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Thanks Windley Tatom
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These photographs were provided to the AFL Web Page by contributor, Windley Tatom.
Mr. Tatom writes, » The autographed Greenville Lions ball has a special interest story attached to it: Wilbur Hester was a Troy, Alabama native who signed with Troy at the beginning of the 1946 season. Midway through the year, he was traded to Greenville where he played out the rest of the season. At the time, Troy had a real good restaurant on the town square named the Riverside Cafe. J.D.Grimes, who was an avid baseball fan, managed the cafe. All the ballplayers hung around the Riverside to eat and pass the time with the local fans. After Wilbur Hester was traded, he talked the Greenville manager into stopping by the Riverside if they had a game in Ozark or Dothan. Many times they would choose to eat as they were returning home after a game, which meant that J.D. would have to keep the cafe open as late as 1:00 am to accomodate the players. He never refused to provide a good meal, regardless of how late it was. This ball was given to J.D. as a token of the players’ affection and appreciation. » J.D. passed away recently, and his wife was kind enough to give the ball to Mr. Tatom, who the Grimes’ had known for more than 50 years. It’s a prized possession for Windley, and he generously decided to share it with all of us. |
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Baseball signed by members of the 1946 Greenville Lions
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The autographs here are from John Serpas (1946 Greenville), Bill Hill (1946-47 Greenville),
Johnny Myers (1941, 1946-47 Greenville), Ernest Ray Luker (1946 Greenville), John Kerce (1946 Greenville) |
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The autographs of Bob « Peanut » Hasty (1946 Ozark, 1946 Greenville, 1947-48 Dothan),
Audis Gill (1946 Greenville), and the Lions’ star pitcher, Max Peterson (1946-47 Greenville) |
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The autographs of Lamar Cagle (1946 Greenville, 1947 Brewton, 1947 Ozark, 1949 Andalusia,
1950 Greenville), Francis Ankenbrandt (1946-47 Greenville), Bill Anderson (1946 Greenville), and Fred Powell (1946 Greenville) |
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The Official Ball of the Alabama State League. The ball is from a game in 1946. The
ball was caught after being fouled off, having been hit only once.. |
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The autographs of James Griffey (1946 Greenville, 1947 Andalusia), Simpson « Jim »
Bryant (1946 Greenville, 1946 Brewton, 1946 Ozark), and Wilbur Hester (1946 troy, 1946-48 Greenville) |
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AFL Hall Of Fame: 1946 Greenville Lions Baseball
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C:\AFLweb\afl hall of fame – autographed ball index.cpg
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