie" James, Eddie Yount, Don Stafford, Dick Stoll, and Pud Miller. Even before the successful return of Minor League baseball in 1993, Catawba County had already had its share of brushes with famous players like Hoyt Wilhelm, Carl Hubbell, and Bob Feller and infamous ones like Edwin "Alabama" Pitts and "Struttin" Bud Shaney.