Berwind and baseball were synonymous.  As a kid growing up in Berwind, you would've  been hard pressed to find a Sunday afternoon, on any given summer weekend, that the baseball team wasn't playing, either in Berwind or in one of the neighboring McDowell County towns.  Norman Lane had been the manager for as long as I can remember and he always did an outstanding job.  The team was made up of boys that had grown up in Berwind, with the addition of and occasional player from out of town that the Coal Company would hire because he happened to be a good ball player.

There have been so many outstanding ball players, but I'll only name a few that I feel could've done very well in professional baseball had they wanted to leave Berwind.  Fellows like, Red Compton, Roy Linkous, Robert Branson, Joe Wilson, Bob Sexton, Jack Mitchell, Zenith Blevins, Glen McNew, and many many more.  Vern Bickford, while not a Berwind boy, did play some in Berwind and went on to pitch for Boston Braves in the National League.  He pitched a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers in either 1950 or 1951.  Marian Grimes, a Berwind boy, pitched for the Atlanta Crackers when they were a Class AA team and had major league potential until he hurt his arm.  Jimmy Herndon, probably the best athlete to ever come out of Berwind, pitched professional ball in the minors until he hurt his arm and ruined any professional aspirations he may have had.  The same is true for Fred Branson, another very good all-around athlete, who also hurt his arm while pitching professionally in the minor leagues.

I bring up all the names just to point out that while Berwind was an amateur team, it could've easily competed with lower class professional teams such as Welch, and Bluefield, and at times had better teams than either of them.  They were exciting to watch play, and they provided the people in Berwind a lot of entertainment back when things were pretty tough, back just before and right after World War II.

THE BERWIND CAVALIERS

Photo:  Late 1930s or Early 1940s
Contributed by:  Tommy Branson - 2002

First Row: Left to right:
             Robert (Peg) Branson -  unknown  - Roy More - Roy Linkous - Glen McNew - Eddie Windslow -            Herbie Linkous

The Cavaliers in 1947

Ike Parsons

Contributed by:  Tommy Branson -2002

Fred Branson
Fred went on to play Texas Pioneers 
Pro-Minor "Class C"

Contributed by his brother Tommy Branson  - 2002

   Roy Linkous
at the 200l Berwind Reunion

THE Berwind Cubs

Berwind also supported  an African American Team which also boasted some exceptional baseball players, such as Billy Griffin, Charlie Martin and the Rogers brothers.

Photo -  Taken 1939 in front of Berwind Ball Diamond Grandstand by: Geneva Ellis  

 Team - from left to right:

Charlie Martin - Hammer Smith - Jim Hairston - (behind) Clarence "Skinny" Hairston - (front) "Little" Willie Walker - (behind) Jesse Brown - (front) Willie (Bill)  Barton men at right rear - Rogers brothers

Cheerleaders - from left to right:

Ruth Withers - Marie Griffin - Belle Ellis - Agnes Gentry - Leona Hairston - Evelyn Hairston - Sue Gentry - Gladys Wright - Hattie Hutchison - Verta Mae Hutchison - Rubye Hutchison

                                                                           
             One of the Rogers brothers  

                            
                                                                                     Charlie Martin

Front Row:  Jessie Brown, Clarence (Skinny) Hairston, Willie (Bill) Barton, Hammer Smith

Second Row:  Rogers brother, James (Jim) Hairston, next man unknown, (Little) Willie Walker

Third Row:  Umpire - Jim Floyd, next man unknown, next man possibly Lincoln Hairston, the other Rogers brother, Charlie Martin, last man unknown

Photos by:   Allen Burnett - 1939