The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden bats, its season runs from June through August. The league is part of Major League Baseball and USA Baseball's Prospect Development Pipeline.
Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State Street. It is surrounded on three sides by Washington County, Virginia, which is combined with the city for statistical purposes. It is a principal city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, with a population of 508,260 in 2020.
Kewanee is a city in Henry County, Illinois. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 in the 2020 census, down from 12,916 in 2010.
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary between the two cities is also the state line, which runs along State Street in their common downtown district. It is a principal city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, with a population of 508,260 in 2020.
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth-most populous city in Tennessee. Johnson City is the principal city of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Carter, Unicoi, and Washington counties and had a population of 207,285 as of 2020. The MSA is also a component of the Tri-Cities region. This CSA is the fifth-largest in Tennessee, with a population of 514,899 as of 2020.
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, the university has been transitioning to governance by its own board of trustees. As of May 2017, it is the fourth largest university in the state and has off-campus centers in nearby Kingsport, Elizabethton, and Sevierville.
Bristol Motor Speedway is a 0.533-mile (0.858 km) oval short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1961, including NASCAR races, NCAA FBS college football games, and sprint car races. The track has been owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) since 1996 with Jerry Caldwell currently serving as the track's general manager. The track is served by the concurrent U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route 11E, along with Tennessee State Route 394.
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL) mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Joseph Earl McEwing is an American professional baseball coach and former utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, and Houston Astros, and coached for the Chicago White Sox and Cardinals. Nicknamed "Super Joe", he was the prototypical utility player who could play any position on the field.
West Seattle High School is a comprehensive public high school in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood that serves grades nine through twelve as part of the Seattle Public Schools.
The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team won 10 league championships, most recently in 2019. They played their home games at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Before 1975, the team operated under several other names and affiliations.
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for East Tennessee State University (ETSU) located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was dormant from the end of the 2003 season until being reinstated for the 2015 season. They played all of their 2015 home games and all but one of their 2016 home games at Kermit Tipton Stadium before the opening of the new William B. Greene Jr. Stadium for the 2017 season. The remaining 2016 home game, against Western Carolina on September 17, was played at nearby Bristol Motor Speedway, which was already set up for football due to a game the prior week between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Before ETSU dropped football, it competed in NCAA Division I as a Southern Conference (SoCon) football program. The revived program played as an independent in 2015 before returning to the SoCon in 2016.
Lindsay Ellis is an American science fiction author, video essayist, film critic, and YouTuber. Her debut novel, Axiom's End, published in July 2020, became a New York Times Best Seller.
The Smoky Mountain Conference – officially the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference – was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from December 1926 to October 1966. Most teams in the league were located in Tennessee, and there were at times teams from Virginia and North Carolina. The first commissioner of the league was W. O. "Chink" Lowe, who had played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers; he served as commissioner until September 1941.
William Isaac Craig is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes.
Wyck Godfrey is an American producer and executive. He is best known for producing The Twilight Saga and The Maze Runner film series. He is a partner of the production company Temple Hill Entertainment with his friend Marty Bowen, which they founded in 2006. In 2017, he was named President of Paramount Motion Pictures Group. In 2020, Godfrey left Paramount and returned to producing with Temple Hill Entertainment.
Spencer Enochs Torkelson is an American baseball first baseman for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Torkelson was selected first overall by the Tigers in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
Braeden Ogle is an American professional baseball pitcher for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
Landon Dakota Knack is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
Gavin James Cross is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Kansas City Royals organization. He played college baseball for the Virginia Tech Hokies.
