Purchase your photo cut out to help support Catawba Athletics and fill the seats in Goodman Gym for our Catawba Basketball and Catawba Volleyball home games this year.Read more information and order your photo cutout. Make sure you read over the  "Frequently Asked Questions."

Emory and Henry to join the South Atlantic Conference for 2022-2023. Read More

Thank you to former Catawba Football player, Track & Field team member, and Catawba Sports Hall of Fame member Drew Buie ’69 for once again helping to support OUR Catawba Chiefs Club.

Drew Buie #89 playing for the Oakland Raiders.

CATAWBA BASEBALL COACHING RECORDS
Coach                     Years        Games      Record      Pct.   Championships
Harold Newman            1926 (1)        13         7-6       .539         0
G. Flake "Red" Laird      1927-28 (2)        34        15-18-1    .456         0
Carl A. Davis                   1929-32 (4)        61        31-30      .508         1
Harry Warner                 1933-34 (2)        33        14-19      .424         0
Gordon Kirkland            1935-48 (14)      252       179-70-3    .716         8
Earl Ruth                        1949-51 (3)        57        41-16      .719         0
Marlon "Chub" Richards    1952-57 (6)       118        64-54      .542         0
Harvey Stratton             1958-64 (7)       155       105-48-2    .684         1
Ray Oxendine                 1965-74 (10)      238       113-125     .475         0
Marshall Murphy           1975-78 (4)       130        58-72      .446         0
Steve Shaughnessy        1979-80 (2)        52        27-25      .519         0
Bob Bailey                      1981-83 (3)        95        40-55      .421         0
Ron Raper                      1984-85 (2)        66        22-44      .333         0
Jim DeHart                     1986-89 (4)       131        77-54      .588         1
Dick Williams                 1990-94 (5)       206       137-69      .665         2
Dave Jones                    1995-96 (2)        94        51-43      .543         0
Jim Gantt                      1997-  (24)    1278      853-425     .668      23
16 Coaches                    95 seasons       3013     1834-1173-6   .610        36

Tanner Bibey, a senior member of the Catawba Men’s Golf team from Walnut Cove, NC, had a hole in one on Tuesday, November 17th, at the Country Club of Salisbury at #9 - 215 yards with a five iron. Bibey was playing with AJ Boyd, Riley Smith, and Hunter Donahue.

The best part about the hole in one? It was the very last swing for the Catawba golf teams 2020 fall season.  It's time to move on to 2021!

We are very glad to have Food Lion back as a Catawba Athletics corporate sponsor. This year Food Lion will be sponsoring our home basketball games with the ‘Score to Give More” promo. For every free throw made, Food Lion will donate 100 meals to our local food bank. Food Lion will also be sponsoring Catawba Football with their ‘Sacks To Give Back” promo. We are glad to have Food Lion back for the 2nd year!

We wanted to let you know that we have added another NC Sports Hall of Fame banner in our gym lobby this afternoon: Coach Joe Ferebee ’42, 1980 inductee of the Catawba Sports Hall of Fame.

Thanks to Bill Hall ’66 and Bob Setzer ’74 for getting this project started.

Women’s Basketball -  November 21st – Catawba 73, Anderson  63.    Read More

Men’s Basketball – November 21st – Catawba  90, Anderson 78. Read More

Thanks to former Catawba Men’s Golf Team member Eric Schmehl ’10 for helping to support OUR Catawba Chiefs Club.

Please join me in congratulating our Catawba College VALORANT Team for claiming the ECAC VALORANT Fall Conference Championship! This is the first Conference Championship in program history.  The Catawba VALORANT team claimed the championship by defeating the #1 seeded Sacramento State University Hornets 2-0 in the finals in a best of three series (13-10; 13-6).    

The Catawba VALORANT team entered the tournament as the #2 seed in a 62-team ECAC Conference League after a 4-1 regular season with their only loss coming to Sacramento State.  In the playoffs, the Catawba VALORANT team swept each round of the tournament by defeating Elmira College, Wayne State College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Sacramento State on their way to the title.

The Catawba VALORANT Team is coached by Gidd Sasser in his second year leading the first varsity Esports program in the state of North Carolina.  The championship VALORANT team this fall consisted of Tristan Van Wieringen (TWISTan), Clay Brown (VibeZ); Colton Sims (Artl), Logan Rogers (JeBus0), and Ryan Tindall (Shadowww). 

