Headland Dixie Runners

The Wiregrass Farmer

May 1947

The Wiregrass Farmer

June 1947

The Wiregrass Farmer

Jan 1948

full article that contains the clippings above

Feb. 1948, The Wiregrass Farmer

The Wiregrass Farmer

March 1948

slides from the Sam Vann, Jr. family collection

Announcer for Dixie Runner games, Hank Stroup, Sr.

See banner and far-right column.

March 1950

The Wiregrass Farmer

June 1950

One of the players, Joe Kennedy, lived next to us on Main S..  He rented a little efficiency apt from Mrs. Inez Murphree. He would come to town on a big black motorcycle and wearing a black leather jacket. He played third base. I don't think he was very good, but he was really cool.  - Don McClendon

I was 7 years old in 1950 and peripherally aware of the Headland Dixie Runners.  At the time, I had no idea that my brother, Dink, was president of the club.  Among my treasures today is a baseball with his name printed on it as President.

My dad was a big fan of the team and he took me to a number of the games.  At one time I had a baseball autographed by all the players, but I recently passed that on to Larry Smith, the official Henry County Historian, for inclusion in the county archives.

As a humorous aside, I remember I was allowed to sell cold soft drinks at some of the games.  My grip was not strong enough to hold the bottle in one hand and pop the top with the other, so I would hold the bottle between my legs to get enough leverage to pop the top with the opener.  Of course, the bottles were cold and wet, so by the time I made one round of drinks, I looked like I had peed my pants.  I caught a lot of grief about that from some of my running buddies like Bud West and Norman Holman.

I'll bore you with a few recollections about the team.  I remember several of the players' names.  "Big John" McPherson played first base and was team captain.  "Shorty" Stone was a pitcher.  I believe he was involved in the incident where an opposing player was struck in the head by a pitch and subsequently died.  Newell Pangburn played second base (I think).  Al Rivenbark was third base and/or outfielder.  Al Daffner - not sure of position.  Other names have slipped my mind now as I no longer have the signature ball to refresh my memories.

I have no idea if the Dixie Runners ever had a winning season or even how many seasons they played, but I know it was great fun watching them and a very fond portion of my childhood.

- Caleb Halstead

Here's a photo and story that is confusing me a bit.  This is a year before the start of the semi-pro league.  However, it mentions the naming of a Headland team "Dixie Runners."  Was this another league?  Or was this part of the process in eventually landing the semi-pro team a year later?

The Dothan Eagle

June 1947

the caption for easier viewing

The Wiregrass Farmer

Feb 1948

The Wiregrass Farmer

Apri 1950

And click here to learn a tragic death of player who came to bat at the Peanut Stadium in Headland.  My dad shared this story.  Not sure if he was at the game or not.  I can't remember.