The Town of Kingstree's Recreation Center was the scene of an opening-day baseball jamboree last weekend. It is interesting to note that town-sponsored organized sports for our youth is a relatively new phenomenon. In the late 1890s, early 1900s, only adults played organized baseball, while in July 1901, six little boys were arrested by the police chief and charged with playing ball in the street. They were taken to Mayor's Court where Mayor W.H. Kennedy gave them a strong reprimand in lieu of a fine. After that, the little boys gathered late on summer evenings on the courthouse square to play ball.
Apparently, in the 1890s young men, both black and white, formed teams that played teams from other towns, but there appears to have been no real organization. While the teams were segregated and generally played teams from neighboring towns, on occasion the black and white teams in Kingstree played each other. And regardless of which team was playing, the crowds gathered to watch them included large numbers of both black and white citizens.
In June 1898, two white teams formed in Kingstree. They were known as the Sluggers and the Regulars. They played each other on a lot behind Louis Jacobs' house on the corner of Main and Longstreet, now the site of Hardee's. It is not clear, but it's possible that players from both teams represented Kingstree that year when playing teams from other towns. Toward the end of the season, the Kingstree team adopted a goat as its mascot. The spectators would then cheer, "Razzle! Dazzle! Zip! Boom! Kingstree Boys! Rah! Rah! Rah! GOAT!"
April 1900 saw the organization of another Kingstree team. The boys on this team practiced daily until the opening game on June 26, when they hosted the team from Lake City. Prior to the game Kingstree residents treated the visitors to a picnic in the grove in front of R.J. Kirk's home. The game began at 4 p.m. on this intensely hot day. Kingstree emerged victorious, whipping the Lake City team 16-5.
On July 31, 1901, almost all businesses in Kingstree closed for the day as everyone in town turned out to watch the Kingstree team play a double-header. The local team lost the morning game but won in the afternoon. On August 9, the lady friends of team members held an ice cream festival at the ball field, raising $20 to help support the team. The County Record reported that the Kingstree team had a "spotty" season in 1901, but noted that the local boys had played a number of teams that hired semi-pro players while all Kingstree's talent was homegrown.
By 1902, the Kingstree team moved to a field marked out on land behind the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church. C.D. Jacobs was the team's manager with J.F. Scott serving as captain. The team held a number of fund-raising "entertainments" at the Court House to acquire enough money to build a fence around the new field.
When a new graded and high school was built, the high school boys laid out a baseball diamond behind the school in the spring of 1905 and played ball during recess. That year, the town's baseball team had a very successful season, playing 31 games and losing only one series to Clio.
The summer of 1905 also saw the formation of two, mixed-gender baseball teams, named the Blues and the Greens. Rosters for the two teams were Greens: Pearl Montgomery, pitcher; Grace Van Keuren, catcher; Grant Van Keuren, first base; Mantie Coker, second base; Henry Ferrell, shortstop; Annie Reddick, third base; Nita Whitehead, right field; Lila Hammet, centerfield; Theodore Hemingway, left field. The Blues: Sadie Meyer, pitcher; Ernest Evans, catcher; Ernest Epps, first base; Louis Stackley, second base; Massie Lee Estes, shortstop; Wesley Courtney, third base; Peele Epps, right field; Benton Montgomery, center field; and Florrie Jacobs left field. The two teams played a number of games against each other that summer, with the Greens winning the championship in the end.
By 1909, an Athletic Association had been formed, and members cleared a lot in New Town for a baseball diamond. That year saw the first of what was to become an annual event in which the married. men of Kingstree played the single men. That first game, played on April 20, was riddled with errors and won by the married men, 25-20.
Kingstree High had fielded an official baseball team by 1911. That year they played Lake City in Lake City and were defeated 17-10. The Kingstree girls were not allowed to accompany the team to Lake City but walked the four-and-a-half miles to Brockington to meet the team on its way home, providing moral support after the defeat.
In 1915, the annual game between the married and single men was played on May 21. Those playing were Marrieds: W.N. Jacobs, catcher; H.H. King, second base; J.H. Epps, first base; John Jennings, center field; W.K. McIntosh, third base; W.L. Taylor, pitcher; R.C. McCabe, shortstop; C.D. Jacobs, right field; Thomas McCutchen, left field. Singles: A.L. McElveen, catcher; H. Britton, second base; Virgil Kinder, right field; W.S. Gilland, first base; S.J. Montgomery, center field; George Covington, pitcher; Raymond Speigner, third base; T.C. Jacobs, shortstop; and L.D. Rodgers, left field.
In the Spring of 1915, the Kingstree Baseball Association was organized in a meeting at the Court House. P.H. Stoll was elected president; W.T. Wilkins, vice president; Thomas McCutchen, Manager; W.L. Taylor, assistant manager; J.W. Cook, treasurer; and J.D. O'Bryan, secretary. The association was looking for 100 members with an annual membership fee of $5. It was also looking for land that could be fenced and on which a grandstand could be built. They planned to recruit players from high schools and colleges across the state. By early May, $500 in memberships was secured and plans were made to lay out a field in North Kingstree at the fair grounds (now the location of Kingstree Junior High School). The first games were played June 28-30. The Baseball Association's team for 1915 included: C.C. Epting, pitcher; E. Holmes, catcher; Fred Lanham, first base; M. Martin, second base; H.T Bolin, shortstop; C.M. Simms, third base; Jake Williams, right field; Algie King, left field; Dave Lenoir, center field. Earle Cook and W.W. Holliday were also team members. The opening game drew a crowd of 700 to 800 spectators.
Next time we'll look at Kingstree's participation in the Pee Dee League and also at the Kingstree Royals.
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