Still my favorite Atlanta Stadium

 

 

Jim Poole Baseball Poem

 

James Ralph “Easy” Poole hailed from

Alexander County, the first

Scholarship player at Lenoir College

In 1912 at age seventeen.

Easy’s dark eyes stare back

From the glossy photo Hank Utley

Had made forty years ago,

A lanky left-handed hitter

Who blasted 50 homers

For the Nashville Vols in ’30,

Played for twenty-three teams

From 1914 to 1946,

Portland, Oregon, to Statesville,

NC, everywhere between

And even all around,

Plus, three years, 1925-27

For Connie Mack in Philly.

3,089 hits, 270 home runs,

659 doubles, 99 triples.

I need no flashy words as these

Numbers are baseball poetry,

Beautiful on their own,

And if that’s not enough,

The Taylorsville boy became

A player-coach in the 30s,

Even managing two of his sons

In 1941, at Class D Fort Pierce.

Winning titles multiple times.

 It was a long road for Easy,

Which is why his eyes turned dark

As the knotholes in the ball park

Fences boys watched him through.

Jim Poole, a pretty insane minor league career--also played three years for the Phil Athletics

https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/stats/p-f64e8078 

This is what a pitcher's record looks like when he got blackballed by the NAPBL for playing in the outlaw Carolina League in 1936. Does not include outlaw league record

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hitchn001tra 

Wes Ferrell who should be in the HOF

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ferrel001wes