Leaksville-Spray-Draper Triplets Baseball Team

From 1934 until the 1942 Season, Leaksville-Spray-Draper had a team in the Class D Bi-State League known as the Triplets.  Other teams included the Danville Leafs, Reidsville Luckies, and Winston Salem Twins (See bottom of page for a chart showing the Bi-State League).  The team played their home games at Tri-City Baseball Park in Draper.

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1- Leaksville outfielder Joe Frazier was only 19 years old when this photo was taken in 1941.  A native of Liberty, NC, he eventually went on to spend parts of four seasons in the big leagues, primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League.
2- Second baseman Al Letrick works on his fielding in front of the Leaksville ballpark's grandstand in 1941. It was a very nice park when it was originally built in the 1930s.  It had an approximate seating of 1,500.
3- The 1941 Leaksville-Spray-Draper Triplets who won the Bi-State League pennant that year. Front row: Cecil "Zip" Payne, Cotton Powell, Harry Land, Charlie Cuellar, unidentified. Back row: Vinnie Fernandez, Lynwood "Hank" Tillotson, unidentified, Harold Scalpini, Al Letrick, Ken Ryhne, unidentified, Joe Frazier, unidentified
4- Toler Ransome from Buchanan, Virginia (left) and unidentified Tri-City player (right) in photo was taken in either 1941 or 1942.  The following was e-mailed in from Gary Wade concerning this photo:

(Photo and information submitted by Chris Holaday and Herman Searcy)

Chris Holaday has written two books, Baseball in the Carolinas and Professional Baseball in North Carolina, which can be purchased from McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers; Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. Or follow the links on the titles above, or go to www.mcfarlandbaseball.com .

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