Baseball league expands to Statesville

By: Jim Mcnally | Mooresville Tribune
Published: October 28, 2009

Statesville is getting its own boys of summer.

Southern Collegiate Baseball League Commissioner Bill Capps announced this week that Statesville has been selected as the location of the league's newest franchise.

The team will take the name, the Statesville Owls, which was the name of a number of different minor league teams from the 1930s into the 1960s.

"We're very excited about having the Owls," Capps said. "Having a team in Statesville fills a lot of holes, especially in terms of travel."

Capps said Statesville fits nicely on the map in relation to the league's other seven teams, which are from: Johnson City, Tenn.; Asheville; Davidson; Morganton; Rock Hill, S.C.; Spartanburg, S.C.; and Clemson, S.C.

Capps said the SCBL and other summer college leagues are made up of the best collegiate players in the country.

"Let's put it this way, there are about 26,000 college baseball players in America," he said. "And between the eight leagues, only about 2,400 players play summer ball. So these guys are the cream of the crop."

Capps pointed out that unlike the rules of collegiate baseball, which allow players to use bats made of aluminum, summer league players must use wooden bats.

"These games have a lot of professional scouts at them and a lot of these players end up getting drafted by Major League teams," Capps said. "This is a very good level of baseball."

Capps said he felt certain that the citizens of Statesville will embrace the Owls.

"I think it will be great for the community," he said. "It gives people something in town that they can be a part of."

The SCBL is a nonprofit organization partially funded by Major League Baseball and is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball.

The name "Owls" is a resurrection of the former Angels affiliate from the Western Carolina League that played at Statesville High School until 1962.

There was also a Statesville Owls franchise in the Tar Heel League (1939-1940); the North Carolina State League (1942, 1947-1952); and the Western Carolinas League (1963).

Statesville Owls Executive Vice President and General Manager Hugh McBride said it was important to maintain that tie to the city's past baseball history.

"Statesville has had a long tradition of baseball," he said. "And retaining the name of the former minor league team was the right thing to do, not just for Statesville, but also to honor those Owls from the past."

The Owls will play 14 home dates at Statesville High School. The season runs from June 1 through July 17 next year.