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Outlaw Carolina Baseball League 1936 - 1938

Eric G. Tipton (1915 - 2001) and Tracy Corbin Hart (1910 - 1985)

Born in Virginia, Eric Tipton was an All-American football and baseball star at Duke University. In the summers, he played for the Kannapolis Towelers, including the two years they were in the ICBL "Outlaw" League. Later at Duke University, Tipton led an undefeated Blue Devils team to the Rose Bowl in 1939. (They lost to Southern California 7–3.)  That same year, Tipton signed with the Philadelphia Athletics as an outfielder. He played seven years for the “A’s,” before signing with the Cincinnati Reds.

Ulmont Baker (1908 – 1997)

Born in Kentucky, second baseman, Ulmont Baker began his baseball career in Greensboro, North Carolina in the Piedmont League in 1928.

During the early thirties, Baker played for a variety of teams from Texas to Florida to South Carolina. Like so many of the players in the ICBL, Baker was drawn to the Concord Weavers in 1938 because of the money. Sadly, that was the last year of the league.

Baker continued playing baseball until 1942 when he was drafted during WWII and joined the Navy Seabees:

Herman "Ginger" Hugh Watts (1907 - 1978) and Marvin Craig Watts (1905 - 1997)

Brothers “Ginger Watts”, catcher, and Marvin Watts, third base, were from Watts Crossroads area in rural Cabarrus County, home of the Kannapolis Towelers and Concord Weavers.  At the time of this 1941 photograph, the brothers were playing for Concord in the Class “D” North Carolina State League.

The Players

 

In the 1930s, there were so many good baseball players that not all of them could get signed with a team. With offers of decent pay as well as regular jobs in the off season, professional players from all over the country descended upon the Carolinas for the opportunity to play baseball.

Though some were professional, others came fresh out of high school or colleges to obtain the experience that would take them to the majors. The opportunity to be paid to play the game they loved was the lure, the dream, and the hope.     

William “Bill” Robert Steinecke (1907 - 1986)

Bill Steinecke (aka Bill Selph) seen here when he played catcher for the Williamsport Grays of the Class A New York-Penn League in 1936.  Steinecke played catcher for and managed the Concord Weavers under the name of Bill Selph to avoid detetection from Judge Bramham. He led the team to a league win in 1937. Some local fans blamed Steinecke for contributing to the break up the Carolina Outlaw League through his many fights and his departure from the team before the playoffs.

James Virgil “Coddle Creek” Taylor (1910 – 1970)

    Growing up on a farm along Coddle Creek in western Cabarrus County, “Coddle Creek” Taylor developed his pitching skills by knocking out knotholes inside the family’s barn. Winnie Taylor Watkins often traveled with her husband.

Norman "Butch" Woodnutt Small (1913 - 1995)

Born in the small New York town of Glen Cove, Norman "Butch" Small began his professional career as a pitcher in 1934 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals's farm system with the Martinsville Manufacturers. In 1935 he joined the Asheville Tourists in the Piedmont League and played in two other leagues before returning to Martinsville. 

Robert "Bobby" Elwood Hipps (1904-1980)

Born in Canton, North Carolina, Hipps received numerous awards in 1926 while playing baseball at Furman University. Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics signed Hipps to play with a number of  AA ball clubs. By 1929, Hipps was teaching and coaching baseball in Weaverville, North Carolina. Between 1927 and 1934, Hipps played for eighteen different ball clubs.  By 1935 at the age of 30, Bobby Hipps joined the Coolemee Cools but transferred to the Kannapolis Towelers, first as a player then as a manager.

Edwin C. “Alabama” Pitts (1909 – 1941)

Probably one of the most unusual stories to come from Hank Utley’s research is the story of Edwin C. Pitts (1909 - 1943), known to his fans as “Alabama” Pitts. Born in Opelika, Alabama, Pitts joined the Navy at 15. Four years later, Pitts, like so many young men at that time, struggled to find work. Arrest and conviction for a holdup at a grocery store landed Pitts in Sing Sing Prison. 

Harry "Slim" Ingram (1909 - 1951)

At six-foot-four, Concord first baseman, “Slim” Ingram was a power hitter with a batting average running from the high .390s to the low .400s. This photograph was taken in 1935 at home plate in Concord’s Webb Field. The new 1200-seat grandstand in the background had been built with federal emergency relief money. (Note visiting team bench on extreme right.)