FEATURE PAGE February 29, 2024

From a Smithfield Herald edition in the spring of 1958 comes this photograph of the Smithfield-Selma Leafs, that season's champions of a regional semi-pro league. Amby Foote, pictured at the right end of the second row of players, recalls that the team was sponsored by Elbert Jordan, a member of the team who for years operated an "open-air market" on Smithfield's Truck Lane (US 301). The nickname "Leafs" was inspired by Smithfield's status as a major tobacco market.

Professional baseball (yes, for a few years we
had it here) brought Amby Foote to Smithfield

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW BY GARY RIDOUT

I love all sports but my favorite sports are basketball and baseball. Of those two, I probably like baseball the best.

I was born March 5, 1928, in Sherrill, New York. I came to Smithfield in 1948. I played baseball for the Smithfield-Selma Leafs. They were a Class D Minor League team. There were several classifications of Minor League baseball teams: Class AAA, Class AA, Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D and Rookie League. The life of a Minor League baseball player was very interesting. We were like a piece of meat and they treated us that way. Salaries for Minor League players were wide-ranging. My son, Barry, made about $500 per month in 1970 when he was drafted into the Minor Leagues and soon was given raises so that he was making $1,000 per month. That was a lot more than we were making in the 1950s.

In 1950, I was moved to the Burlington Minor League team. They were called the Bees. I was called a “Baby Bee” because I was so young. (But he did merit a baseball card, shown here).

One of our games was against the Winston-Salem team. We were playing them in a two-game series. They had won their first eight games. They were 8-0. Our record was 5-3. I was a rookie pitcher but I had won 20 games the year before with Smithfield-Selma.

The manager called all the pitchers together. He said “I am going to let Amby pitch. This team is hot and there is no sense in using one of our veteran pitchers right now.”

I pitched and I beat them. That was their first loss of the year. I went 4 and 0 after that victory. I never pitched another inning for 45 days. That showed you how little the manager really knew. That decision by the manager drove me so crazy I went and got married to Sue Evelyn Ennis. That was in 1950.

In 1951, I played baseball for the Greenville Robins. By the middle of the season, the team folded and I was sent to Rocky Mount. Because many of their pitchers came back from the disabled list, they did not need me and sent me to Lexington. They had the same issue and sent me to Granite Falls. Granite Falls had a horrible won-lost record. I played for them most of the year, but with a few weeks left in the season I was recalled to Burlington.

I met up with the Burlington team when they were playing the Raleigh Capitals at Devereux Field. The game had been postponed because heavy rain had flooded the field and the dugouts. As I was talking with two other pitchers, the manager walked up and said “you don’t have to suit up because we will not be playing.” As he walked away I said to the other pitchers: “You are my witnesses, I have reported to this team and he has told me I did not need to get dressed because I would not be pitching.”

Just as I suspected, my pay was docked for that day. In those days, I was pretty fiery. I went up to the administrative offices and saw the owner. I looked at him and said: “You don’t have any right to dock my pay.” We ended up in an argument that turned into a fist fight. When they separated us I was about to throw him out the window.

That night we had a double-header in Burlington and the manager put me in left field because the regular left-fielder was injured. I always kid my son. I tell Barry: “In the big leagues, you were a catcher, but that is the only position I have never played. I played eight positions. You only played three (catcher, first base, third base).” Barry always comes back with “well, Dad, I played in the big leagues and you didn’t.”

During that game, the manager asked me: “What’s this I hear about a fight between you and the manager?”

“I don’t know,” I answered.

“Well, I heard about it and I see him in the stands with a big patch on his face. What do you know about that?”

“Don’t know anything,” I replied with a smile.

After the game I was called into the general manager’s office. He said: “Well, we are gonna pay you.” I said: “You should, you owe me.” He said something that really made me mad. I said: “I ought to beat you up too!” I chased him out of the office but could not catch him. I got my pay.

In the fall of the early 1960s, I started a 7th and 8th-grade Saturday morning basketball program at the Smithfield High School gym. The program went very well and attracted a lot of young people. One day, two 6th-grade girls came out to play basketball. That was against the rules because Parks and Recreation only allowed 7th and 8th graders to play. I talked the recreation director, Selly Orcutt, into changing the rule. He agreed. Those two girls were the first from Smithfield-Selma High School to get a basketball scholarship to college. One of the girls was Lyn Andrews, who is now on the Johnston County Board of Education.

I formed an all-star girls basketball team and we played other teams in the county. One of my rules was that no one could shoot more than 10 feet from the basket. One of the girls was very good but very stubborn. She shot the ball from 25 feet away. I told her, as coach, that was not allowed. In just a moment, another shot was taken from 20 feet away. I put her on the bench.

