Hendersonville High School Alumni Association News

HHS GRAD PENS BOOK ON BERKELEY SPINNERS BASEBALL

May 2007 - Patrick Gallagher, a 1965 graduate of HHS, has published a book tracing the popularity of the Berkeley Spinners, a championship baseball team from Hendersonville in an era when many industrial plants sponsored teams.  The Berkeley Spinners, sponsored by the Berkeley Mills of Balfour (now Kimberly Clark), won seven regular season championships, eight post-season playoff titles and maintained a winning percentage of .733.  Baseball's popularity in the years following WWII resulted in a record number of semi-pro leagues in operation.  "This book takes a look at the team and its' players, several of whom are still residing in Western North Carolina," said Gallagher.  One former player is retired HHS basketball and baseball coach Jim Pardue, who pitched for the spinners from '49-'51 and '56-'58.  The book is available at the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society, Mountain Lore Bookstore of Hendersonville, or at Amazon.com. Gallagher is controller for Auto Metal Craft in Oak Park, Michigan.  He and his wife Julie live in Royal Oak, Michigan,

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