Textile Baseball left its mark
on the history of the South

By Dean Lollis 

bviously, I was not around during the glory days of textile league baseball teams. In fact, I wasn't around for ANY of it.  What I am concerned about is the legacy that the many participants of those games should be leaving for future residents in South Carolina. 

As early as the textile factories starting moving South in the 1880s, residents of the small villages popping up around them turned to baseball and other sports as a diversion and form of entertainment. 

Thomas K. Perry's book, "Textile League Baseball," says as early as 1905 teams from Greenwood started participating in baseball tournaments with other textile mill towns. 

Teams from Grendel and Ware Shoals joined others to form the S.C. Mill League in 1908. Ware Shoals finished 9-2 in that league and Grendel finished the season with a 7-4 record. 

A few years later, in 1923, Ware Shoals put together a 13-4 season to become champions of the Saluda Textile League. That same year, there was also a Greenwood Textile League. 

Over the years, Mathews, Greenwood, Grendel, Panola, Ware Shoals, Abbeville, Calhoun Falls and countless other towns across the state would field competitive Textile League teams. 

In the mid-1950s, the textile leagues started to die out. Probably by that time, Americans had found other sources of entertainment. 

Those teams from the area -- and the rest of South Carolina -- had an impact on baseball on the national league. Several textile players went on to become players in Major League Baseball. 

• Bill Voiselle.  Nicknamed Old Ninety Six, Voiselle had to receive special permission to wear a No. 96 to honor his hometown. 

• Lou Brissie.  Brissie was injured in World War II and came back to pitch in the Major Leagues with the help of a special brace. 

• John Buddy Lewis. Lewis played for Ware Shoals in 1953 and finished his Major League career with a .297 average, 71 home runs, 607 runs batted in and 95 stolen bases. He played for the Washington Senators from 1935-49. 

• Neil Chrisley. Chrisley played for Washington, Detroit and Milwaukee and hit .210 with 16 home runs and 64 runs batted in. 

• Cal Drummond. After playing on Greenwood-area Textile League teams, Drummond went on to become an American League umpire. 

• Ken Holcombe. Holcombe played for Mathews and finished his Major League career with an 18-32 record as a pitcher. 

• Numerous other players went on to the ranks of Major League baseball. Some had much briefer careers than others, but they all had the opportunity that many only dream of having. 

Those who spent their baseball careers in Textile League baseball also made contributions to area championships and to promoting the areas they represented on the field. 

The time has come for South Carolina to honor its baseball heritage on all levels before it's too late. 

Dean Lollis is the webmaster and creator of HistoricBaseball.Com. He is a resident of South Carolina.