Ray Knott, manager of the Trott Motel, had a daughter that was also a good shooter and basketball player. He told me I may have trouble with her about the 10-foot rule. I said: "I generally don’t have much trouble with the players because it’s my rules or the bench." She tested me and was put on the bench. After that she only shot from 10 feet or less. In a game a few days later, we played a Selma team and beat them handily. We played a different game with great skill and great hustle.

I learned a lot about good coaching through my years with the Junior High basketball students and the boys in Legion baseball. People have asked me “who is your idea of the greatest baseball players: Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra?” I always say: “None of those. My favorite players are Jackie Robinson and Pete Rose.”

“Why is that?”

“Because those two guys play the game the way I think it should be played. They have great skill and like to hustle.” No one ever argues after I say that.

When I was coaching Legion baseball, black guys would ask their buddies: "How does he treat you guys?” They would always answer: "He treats us all the same. He gives us all hell!”

I was the pitching coach at SSS for 10 years, I always enjoyed it and never had any problem. In one game, the opposing team had a man on third. I went out on the field to talk to the pitcher and the catcher. I said: "I am pretty sure the batter will take the first pitch and then try to bunt the second pitch. That will send the runner on third home and they will tie the game. Let’s do a ‘pitchout’ on the second pitch.” We did a pitchout and had the man cold turkey. This pitchout prevented a “suicide squeeze” play. A pitchout is a ball that is intentionally thrown high and outside the strike zone with the purpose of preventing a stolen base, thwarting a hit and run, or to prevent a run. A suicide squeeze play is involves a runner at third base looking like he's about to steal home, only to have the batter lay down a sacrifice bunt just so the play is live and continues. Our strategy prevented that from happening.

I spent many years in the umpire area. There are only two umpires in a regular high-school game. Generally if there was a disagreement from a coach about a call, I would look at where the coach was when the call was made. Most of the time, the umpire would be five feet or less away from the call and the coach would be 90 to 125 feet away. When the coach was confronting me, I would say: “I know you could see this a lot better than me, because you are right on the play, but I will tell you this, as soon as I miss a call I will retire.” Ninety percent of the time, they would walk away saying “oh, go jump in a lake!”

Since that time I have had many umpires thank me for helping them learn how to officiate. I have made many friends with coaches and umpires.

Bruce Coates was the baseball coach at South Johnston High School. He always picked me to umpire. We had many arguments during the games. Bruce never won one of the arguments, but we had plenty. People would ask him: “Why do you always pick Amby. You’re always arguing with him!” Bruce would reply: “Amby calls exactly what he sees. You may not agree, but as a coach, he is the kind of umpire I want.”

J. Don Johnson has a hardware store in Benson; he lives in the Meadow area. J.Don was a big supporter of Little League. A beautiful new field was going to be built in the area and it was going to open the next year. He called me ahead of time and asked if I could be one of the umpires for the opening game. He had invited many dignitaries including Governor Jim Hunt. He told me that he liked the way I kept control of the game. “I like the way you run the show,” he said. I agreed to be the umpire for the game.

A year later, I learned that South Johnston High was in the state playoffs and I was picked to be one of the umpires. The two games were on the same night. I turned down the state playoff game. People could not understand why I would do that. I told them: "I know J. Don Johnson and I promised him a year ago I would call this Little League game because I knew it was a big game for them. He has always been a good friend." After the game, he said: “You called a good game and you ran it the way I was hoping you would. Thank you.”

Since then, Barry has coached J. Don’s grandson who went to High Point University and is now playing professional baseball in the Minor Leagues. I am very happy about how that has turned out.

There were many outstanding Legion players for me when I was coaching in the 1970s. One is Jeff Pope. Jeff was a boy with bright blond hair. Jeff’s dad, Pete Pope, and I both lived in Smithfield on Seventh Street about four houses apart. Pete and I were very good friends. I was coaching the Legion baseball team and Jeff was in the ninth grade. He had not played high-school baseball yet. He was a pitcher and I used him to throw during batting practice. I told Pete: “I want to put Jeff on the Legion team.” I used Jeff mainly as an outfielder but he did help also with batting practice as a pitcher. Pete appreciated that I recognized his son’s abilities.

As I think about my time in baseball, I never felt like I hurt the game any. My background is professional baseball and that influenced my coaching and umpiring decisions. In fact, as I reflect on all the experiences, I think I helped the sports world in Smithfield in many ways.

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