Although Wilson has never had a major league team, it’s been home to the North Carolina Baseball Museum since it opened in 2004. Located down the third base line at historic Fleming Stadium, this place is a mecca for any baseball fan. All levels of our nation’s pastime are represented here, from little league and college to professional women’s teams, from the Negro leagues to minor leagues.

Perhaps the most famous baseball player of all hit his first professional home run in North Carolina.

“In 1914, 19-year-old George Herman Ruth was signed by the then minor league Baltimore Orioles,” explains museum curator Marshall Lamm. “He joined the team during spring training in Fayetteville. The Orioles trained at a ball field at the Cape Fear Fairgrounds. It was on the fairground’s field that Ruth made his professional debut on March 7. That outing is famous for Ruth hitting his first home run.”

And it was on that trip to Fayetteville that many say Ruth gained his famous nickname. The Orioles stayed at the Hotel Lafayette, where young George enjoyed riding in the elevator. He followed Orioles manager Jack Dunn around so much that team veterans called him “Dunn’s baby,” later shortened to “Baby” or “Babe.”

Unlike the “Babe,” not all players become legends. Some are what Marshall calls “one-gamers.” A part of the museum honors those players, too. One is Herb Cobb.

“He was born in Pinetops in 1904,” Marshall says. “He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, then a farm team for the St. Louis Browns. Cobb got his call in mid-April 1929 to join the Browns for a series against the Detroit Tigers.

“Cobb’s only appearance in the ‘bigs’ came on April 21. All four Browns pitchers got shelled by Detroit’s hitters including their starting pitcher, Winston-Salem native, General Crowder.”

Herb Cobb came in to pitch the 8th inning, with the Tigers already leading 12–3.“

He was clearly nervous,” Marshall says. “Cobb faced the bottom of the order … he gave up four runs, three hits, suffered two balks, and gave up a homer to Detroit’s pitcher.”

Cobb was sent back to Milwaukee. Years later, his great-grandson visited the museum and brought a picture of Herb Cobb to add to the display.

Far from being “one-gamers,” Kannapolis brothers Kyle and Corey Seager have played a total of 22 seasons in the major leagues. Kyle has retired, but Corey, shortstop for the Texas Rangers, is the only player to ever win World Series MVP honors in both leagues.

From Buck Leonard to the Seagers, North Carolina’s baseball legacy lives on. Play ball!