The Tar Heel League was a mid-20th century Class D level professional minor baseball league, based in North Carolina in the United States. It operated during the full seasons of , and , and from the opening of the season through June 21, .
The first incarnation of the league began and ended the 1939 season with six clubs, but the following year saw the Shelby Nationals and Newton-Conover Twins — one third of the Tar Heel League — drop out on July 19, 1940. The entire league then shut down for 1941 and through World War II.
During the postwar boom in minor league baseball, the Tar Heel circuit remained dormant, while the Class D level North Carolina State League resumed play in and a new Class D circuit, the Western Carolina League, entered organized baseball in . When the 1950s brought dwindling attendance to minor league baseball and clubs and leagues began to contract, the North Carolina State and Western Carolina leagues merged into a revived Tar Heel League for 1953. A large, ten–club circuit, the 1953 THL shed two teams on June 11 and relocated a third. The 1954 Tar Heel League fielded four teams, before permanently folding 50 games into the season. The Western Carolina League returned to baseball in 1960, and still plays as the Class A level South Atlantic League. Cities represented Forest City, NC: Forest City Owls 1953–1954 Gastonia, NC: Gastonia Cardinals 1939–1940 Hickory, NC: Hickory Rebels 1939–1940, 1953–1954 High Point, NC & Thomasville, NC: High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms 1953 Lenoir, NC: Lenoir Indians 1939; Lenoir Reds 1940 Lexington, NC: Lexington Indians 1953 Lincolnton, NC: Lincolnton Cardinals 1953 Marion, NC: Marion Marauders 1953–1954 Mooresville, NC: Mooresville Moors 1953 Newton, NC & Conover, NC: Newton-Conover Twins 1939–1940 Salisbury, NC: Salisbury Rocots 1953 Shelby, NC: Shelby Nationals 1939; Shelby Colonels 1940; Shelby Clippers 1953–1954 Statesville, NC: Statesville Owls 1939–1940; Statesville Blues 1953; Statesville Sports 1953
Yearly standings & statistics
1939 Tar Heel League
Team nameWLPCTGBManagers Gastonia Cardinals7236.667 -- Al Unser Lenoir Indians6146.57010½Clarence Roper Statesville Owls5651.52315½Stuffy McCrone Shelby Nationals 5059.45922½ Edward Montague Hickory Rebels4862.43625Louis ViauNewton-Conover Twins3669.34334½Mack Arnette Playoffs: Gastonia 3 games, Shelby 1. Statesville 3 games, Lenoir 0. (1 tie.) Finals: Gastonia 4 games, Statesville 3. Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Hooper TriplettGastoniaBA.391Ralph FoxNewton/ConoverW17 James GuinnShelby Hits161 Miles GardnerGastoniaW17 Birch DouglasLenoirRuns127Lefty GuiseLenoirERA2.82 Hooper TriplettGastoniaRBI115William SkinnerHickorySO212 Hooper TriplettGastoniaHR27Miles GardnerGastoniaPCT.773 17–5
1940 Tar Heel League
schedule Team nameWLPCTGBManagers Statesville Owls7337.664 -- Stuffy McCroneGastonia Cardinals6444.5938Milt Bocek Hickory Rebels5452.50917Woodrow Traylor Lenoir Reds 5355.49119 Ray Rice Newton-Conover Twins 2745.375NAArthur Hauger / Ginger Watts Shelby Colonels 1654.229NALou Haneles / Art PatchinNewton-Conover and Shelby disbanded July 19. Playoffs: Hickory 3 games, Gastonia 0. Statesville 3 games, Lenoir 2. Finals: Statesville 4 games, Hickory 1.Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Milt BocekGastoniaBA.364Herman DrefsStatesvilleW17 Milt BocekGastonia Hits157 Frank MotleyNewton-ConoverSO174 Milt BocekGastoniaRuns98 Robert BaileyLenoirERA1.99 Milt BocekGastoniaRBI109Price FergusonStatesvillePCT .824 14–3 Frank ShoueLenoirHR16 Robert TraylorHickoryHR16
1953 Tar Heel League
schedule Team nameWLPCTGBAttendManagers Marion Marauders7435.679 --35,322 Bob BealForest City Owls7240.6433½48,812Len Cross / Boger McGimseyShelby Clippers6049.5501419,247David Coble Mooresville Moors 5855.5131819,413Jim Mills Lincolnton Cardinals /Statesville Sports 4764.4232827,866Burl Storie / Hugh Rudisill /Jr. Dodgin/ Charley KnightHickory Rebels4666.41129½22,742William Parker Salisbury Rocots4467.3963121,690Sheriff Robinson High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms1328.317NA5,862Jim Gruzdis / John Lybrand Statesville Blues 1328.317NA20,925Fred Chapman / Charley Knight
High-Point-Thomasville & Statesville disbanded June 11. Lincolnton moved to Statesville July 12. Playoffs: Marion 4 games, Shelby 2. Lexington 4 games, Forest City 2. Finals: Lexington 4 games, Marion 2.
Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Don StaffordHi-Toms/LexingtonBA.374Kelly Jack SwiftMarionW30 Bob BarkerMarion Hits166 Kelly Jack SwiftMarionSO321 Carl MillerMarionRuns129Jose NakamuraShelbyERA2.40 Don StaffordHi-Toms/LexingtonRBI124Jim SmileyMarionPCT.857 12–2 Carl MillerMarionHR21
1954 Tar Heel League
schedule Team nameWLPCTGBAttendManagers Hickory Rebels3418.654 --8,598 Charlie Teague Marion Marauders2626.50088,203Robert KnokeForest City Owls2424.50088,147Woody Rich / Richard McKeithanShelby Clippers 1632.3331612,000 Harold Kollar The League disbanded June 21. Player statistics Player TeamStat TotPlayerTeamStatTot Mike YaremchukHickoryBA.376Russell WingoHickoryW11 Mike YaremchukHickory Hits74 John CatheyForest CitySO95 Mike YaremchukHickoryRBI45Leo DavisHickoryERA1.82Lou McCotterHickoryRuns52Russell WingoHickoryPCT.733 11–4 Joe CristelloForest CityHR5 Harold KollarShelbyHR5
References