Bill Ballew

A History of Professional Baseball in Asheville Bill Ballew

Asheville, North Carolina, is not widely recognized as a baseball crazy city. However, for a small town where flat land is hard to find and everything is far removed from the bright lights of the big cities, Asheville's part in professional baseball is remarkable. In these pages you'll find little-known stories of baseball's stars, the ups and downs of the national pastime in the Land of the Sky and a number of local heroes. Meet "Struttin" Bud Shaney, a pitcher from the 1920s who served as athletic director, umpire and the McCormick Field groundskeeper at various times in the diamond's past. Despite his inexperience, gritty Tourists general manager Ron McKee's efforts revived the flagging franchise in the 1980s. Most recently, fiery skipper Joe Mik "Mikulik" has helped bring record numbers of fans to McCormick to cheer the Tourists to victory.