The Greenville Drive and Hub City honor the Negro League, competing as the Sluggers and the Black Spinners

Now forging the future, the Hub City Spartanburgers and the Greenville Drive have crafted a historic landscape.

But when players for the two teams took the field at Fifth Third Park on August 24, they were representing an important slice of the Upstate’s history.

Greenville players wore jerseys sporting the name Black Spinners. Hub City players showed up as the Sluggers.

In the days before Major League Baseball was fully integrated, the Black Spinners and the Sluggers were part of the thriving Negro League system.

Major League Baseball teams – and their Minor League Baseball affiliates – have been honoring the Negro leagues at games and other events throughout the 2025 season.

Picture caption

Bob “Lefty” Branson and Newt Whitmire, Jr., owner and manager of the Spartanburg Sluggers. (Date unknown)

Luther Norman Collection, SCPL caption

“For us, we’ve talked about using our platform for the new era of baseball in Spartanburg as an opportunity to remember all those who paved the way,” said Hub City General Manager Tyson Jeffers.

“The Sluggers were a big part of that, and we want to highlight it.”

Greenville Drive General Manager Eric Jarinko said this is the third season that Drive players have worn Black Spinners jerseys at two home games annually – the Saturday games closest to Jackie Robinson Day, on April 15, and Juneteenth.

Jarinko said the game against Hub City helped to “educate the public, especially young people, about the rich history and contributions of the Negro Leagues and to show that the game of baseball today is a direct product of their talent and innovations.”

Former Slugger remembers: "This was a baseball city.”

Picture caption: Archie Means, throwing the first pitch Sunday in Fluor Field, Greenville.

It’s fitting, then, that Archie Means threw out the first pitch.

He was a second baseman for the Sluggers from 1958-1960. He usually batted at or near the top of the order.

“I was kind of like a speedster,” he said.

Means, who owns a barbershop on Kennedy Street within walking distance to Fifth Third Park, was pleased to see professional baseball return to Spartanburg. And he was excited to be part of the Aug. 24 festivities.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “It’ll bring back a lot of memories.”

Picture caption: Means reminiscing after the game.

The Sluggers played at Duncan Park Stadium. They played to good crowds, Means recalled.

“About the only thing you would have to do on a Saturday or Sunday was to play baseball, and people would show up,” he said.

“This was a baseball city.”

After the Sluggers, Means played a few seasons with a Negro league team called the Spartanburg County All-Stars.

After his baseball career, Means cut hair for decades.  “He even cut my hair many times over the years while I was a reporter for the Spartanburg Herald Journal,” said Charles Reams, now publisher of the online newspaper WhatsUpNews.online.

“I did hear reports about Means’ illustrious baseball career,” said Reams.

Along the way, the Major League Baseball organizations were becoming more integrated, and Means had tryouts with Detroit and Boston. Things didn’t pan out, partly due to injuries.

Hoping throwback game inspires youth participation in baseball

Means has been working as a barber for more than six decades. He’s had his shop on Kennedy Street since 1983.

Over the years, he’s seen interest in baseball decline among Black youth – they’ve gravitated to football and basketball.

He’d like for the presence of the Spartanburgers – as well as the team’s tribute to the Sluggers – to spur engagement. “Maybe it will,” he said.

Means said he’s grateful for the efforts of Luther Norman to promote youth baseball in Spartanburg.

Norman, who played baseball in college and at the Minor League level, runs the Youth Sports Bureau. The nonprofit works to introduce baseball to “kids who haven’t been exposed to it or who can’t afford the league fees.”

His partners include the City of Spartanburg Parks and Recreation Department and the Hillbrook Baseball League.

Norman’s father-in-law, “Little Newt” Whitmire, owned the Sluggers. Whitmire’s father, “Big Newt,” had previously owned the team.

The Sluggers were a big deal on the Negro leagues scene, Norman said.

“Oh, man. They had one of the richest histories – more than the general public really knows,” he said.

Ed Epps, author of Duncan Park: Stories of a Classic American Ballpark, said the Sluggers, Spinners, and other teams made “mostly unrecognized contributions not only to baseball history but also to race relations during the Jim Crow era.”

Epps noted that Sluggers' games at Duncan Park drew fans from the nearby white community.

He hoped the game honoring the Sluggers and the Black Spinners would bring out a large crowd. “I hope it calls attention to their contributions,” he said.

Norman said before the game that some of the little leaguers he supports would be at the game. He was excited for them to learn more about the history of the Negro leagues while seeing some of today’s pro ballers in action.

He hopes the popularity of professional baseball in the Upstate will encourage more young people to participate.

But there’s more, he said: “It’s the buzz, man. It brings a lot of people downtown. Nothing brings people together like sports. I think it’s a great thing.”