Baseball In North Carolina S Piedmont

Bordered by the Appalachian Mountains to the west and the flat coastal plain to the east, North Carolina's foothills region, also called the Piedmont, is home to a remarkable baseball heritage. For well over a century, the game has played a meaningful role in the lives of Piedmont residents. Countless thousands have participated in this national tradition and though some went on to become famous professional players in the big leagues, most never played for more than their local team. All, however, contributed to an important part of regional history. The North Carolina Piedmont has long been famous for its minor league teams, including the Durham Bulls and the Carolina Mudcats, but it's not just the professionals who helped shape the area's baseball tradition. College programs like those at the University of North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, and NC State have all figured prominently on the national scene at one time or another. High school teams from towns including Sanford have ranked among the nation's best, while American Legion teams have even captured the national championship. In the past it was the textile mills that contributed so much to the region's baseball heritage. Many of the mills only exist in memories today, but some of the teams they fielded-with names like McCrary, Wiscassett, Cannon, and Cooleemee-became local legends. With such a rich and colorful history, there is no doubt that North Carolina's Piedmont is truly baseball country.

A first edition, Insiders' Guide to North Carolina's Piedmont Triad is the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information to North Carolina's Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Highpoint region. Written by a local (and true insider), this guide offers a personal and practical perspective of North Carolina's Piedmont Triad and its surrounding environs.

Shortly after the independent Carolina League was formed in 1936, officials of the National Association of Professional Baseball—which oversaw what was known as “organized baseball,” including the major leagues—began a campaign to destroy the league. The NAPB declared the Carolina League “outlaw” and blacklisted its players because their teams were pirating professionally-contracted ballplayers with the lure of higher wages, small-town hero worship and a career off-season. Backed into a corner, the Carolina League wore its “outlaw” label with a defiant swagger, challenging the all-powerful monopoly of organized professional baseball and its standard player contract. This complete history of the league reveals how it persevered through three tumultuous seasons, fueled by the tight-knit community spirit of North Carolina Piedmont textile towns. Over its three seasons of existence, the Carolina League attracted professional baseball players from all over the country and it gave the players control over their careers, setting a standard that was resisted until free agency was adopted in 1973.

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor.