‘Baseball in Rural Arkansas’ set for Tuesday
The Garland County Historical Society will present “Baseball in Rural Arkansas,” a program by baseball historian Jim Yeager, at noon Tuesday at the Garland County Library. The public is welcome to attend.
Yeager is the author of “Backroads and Ballplayers,” which features more than 50 stories and biographical chapters on the lives of professional baseball players from rural Arkansas.
“Many of the individuals highlighted in this book have careers that are now almost forgotten. It is my goal to preserve these stories and keep the accomplishments of these rural players alive,” Yeager said in a news release. “Arkansas would send professional baseball Dizzy and Daffy, a Preacher, a pitcher known as Old Folks, and a girl named Sue. The history of Arkansas baseball is rich with their stories and those of lesser-known country hard ballers.”
“Today, in the days of travel ball, private lessons, and year-around competition, the idea that an uncoached country boy, with only talent and Sunday semipro experience, could succeed in professional baseball seems unlikely. In the early half of the 20th century that path to the major leagues was well-traveled,” he said.
A native of Ozark, Yeager is the former women’s basketball coach at Arkansas Tech University. He is a graduate of Ozark High School and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History and Education from the University of Central Arkansas. He is a frequent presenter on rural baseball history at historical organizations throughout Arkansas and is a member of the Robinson-Kell (Arkansas) Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research.