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1920 North Carolina State League — News & Notes

Stellar pitcher retires; Offense heating up around the league


• Durham pitcher Kenny Davis decided to hang it up after his stellar 1920 season. The 40-year-old went 27-10, a huge reason why the Bulls won the regular season crown going away. Davis' 27 wins broke a new single-season record.

Davis lost his last start in the playoffs against Asheville but his next to last start of the regular season was a true gem. He threw a four-hit shutout against Winston-Salem. “That’s one I’ll remember for a long time,“ he said.

Davis, who was drafted by Durham in the fourth round in 1913, retires with a career 109-90 record. His all-time ERA was 3.01 with 610 strikeouts. His career VORP was 236.4. Davis was not so hot in the post-season, though. He pitched in four years worth of playoff games, posting a 1-2 record and 6.58 ERA.

• There were some huge hitting performances around the league in 1920. Winston-Salem’s Henry “Boom Boom” Butler went 6-for-6 in a game against Asheville in June. He scored three times and had four RBIs. Fayetteville’s David Tobar (a new name for followers of the league) also went 6-for-6, battering Raleigh in an early August contest. Butler and Tobar were the first in league history to have at least six hits in a game.

Winston’s Ryan Travis had maybe the most productive game of the season against Durham on June 19. He went 5-for-5, scoring five runs and finishing with six RBIs. His game score was 106. Joe Herrera of Greensboro had the other six RBI game of the season, hitting two out of the park as part of a 3-for-4 day.

• Charlotte’s Craig Clark turned in one of the best pitching performances of the season. He threw 11 complete innings against Fayetteville on Aug. 11, giving up only one earned run and striking out six. He allowed just three hits. Charlotte helped its starter get the "W" with five runs in the top of the 11th to win going away…

• Though Asheville won the Champions Cup, starting catcher Vincent Nieves suffered an injury during the series with Durham that will keep him sidelined up to eight months. That will hurt the Tourists at the start of the 1921 campaign for sure. Nieves, who was a Glove Wizard winner for 1920 and the 1919 playoff series MVP, batted .269 with 72 RBIs this season.

• Manager Ollie Spence, who led Winston-Salem and Asheville to championships (before getting fired from both jobs), retired after 1920 at age 63. He had been the pitching coach for Greensboro for a season or two. His final record was 347-324.

• Asheville went 8-15 against Durham during the regular season but managed to get past the Bulls in the championships series. The Tourists had a monstrous 19-4 record against Fayetteville. Durham owned Raleigh in similar fashion, winning 19 of 23 meetings. Raleigh was 5-18 against Asheville. The Crapitals indeed…

• Eight pitchers enjoyed 20-win games in 1920 (first time the league has seen a 20-game winner). Durham retiree Kenny Davis led the way with 27 victories.

• There still haven’t been any three-homer games, triple crown winners or 15-strikeout games yet …

On to the 1921 season!