Just over the Hill by McDonald Victoria A. Casey;Cochran Marie T.;

Author:McDonald, Victoria A. Casey;Cochran, Marie T.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Western Carolina University
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Wilsy Dorsey: A Field of Dreams

Tannery Flats

Baseball became the sport most blacks played long before Jackie Robinson became the first black to participate in the Major Leagues. Showing off their skills on a field of dreams, most black boys played the game. Just by taking a stick and tossing a rock in the air, youngsters played baseball by themselves. With the roar of the “crowd” in his ears, he would attempt to hit the rock and send it flying through the air. It all came down to skill and timing.

It appeared that Wilsy Dorsey had both--skill and timing. Around the Tannery Flats, he was halted an excellent baseball player. He could hit the ball a country mile and was an excellent pitcher. In other words, Mr. Wilsy Dorsey was a superb baseball player. Therefore, it became a challenge to the other black players to outdo him.

Wilsy Dorsey was the son of Mr. Solomon and Mrs. Mintie Oats Dorsey. His father, from Tennessee, met his mother in the little hamlet of Dillsboro. Wilsy’s (sometimes spelled Wilse) given name was Wilson. He was born on June 8, 1900. He went to the segregated oneroom school in Jackson County and finished his school at Cherryville High School or Lincoln Academy.

When he finished his schooling, he went to work for Armour Tanning Company. He married Gladys Enloe from Dillsboro. From this marriage, there were eight children. There were five girls and three boys. The girls were Mildred (1919), Taretho (1926), Lucy Ann (1928), Barbara Gene (1930), and Joe Nell (1933). Their sons were Paul Abraham (1921), David (1923) and Preston (1936).

From childhood, Wilsy played baseball with relative and friends. In high school, he played on the baseball team. As a young man, he continued to play the game with bets on the sides. They laid out a baseball field adjacent to the Tannery in the Tannery Flats. Like Wilsy, most of the players were Tannery workers. Sunday afternoon was time to play a game. Each Fourth of July celebration, they played baseball. Whites and blacks came to see Wilsy play.

When World War I was raging overseas, Wilsy was on the baseball diamond. A lad of 17, he played with an integrated team. It was a semi-pro team, which played games all over the South. Taretho (Tracy Butler), his daughter, related to me that Wilsy was known as an excellent pitcher. His oldest daughter, Mrs. Mildred Dorsey Conley told me that he was a great baseball player and the best in Jackson County.

There is no record of his feats in the game of baseball, but those who are alive can remember Mr. Wilsy Dorsey. As an old-timer said, “He could hit that ball a country mile as well as throw a mean curve ball.

Unfortunately for Wilsy life did not give him an equal playing field. With his growing family and his desire to play professional baseball, he turned to liquor to bury his dreams. An alcoholic, Wilsy died at the prime of his life. On October 29, 1940, he passed away from chronic alcoholism and cancer of the stomach and liver.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.