Rocky Mount Railroaders
Olympian and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Jim Thorpe played baseball for the Railroaders in both 1909 and 1910.
Today, a historical marker is placed in Rocky Mount honoring his minor league baseball play in the city.
[1][2] Rocky Mount and the newly formed Fayetteville Highlanders franchise joined the returning Goldsboro Giants, Raleigh Red Birds, Wilmington Sailors and Wilson Tobacconists teams in beginning league play on June 3, 1909.
Later, because of his participation in professional baseball in Rocky Mount and the amateur rules in the era, Thorpe was forced to relinquish the gold medals he won representing the United States of America in the 1912 Olympic Games.
[11] While playing for Rocky Mount, Thorpe lived in a rented room at the Cooper Home, which was located on Western Avenue and no longer exists.
[18] Thorpe later made his professional baseball debut with the New York Giants in 1913 and he played six major league seasons.
[19] In 1950, Thorpe was selected by The Associated Press as the greatest athlete of the half-century, receiving 252 of the 393 first-place votes from sportswriters and broadcasters.
[12][18] Today there is a historical marker placed at Church Street and Falls Road in Rocky Mount that honors Jim Thorpe's baseball play with the Railroaders.
[2][20][21] In the era, the Railroaders players ate pre-game meals at the Cambridge Hotel in Rocky Mount before heading to the ballpark for home games.
Five starting players for the 1909 Rocky Mount team were from Pennsylvania, three from Villanova University and two from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
The Villanova trio were the Rocky Mount catcher/manager Joe Walsh, second baseman John Murray, and center fielder Martin O’Gara.
Left fielder Joseph Libby[22] and pitcher/player Jim Thorpe were both 22-year-olds signed from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
[24][25] The Rocky Mount Railroaders ended the 1909 season with a record of 27–61 to finish 22.5 games behind the first place Wilson Tobacconists (50–39) in the final standings of the six–team league.
Catcher/manager Joe Walsh suffered from heat exhaustion during the game at League Park in Rocky Mount and had to be given time to recover.
[29] The Railroaders ended the season with a record of 43-45 and qualified for the playoff in the split-season format by winning the second half pennant.
Rocky Mount was managed by Marty Phelan and James Connors and finished 6.0 games behind the first place Fayetteville Highlanders in the overall standings.
