Leo "Muscle" Shoals
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Leo Cleveland "Muscle" Shoals, born on October 3, 1916 in Gauley, West Virginia and died on February 23, 1999 in Glade Spring, Virginia. He was often called the Babe Ruth of the minor leagues.
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[edit] Minor league career
He made his professional debut in 1937 in the Pennsylvania State League for the St. Louis Cardinals organization. A muscular 220-pounder, Shoals quickly established himself as a formidable slugger. In 1939, playing for Johnson City in the Appalachian State League, he hit .365, with 16 home runs. Two years later, he hit 26 home runs in the Cotton States League.
In 1946 and 1947, Shoals played for Kingsport of the Appalachian League, where he batted .333 and .387. His only full year in the Carolina League was in 1949, and it was the best year of his career. The enormously popular Shoals pounded out 55 home runs for the Reidsville Luckies, a league record never equaled and not seriously challenged since Tolia "Tony" Solaita's 49 homers in 1968. Shoals also led the league in runs batted in and missed the batting title by only two percentage points. The highlight of his season was a three-home-run, 15 total-base game against Greensboro on June 12. In his last at-bat, Shoals lined a single off the wall, only inches from his fourth homer. No Carolina League player has ever hit four home runs in a game.
Late in the season, the hapless St. Louis Browns offered to bring Shoals up to the majors. He declined for several reasons, including his wife's pregnancy. He also would have taken a pay cut. Shoals was the beneficiary of so many passed hats, $20 handshakes, and merchant discounts that he couldn't afford to leave.
The Cincinnati Reds, a much more prestigious major league organization than the perennially inept Browns, drafted Shoals and signed him to a minor league contract in 1950; he was sent to Columbia, South Carolina, of the South Atlantic League. Shoals subsequently disappeared for several games on the road trip to Jacksonville, Florida. When he finally showed up, he was released. Reidsville signed him for the remainder of the season, but the magic was gone. He batted only .224 in 116 at-bats. Shoals finished his career back in Kingsport. When he retired after the 1955 season, his career minor league stats included a .337 batting average, 362 home runs, and 1,529 runs batted in. He currently ranks 10th on the all-time minor league home-run list.
[edit] Career highlights
- Led the Appalachian League in homers five times: 1939 (16), 1946(21), 1947(32), 1951(30), and 1955(33). Also led The Carolina League in 1949(55) and the Mountain States League in 1954(18).
- Led the Appalachian League in batting 3 times: 1939 (.365); 1947 (.387); 1951 (.383) and also led 1952 Tri-State League (.320) and 1953 Mountain States League .427.
- Led the Appalachian League in RBI in 1951 (129) and 1955 (134) and the Carolina League in 1949 (137).
- Triple Crown Winner in 1951 Appalachian League and missed in 1949 Carolina League by .002 in BA.
- 1949 MVP Carolina League Reidsville Luckies
[edit] Legacy
In 2004, Washington County Park Authority and the Washington County Department of Recreation, dedicated a park in the memory of Leo Shoals in Glade Spring.
