Pulitzer winner to detail Granite Rocks' story

Little has been said about the summer of 1951 and how Granite Falls landed itself a place in Cooperstown. But, with the 57th anniversary of the Granite Rocks' first professional baseball game just days away, an award-winning journalist is ready to bring that story back to life.

“The story of the Granite Rocks just fascinates me,” said journalist and author J.R. Moehringer. “It is interesting to think that in one of the most sacred years of baseball - Mickey Mantle's rookie year, memorable home runs and exciting pennant races - a team from North Carolina not only became the losingest team in baseball, but also among the first to integrate.”

After years of success as a textile/industrial team, the Granite Rocks, or the Graniteers, went professional. Drawing players from Caldwell and surrounding counties, the Granite Rocks went through five different managers and had a record of 14-96. The team played at what is now known as M.S. Deal Stadium, and in the last two weeks of the regular season, the team welcomed five black players from Ridgeview High School to its roster.

“Not a whole lot was said about these players, just that we needed good players,” said John German, son of one of the team's six owners. “I went to a lot of games, but don't remember too much. I do remember catching a foul ball and not being able to keep it.”

Fred Yount, the son of another owner, said he doesn't remember a lot about the season except that the team listened to “Under the Double Eagle,” an instrumental piece, before each game. He also remembers collecting glass bottles and trading them in for free hot dogs.

“Baseball was one of the few things people could do for entertainment,” Yount said. “These guys played the game because they loved it.”

As Moehringer sat Monday and listened to Yount and German share their stories, he couldn't help but wonder just one thing: How something so historically significant could get lost in the shuffle.

“It's a great mystery,” Moehringer said about the Rocks. “I am really surprised there aren't more records of the team. In fact, knowing that the team seemed to just vanish makes it even more entertaining.”

Very few of the players still are living, and in his research Moehringer is discovering that not too many people still have any memorabilia. He said he is surprised there is no plaque in the town to commemorate the team or information in local history books. But, Granite Falls Mayor Barry Hayes, who is a native of the town, said to most people, it was just another season of baseball.

“I didn't even know we were the losingest team in baseball until I read Wilt Browning's ‘The Rocks - The Story of the Worst Team in Baseball History',” Hayes said. “I think it is time though that we pay tribute to this team.”

A Pulitzer Prize winner in 2000, Moehringer said he doesn't exactly know where his story will take him or when he expects to have anything published. But as a writer who enjoys history, sports and the South, Moehringer said this story means a lot to him.

Moehringer is a 1986 graduate of Yale who started his career as a news assistant at the New York Times. Previously a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, Moehringer now is trying to re-invent his writing life.

“I am trying to finish my second book, and I also freelance for magazines,” Moehringer said. “As my own assignment editor, no idea gets thrown away. I was in town and thought it was the perfect time to visit Granite Falls and learn about the history-making Granite Rocks.”

Printer Friendly Version

E-mail this story to friend