The History of Textile League Baseball | |
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After the Civil War, the textile industry of the North began a sure
migration into the southern states. Inexpensive land, the availability of swift
rivers to generate power for the cotton mills, and cheaper labor were advantages
that industrialists could not overlook. Locating the new cotton mills close to a
source of water power meant that local towns were usually some distance away. |
Whether North or South, it was a hard life for the mill operatives, softened only by precious moments of recreation which were usually confined to Saturday afternoons and Sundays. An interesting new game, baseball, became the pride and passion of the "lintheads." Baseball quickly became an integral part of the village life, with the ball clubs getting started almost as soon as the big machines in the mills started humming. |
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From such humble beginnings heroes emerged. Champ Osteen, playing with the
mill team from Piedmont, South Carolina, was the first great star of the mill
leagues. Osteen made quite a name for himself and it was often said that he made
more money playing ball around the mill villages ($40 a month plus room and board)
than the governor of the state. |
Throughout the history of Textile League baseball many players would move from the mill to the majors - men like Chick Galloway, Bob Hazle, Ox Taylor, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, Billy O'Dell. In all, nearly one hundred players would make the jump. Easily the same number had the opportunity to move up, but decided to stay in the comfort of friends and family of the mill hill. |
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The 1930s became the true glory days of textile baseball, both in the quality of play and in spectator interest. Mill management skillfully bent the rules for players in order to justify them as employees. A man might push empty boxes for a while or walk through the mill early in the morning doing no more than carrying a hammer or screwdriver before going out to practice. At a time when the average mill worker might earn $7-$10 a week, a good player could earn as much as $100 to $200 a week. |
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By the mid 1950s, one by one, the owners began to sell the houses in the mill villages and that fierce community pride was lost. For the first time there were people living in the village whose personal welfare was not tied to the fortunes of the company, and the sense of family quietly died. But textile baseball was a way of life. It gave mill people a sense of legitimacy in a society content to see the "lintheads"' remain invisible citizens, dwelling somewhere far away on the wrong side of the tracks. It was big league pride in a small town setting. Most of all, it existed not as a sport, but as a legacy. It was a remembrance of more than a game, it was a remembrance of a way of life whose time will not come again. It was family, community, and togetherness. Textile baseball belonged to the fans and they cherish it still today. | |
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Based on the book: Books by Thomas K. Perry are available on Amazon.Com |
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