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Tracking Down Local Legends
Jul 01, 2008Local Legends in the Pros
Thanks to the readers out there for the feedback I’ve received on my “Local Legends in the Pros” series. I am still trying to track down information on certain players and have had trouble contacting some former players and their family members and tracking down pictures of some of the stars from past eras.
So once again, if you know any relatives, have any photos or any other information on the following players, please e-mail me at
Deacon Phillippe: Rural Retreat native starred for the Pittsburgh Pirates and started the first game of the inaugural World Series in 1903. He moved from Rural Retreat at an early age and I’m not sure he has any relatives still in the area.
Scotty Barr: Bristol, Tennessee native played two seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908-09. Spent the final years of his life in Texas.
Jim Pankovits: Played for the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox from 1984-1990. Was born in Pennington Gap (Lee County) and moved away in his youth.
Limb McKenry: Born in Piney Flats, Tenn. and pitched in the major leagues in 1915 and 1916. Spent the later years of his life in California.
Johnny Watson and Billy Baldwin: Both were born in Tazewell and both eventually reached the big leagues. Watson played briefly for the Detroit Tigers in 1930, while Baldwin played in the majors in the mid-1970s. This duo has been tough finding information on, so hopefully someone in Tazewell County can fill me in.
Walker Cress: Born in Ben Hur community of Lee County and played with the Cincinnati Reds in 1948 and 1849. I know a few athletes with that last name have participated at Lee High the last few years, so hopefully his family is still in Southwest Virginia. He lived in Baton Rouge after his playing career was over.
Lew “Noisy” Flick: Bristol native played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943 and 1944.
Frank Walker: Spent the latter part of his life in Bristol and was a teammate of Ty Cobb’s with the Detroit Tigers in 1917 and 1918.
Dave Hillman: Born in Scott County and later played in the majors from 1955-1962.
Charlie Caldwell: Bristol native earned later fame as the football coach at Princeton University and is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Two-sport star also spent time with the 1925 New York Yankees.
Bernie Creger: Born in Wytheville and played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947. Passed away in 1997 in Lynchburg. I know the Creger name is common in Wythe County, so hopefully his family is out there and can help me out.
Clarence Fletcher “Lefty” Thomas: Glade Spring native pitched in the majors in mid-1920s.
Clarence “Tilly” Walker: Born in Telford, Tenn. and later lived in Unicoi County. Power hitter during the infancy of MLB. Thanks for the commenter on the previous blog for pointing out Mr. Walker’s career to me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks again for your feedback.
Those Country Boys Could Play
Jun 25, 2008Local Legends in the Pros
Sometimes I feel like I was born about five decades too late. All my life, the 1950s and 1960s have always been intriguing to me and I can’t seem to get enough of the time period.
While playing high school football, I wore No. 19 and sported a flat-top in honor of Johnny Unitas. I know and think it’s cool that April 6 is not only my birthday, but that of Merle Haggard as well. My iPod includes selections from Chuck Berry.
But the biggest reason I love the 50s and 60s was not for the music, the great television shows or just because I’m a nostalgia nerd. No, it’s for the baseball. It was the glory era of the sport and was the focal point of Ken Burns’ phenomenal, nine-part Baseball documentary.
It also led me to a summer project.
In Wednesday’s edition of the Bristol Herald Courier, a story appeared on Dante, Va. native Harry Perkowski. The left-hander pitched eight seasons in the major leagues, mainly with the Cincinnati Reds.
The story is the first in a series of stories scheduled this summer on ex-big leaguers from Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. Profiles of Abingdon’s Gail Harris and Wythe County’s Jim Archer will appear in the BHC in the coming days.
I also need your help. If you have any information, know any family members or how I could contact them, have pictures or just want to share some stories, please feel free to e-mail me at
Here are some players that I am particularly interested in:
Deacon Phillippe: He was born in Rural Retreat but moved to the Midwest a short time later. Biggest claim to fame was starting the first World Series game in history, 105 years ago.
Bernie Creger: Wytheville native appeared in 15 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947.
Tracy Stallard: Right-hander from Coeburn compiled a 30-57 record in his big league career. Is best known for allowing Roger Maris’ 61st home run in 1961. What isn’t well known is Stallard lost that game 1-0. Or that Maris hit home runs off two Southwest Virginia players that summer – Jim Archer from the Max Meadows community of Wythe County and Stallard.
Dave Hillman: Born in Dungannon, Va. and last I heard, was living in Kingsport. Played in the majors from 1955-1962
Charlie Caldwell: Born in Bristol, but moved to New Jersey in his youth. His lone appearance in the big leagues came in three games in 1925. Better known for his football accomplishments at Princeton University.
Billy Baldwin: Born in 1951 in Tazewell and later played in the big leagues in the mid-1970s.
Johnny Watson: Like Baldwin, was born in Tazewell. Appeared in four games for the Detroit Tigers in 1930.
Limb McKenry: Right-handed pitcher spent two seasons in the majors (1915-16) and was born in Piney Flats.
Lew Flick: One of the few players born in Bristol, Tenn. to reach the majors. Played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943 and 1944 and is buried in Weber City, Va.
Scotty Barr: Another Bristolian, who also played for the Philadelphia Athletics as a utility player. His big league time included a brief stint in 1908-09.
Walker Cress: Born in the Ben Hur community of Lee County, but spent most of his life in Louisiana and passed away in Baton Rouge in 1996. Played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1948 and 1949.
Nick Cullop: Chilhowie native pitched in the majors from 1913-1921, including a stint with the New York Yankees. Buried in Smyth County.
