The Complete Archive

A longtime listener to Public Radio, I tuned in to “Weekend Edition” three days after Christmas this year on WEPR, South Carolina’s Upstate NPR affiliate. This last weekly installment of one of my perennially favorite shows, the year-end broadcast featured highlights from the past year from the worlds of politics, literature, entertainment, and sports. In addition to the Paris Olympics and the final arrival of Caitlin Clark and the WNBA as a force to be reckoned with in the national consciousness, the sports segment also noted the greater than usual number of passings from Major League Baseball.

Yes, for sure, but maybe just once. I’ve done some research that confirms it because a friend told me he had, but I had not seen anything in my newspaper database searches for my book about Duncan Park stadium that would have given me a clue.

At four o’clock P.M. on Thursday, September fifth, a group of Spartanburg civic leaders, elected officials, and public benefactors gathered at the youth ballfields at historic Duncan Park for the groundbreaking of a comprehensive renovation project which will significantly improve this underutilized public facility and stimulate participation of youth from neighboring and center city communities in youth sports.

On July 17, 2024, in Orlando the world of sports lost one of its best known and most talented executives. On that day Pat Williams, the retired Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic, succumbed to complications from viral pneumonia, surrounded by the family who loved him. He had been admitted to the hospital in Orlando, his longtime home, suffering from this unforgiving disease at age 84.

What's in a name? In sports, quite a lot. In baseball, sometimes myths and legends. The name “Yankees” conjures a pantheon of the sport’s greatest players. “Wrigley Field” and “Fenway Park” are the holiest of holy MLB venues. The Atlanta “Braves” were home to “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron, one of the noblest and most beloved players of all time. Ted Williams was “Teddy Ballgame,” Pete Rose “Charlie Hustle,” and Ty Cobb the “Georgia Peach.”

The build-up had been promising: “Sluggers Battle Grays Here Tonight,” the Spartanburg Herald had optimistically promised on the day of the game, March 27, 1948. The Homestead Grays were one of the best teams in the Negro National League, and local fans knew them well. Their roster included Buck Leonard at first base, Luke Easter in left field, Luis Márquez in center, and Tom Parker in right and on the mound.

Tim Hosley Didn’t Play Baseball at Duncan Park…But he did play fast pitch softball. Tim was a gifted high school athlete: he played both basketball and football at the old Carver High School on Union Street before the integration of White Spartanburg High School and Black Carver High in 1970, and before that he had played youth league baseball.

When Harry Dallara died in Spartanburg on Friday, April 27, 2012, he had at least four nicknames. Three were based upon his skill as a tire salesman, first at Montgomery Ward and later at Sears Roebuck, beginning at the old downtown Sears store on Church Street near Wofford College.

At least that's what the quirky late 1960s hippie songwriter Biff Rose might say if he were alive and living in Spartanburg today. In fact he might say, "They're happening!" because the upcoming week of October 22nd-28th will feature no fewer than three events related to the launch of my Duncan Park: Stories of a Classic American Ballpark by The Hub City Press, the leading literary publisher in the Southern United States.