Western Carolina League (1960-1962)
Western Carolinas League (1963)
Tombstone
Born: 1960
Re-Branded: 1964 (Statesville Colts)
First Game: May 25, 1960 (W 12-7 @ Gastonia Rippers)
Last Game: August 31, 1963 (L 8-1 @ Spartanburg Phillies)
Western Carolina League Champions: 1962
Stadium
City Stadium (3,100)11963 Statesville Owls Program
Ownership & Affiliation
Attendance
Tap (mobile) or mouse over chart for figures. Tilting your mobile device may offer better viewing.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (1st ed.), Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, 1993
Background
The Statesville Owls of 1960-1963 were the last of three Minor League Baseball teams in the small western North Carolina city to use the ‘Owls’ moniker. The 1960’s ball club followed the original Owls (1939-1942) of the Tarheel League and the North Carolina State League and a post-WWII revival that played in the latter league from 1947 until 1952.
The Statesville club that formed in 1960 was one of eight founding members of the Western Carolina League, a Class D circuit that intended to develop prospects for the Continental League, a proposed third Major League set to debut in 1961. The Continental League ended up collapsing while still in the drawing board phase in August 1960, with the Western Carolina League midway through its first season.
With its assumed Major League patron dead, the WCL contracted from 8 to 6 teams in 1961 and the surviving teams hustled to secure Major League affiliations. Statesville managed to sign on with the expansion Los Angeles Angels of the American League. But the partnership would last only for the 1961 season, and the Owls ended up without a Major League sponsor for the final two years of their existence in 1962 and 1963.
J.C. Snead
The 1962 Owls squad is worth an extra mention. The club won the Western Carolina League crown with a 62-36 record, though competition was slight – the WCL had shrunk to just four member teams by the summer of 1962. Bob Bralley, a 23-year old pitcher on the team, took over as player/manager midway through the season and led the Owls on a 40-17 stretch run to the pennant.
20-year outfielder J.C. Snead led the WCL in runs scored (75) and tied for the league lead in home runs (9). Snead, the nephew of pro golf legend Sam Snead, played one more season of minor league baseball in 1963 before following his uncle into the PGA Tour. J.C. Snead notched 8 Tour victories and was the runner up at the 1973 Masters Tournament and at the 1978 U.S. Open.
Statesville Owls Shop
Links
##
One Response
Love that program. Nice doing Business with you.I think you really have a great site.