Tar Heel Boys of Summer: North Carolina's Major League Ballplayers

By Frank V. Tursi

At the heart of this book are thirty-four personality profiles of North Carolina natives who played in the major leagues. Many of their stories are told for the first time. Collectively, the profiles paint a picture of a time long gone, when baseball truly was America's pastime, played in every schoolyard and hamlet. The North Carolina presented here was a state dominated by family farms and small towns centered around textile mills. Young men left the farms and the mills to play a game, not for money, but for the sheer joy of it.

The book features a complete compendium of all 501 North Carolina natives who played in the major leagues, including the Negro Leagues. Each entry includes the player's primary position, hometown, dates of birth and death, teams played for and dates, and a career statistical summary. Bulleted biographical tidbits provide insights into the player's career and life. Also included are complete batting and pitching stats for each player, statistical snapshots which have never before been published.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 147669267X
• ISBN13: 9781476692678
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 236 Pages
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.0" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up