It's really not all that far from Charlotte. When I first heard of the town, I assumed it was somewhere out in the western parts of the state. I assumed that nobody really lived in the town. Not really accurate.
The town is also really important to our country's history. It was the location of a battle during the Revolutionary War. The British had won most of the battles in the southern colonies before the Battle of Kings Mountain. The fight ended up being a win for the colonists.
President Theodore Roosevelt actually mentioned The Battle of Kings Mountain in his book The Winning of The West:
"This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the American Revolution"
There are also a few baseball players from the small town of Kings Mountain. Otto Briggs played in the Negro Leagues during the teens, twenties, and thirties. Jake Early, a catcher for the Senators and Browns during the 1930s and 1940s also hailed from Kings Mountain. He was one of the best defensive catchers from his era.
No more major war turning battles have taken place in Kings Mountain in recent years. People wise, there has been a country singer, I don't listen to country music, and an actress from some daytime soap opera. There is also another pretty good baseball player, who is currently starring for the NC State baseball team.....
Will Wilson is the team's current shortstop and one of the better players in the ACC. He was named the All-ACC First Team shortstop for this season and made the Collegiate Baseball's All-American Second Team.
Wilson's success in Raleigh has earned him the nickname "The Mayor of Kings Mountain"
The Mayor of Kings Mountain, Will Wilson, singles as the UNC LF misreads the ball. Run scores. Bases loaded with no outs in T5. Pack, 3-0.— Pack Pride (@PackPride) April 16, 2017
This tweet from the NC State fan site Pack Pride is the first time I have found him mentioned as "The Mayor of Kings Mountain". All the of tweets and social media posts prior to the one embedded above appear to be about the actual mayor of Kings Mountain.
Luckily, we are also living in a day and age where high school kids have baseball cards. Will Wilson managed to get into two different sets. I am still trying to find a copy of his USA Baseball card, which was in a Panini set, but I have been able to find his Perfect Game card.....
I am not a huge fan of Leaf cards, but this is one of their nicer products. I believe these are their only baseball cards that do not have all of the logos airbrushed off the pictures. The base cards are really nice too, I will have to try to find one of Wilson.
Wilson will likely also end up on the USA Baseball College National team this summer. Hopefully. That should net him a few more Panini autographs and maybe a few other nice cards until he ends up in the Major League Draft. Wherever Wilson ends up as a professional, hopefully his nickname will stick with him.
American Revolution battles and baseball are two ingredients to a very informative post.
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