Our History

By Alan Ford
Star Sports Editor

Baseball in Shelby has been an integral part of the sports scene for most of the past century.
Besides the hundreds of youngsters who play every year for youth and scholastic teams, many others played on the slew of old mill-sponsored clubs when textiles were king in these parts. Those leagues also were the first step for many individuals to go on and find success at the college and even pro levels.

Here are some of the highlights of Shelby’s storied baseball past:
The 1945 Shelby legion squad — coached by “Pop” Simmons and assistant Lloyd Little — won the national title at old Griffith Park in Charlotte.

Shelby Post 82 has six state championships to its credit — in 1942, 1945, 1951, 1957, 1958 and 2001.

Shelby hosted the 1957 and 1958 American Legion Southeast Regionals at the old Sumter Street ballpark. Future big-league catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver was one of the stars of the 1957 tournament.

Roger McKee, who helped pitch Shelby to the 1942 North Carolina Legion crown, went on to pitch in the major leagues. When the lefthander started for the Philadelphia Phillies on the final day of the 1945 season at Shibe Park in Philly, he put his name in the recordbook as the youngest pitcher to start a major league game in the 20th century. McKee later coached the Post 82 team.

Tom Wright from Shelby was known as a hard-hitting outfielder and went on to become a teammate of the legendary Ted Williams with the Boston Red Sox in the late 1940s.

Bill Champion of Shelby was a standout in high school and Legion in the 1960s and went on to pitch eight years in the major leagues (1968-75) with the Phillies and Brewers.

Norris Hopper, a two-sport star in Shelby who played a season for Post 82, is now an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds.

Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry spent a season as the Shelby American Legion coach in the late 1980s.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Smokey Burgess — who had one time owned the Major League record for career pinch hits — called nearby Forest City home but played his American Legion ball in Shelby in 1942-43.

Shelby was also a stop for many major league players during their minor league days. Such players as future Yankees Fritz Peterson and Jerry Kenney, Lenny Dykstra (Mets and Phillies) and Jose DeLeon (Pirates and Cardinals) spent time playing for the different team incarnations. Such major league players as Nolan Ryan, Don Mattingly, Otis Nixon, Greg Gagne and Danny Jackson were among the notable players on visiting clubs that played the Shelby minor leaguers.

The site of the regional and World Series, Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium, first opened for play in 1976. It was remodeled in 2002 for the Southeast Regionals before undergoing its present renovation. Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium also hosted the 2004 North Carolina American Legion State Championship Tournament.