Lefty Thomas: Born in Glade Spring and pitched for the Washington Senators sparingly in 1925 and 1926. It’s pretty neat that the Washington County native was in the same pitching rotation as the legendary Walter Johnson. According to several Web Sites, buried at Knollkreg Memorial Park in Abingdon.
That’s a long list. Hopefully, some baseball historians reading this can help me gather information and get in touch with the players still with us or their families.
Cito Gaston? No way!
Jun 21, 2008Cito Gaston, I thought you were lost.
When news broke Friday that the Toronto Blue Jays had fired mean, old John Gibbons and hired (just plain old) Cito Gaston, a big, big smile flashed across my face. Meanwhile, my brain ran through files. Cito Gaston? The Cito Gaston? Mastermind of those early 90s Jays teams that rocked MLB? Manager of Joe Carter, Dave Stieb, Kelly Gruber and the mighty Pat Borders? Yep, it turns out, that one.
It was good to hear Gaston’s name once again. And it was a kind twist of fate that the Jays returned him to the MLB-world he should have never been forced to leave.
Glad to have you back, Mr. Gaston.
Now if we could only find a way to get John Olerud back in the lineup.
Posted by Brian T. Smith Southwest Virginia shines at VHSL Spring Jubilee
Jun 07, 2008Random thoughts and musings from the Virginia High School League Spring Jubilee on Saturday at Radford University:
--- Two teams from Southwest Virginia were partying like it was 2001 on Saturday.
J.J. Kelly claimed a 14-9 win over Essex in the Group A state baseball finals, becoming the first baseball state champ from Southwest Virginia since John Battle in 2001.
Meanwhile, the John Battle girls tennis team earned a state crown with a win over George Mason in the finals. It was the first team title for the school since Battle’s baseball team won the 2001 state championship.
Meanwhile, the Gate City boys claimed the Group A team title. In nearby Blacksburg, the Abingdon duo of Adam Henderson and Randall Carter claimed the Group AA boys doubles crown. In other words, it was a good weekend for Southwest Virginia.
---- There may have not been a tougher player in Radford this weekend than J.J. Kelly pitcher Justin Wilson.
With temperatures hovering in the high-90s all weekend and the sun beating down on the field, Wilson turned in some masterful work on the mound. He started and dominated on Friday in Kelly’s 15-1 state semifinal victory over Luray and then worked 2 1/3 strong innings of relief in Saturday’s state-title clinching win over Essex.
--- The most dominant athlete at this weekend’s Jubilee. Try Broad Run High School softball pitcher Caitlyn Delahaba. Delahaba led the Spartans to their second consecutive Group AA state title with a 4-0 victory over Region IV member Tunstall in Saturday’s championship clash.
In her two games at Radford, Delahaba struck out 34 batters and yielded just two hits. She has signed with Big East Conference member Villanova.
---- Glenvar High School’s softball team suffered a 2-0 loss to Gretna in the finals of the VHSL Group A state tournament. It was the second straight year the Highlanders lost in the title game and the second straight season they wasted a strong outing by Meredith Buckley in the final game. Buckley allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out seven in a tough-luck loss. Chasidy Williams and Julianna Caldwell had Glenvar’s lone hits.
Glenvar had wins over Patrick Henry and Virginia High in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Gretna fared well in its first season as a Group A school, after years in Group AA. The Hawks also won the Group A, Division 2 state football title in the fall.
Posted by Tim Hayes Will the Falcons fly again?
Jun 03, 2008Baseball (and softball, too) are the worst prep tournament sports by far, mainly because most Virginia High School League tournaments use a single-elimination format which poorly suits the sport’s premium on consistency.
Yet there is a certain amount of magic to be found in a team that makes a postseason tournament run and advances farther than anyone predicts.
Such is the case for Abingdon’s baseball team, which will try to reach the Group AA semifinals in about two hours tonight against Region III runnerup Waynesboro.
While the Falcons finished the regular season strong and earned the No. 2 seed for the Southwest District Tournament, there were no great expectations for this team, not even after they nearly upset then-unbeaten Richlands in the SWD tourney finals.
But that game, which was decided on a rare error by senior shortstop Justin Malone, who has just two boots in 26 games, clearly showed Abingdon’s improvement. Richlands walloped the Falcons 10-1 and 9-2 in previous matchups.
Still, the Falcons’ Region IV chances looked slim at best ... until Blacksburg opened up a Tunstall-sized hole in Abingdon’s half of the bracket by ending the Trojans’ 58-game home winning streak in the regional quarterfinals.
That not only gave the Falcons a better matchup in the semifinals, but also rid them of having to play on the opponents’ home field, since Tunstall was scheduled to host the semis and finals. Given a level playing field and a lesser (though still capable) opponent, Abingdon belted Blacksburg 11-2.
Which brings us to Friday’s epic regional title game with Hidden Valley. In a 3-hour, 34-minute slugfest that featured 21 runs, 25 hits, 17 walks, five hit batters and 375 pitches (but amazingly, just one error, which was on the game’s first play), Abingdon won 11-10.
Now to the premise of this blog post—can the Falcons keep flying? Baseball being baseball, and single-elimination tournaments being single-elimination tournaments, you never know.
But ace Justin Malone and his 90-plus mile per hour heat are fully rested. Waynesboro is making a four-hour bus ride down I-64 and 81. And a huge home crowd is expected.
So the scales would seem to be tilted in Abingdon’s advantage. If they keep playing as they have over the last 20 games, in which the Falcons are 17-3, it’s going to be hard for any Group AA team to beat them tonight at home.
