It’s baseball season! With minor league teams back in action on the diamond, baseball fans are once again able to take in America’s national pastime and cheer on their teams. In southern Appalachia, minor league baseball teams are scattered throughout the region. This year we mourn the loss of the Appalachian Rookie League, but we will do our best to take advantage of other games that will be played at those classic ballparks this summer.
With baseball enthusiasm on the rise for ourselves and other fans (we know that you are out there!), we took a look at the resources related to baseball in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, which collects materials past and present in the federal definition of the Appalachian Region. Below is a snapshot of selected resources, many of which are available for checkout or Interlibrary Loan. And, there are more not listed here!
Histories
LaMountain, Allen. Appalachian League Baseball: Where Rookies Rise. [United States] : Xlibris LLC, 2014. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV863.A53 L36 2014 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b5667978~S2
Sutter, L. M. Ball, Bat, and Bitumen: A History of Coalfield Baseball in the Appalachian South. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2009. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV863.A53 S87 2009 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3262591~S2
Ballew, Bill. A History of Professional Baseball in Asheville. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2007. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV863.N82 B35 2007 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b2646302~S2
Akin, William E. West Virginia Baseball: A History, 1865-2000. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co, 2006. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV863.W47 A35 2006 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b2590908~S2
Gallagher, Patrick W. The Berkeley Spinners: A Baseball History, 1948-1961. Royal Oak, MI: P.W. Gallagher, 2007. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV875.B47 G35 2007 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3267768~S2
Biographies
Allen, R. S. Schoolboy: Jim Tugerson : Ace of the '53 Smokies. West Conshohocken, PA: Infinity, 2008. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV865.T765 A44 2008 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b4767126~S2
Terrell, Bob. John Henry Moss: Baseball's Miracle Man. Fairview, N.C.: Ridgetop Books, 2008. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV865.M67 T47 2008 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3262378~S2
Glebe, Iris Webb. The Earl of Dublin: Baseball Career of Earl Webb, Major League Record Holder. [Ann Arbor, Mich.]: McNaughton & Gunn, 1988. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV865.W39 G54 1988
https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b2552500~S2
Pictorial works
Ballew, Bill. Baseball in Asheville. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2004. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV863.N82 B35 2004 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b2550917~S2
Scherfling, Dale. Appalachian Weekend. [Charleston, WV?]: [D. Scherfling], 2000. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV875.A1 S34 2000 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3262427~S2
Regarding the West Virginia Power.
Souvenir Programs
Charleston Alley Cats (Baseball team). Charleston Alley Cats. [Charleston, WV]: [Charleston Alley Cats], 1995. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV875.C54 C43 1995 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b8977034~S2
Knoxville Smokies (Baseball team). Knoxville Smokies Program. Knoxville, Tenn: Knoxville Smokies, 1973. ASU SPEC APP COLL GV875.K6 K66 pt.1 1993 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3682412~S2
Greenville Braves (Baseball team). Greenville Braves Official Magazine. Greenville, S.C.: Greenville Braves, 1994, 1994. ASU SPEC APP COLL CLOSED GV878.S68 G74 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b3726498~S2
Fiction
Fox, William Price, Laurence J. Hyman, Laura Thorpe, and Miles Hyman. Tales of the Diamond: Selected Gems of Baseball Fiction. San Francisco: Woodford Press, 1991. ASU SPEC APP COLL PS648.B37 T35 1991 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b1975112~S2 Includes “A Killing” by Thomas Wolfe. Part of the John and Marjorie Idol Wolfe Collection
Movies
Lewallen, M. Shawn, Gene Miller, Shane Callahan, Alex Beard, Beau Walker, Patrick Basquill, Jon Stafford, and Don Baker. Acito on the Mound. [United States] : Fiddler's Creek Productions, [2015]. ASU SPEC APP COLL VIDEO DVDisc 791 https://wncln.wncln.org/record=b8835646~S2
Want to learn more? Contact the Special Collections Research Center at spcoll@appstate.edu or 828.262.4041 for assistance.
--Blog contributed by Greta Browning, Reference Archivist/Librarian
Close-up of a baseball program from the Charleston (West Virginia) Alley Cats
Charleston, West Virginia Alley Cats baseball team program (close-up)