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.
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