The ECAC is an 82 year-old organization with over 200 member schools across all NCAA Divisions. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and colleges by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. The ECAC’s esports platform is growing and now totals more than sixty colleges and universities and is expanding the geographic footprint for the conference nationally
  

Thanks to former Catawba Basketball and Baseball player Mike Feller ’96 for helping to support OUR Catawba Chiefs Club.

Tuesday, November 24th
Men’s Basketball at Mars Hill

Friday, November 27th
Men’s Swimming – Lenoir-Rhyne

Saturday, November 28th
Women’s Basketball – Wingate 2:00pm
Men’s Basketball – Wingate -   4:30pm
Women’s Swimming at Lenoir Rhyne

Catawba Home Events Attendance Policy as of November 22, 2020: Read More

The history of Newman Park put together by Mike London of The Salisbury Post:

Newman Park is a unique place, a local treasure in Salisbury known for the green grandstand, the railed bleachers and the box seats behind the netting. It once was a place umpires dreaded to come to, but fans have mellowed somewhat over the years. Maybe the meanest ones just died off.

Newman Park is known for the flagpole in dead center. It's known for the scoreboard in left-center. It's known as one of the most hitter-friendly parks around, 326 feet to the foul lines, 359 to center and just 343 to the power alleys. That unusually cozy center field area makes for exciting American Legion baseball, but college pitchers don't have the luxury of making any mistakes. Except on the coldest, dampest, windiest days, any well-hit fly ball is leaving the park.

People argue about how many people can sit and watch a game there. Some say 2,500. Some say 3,000. It's probably been close to 3,000 if all the lawn-chair space is used.
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This is a timeline of some of the major events that helped create the mystique and the history of Newman Park, a place that has been home to thousands of pro, college, American Legion and high school games over the years. These are just some of the highlights. There have been way too many to attempt to list them all.

• 1889 — Harold Hastings (HH) Newman is born on Nov. 17.
  
• 1900s — Newman is a native of Woodstock, Va. He played baseball at Randolph-Macon and was a catcher and team captain. He also played baseball at Johns Hopkins. After receiving medical training at Johns Hopkins, he had a choice of career paths, pursuing a baseball offer from the Baltimore's pro team or starting his career as a physician. He chose medicine.
  
• 1914 — Dr. Newman relocates from Baltimore to Salisbury, NC, to assist doctors Dr. John Whitfield and Dr. JE Stokes at the hospital. Newman arrives in Salisbury on June 2, 1914, along with his wife Eleanor a talented vocalist and musician.
  
• 1915 — Dr. Newman coaches the first high school football game played in Rowan County, coaching Salisbury against Greensboro at the Salisbury Fairgrounds.
  
• 1921 — Dr. Newman is named president of the North Carolina Poultry Association.
  
• 1922 — Dr. Newman attends the Mayo Clinic for a month and switches from the practice of general medicine to specializing in surgery.
  
• 1926 — Catawba College relocates from Newton, NC, to Salisbury. Newman coaches the 1926 Catawba baseball team, with the assistance of Dr. James Ramsey.
  
• 1926 — Newman also serves as team doctor for Catawba, free of charge. He serves in that role until 1947 when he is succeeded by his son, HH Newman Jr., a doctor who has been known as "Judge" since childhood.
  
• 1932 —  Dr. Newman organizes and energizes the Salisbury community, obtains donations of lumber and helps start the construction of a baseball stadium around Catawba's existing field. He is credited with leading the effort to get the stadium built at 498 Summit Ave.
  Today, it's one of the oldest baseball parks still in use. Greensboro's Memorial Stadium, completed in 1926, is recognized as the states oldest.
  
• 1934 — The grandstand area is constructed at Newman Park. A.L. Jarrell and Sons of Spencer build it with tubular steel trusses. The same company builds Catawba's football stadium and the baseball grandstands for App State and East Carolina. The Jarrells also build Thomasville's Finch Field (1937) and Lexington's Holt-Moffitt Field (1938).
  
• 1934 — Dr. Newman organizes the original semi-pro Carolina League. 
  
• 1935 — Catawba's ballpark is named for Dr. Newman.
  
• 1935 — Gordon Kirkland starts his tenure as Catawba baseball coach and coaches championship teams in 1936, 1937, 1938, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947 and 1948.
  
• 1936 — Coach Kirkland pilots the first Salisbury American Legion team ever to play at Newman Park, starting a long summer of tradition. Interest in baseball is high in Salisbury after Gastonia won the World Series in 1935. Many Salisburians drove to Gastonia to watch the games there, and there's a feeling that a local team would prosper.
  
• 1937 —Dr.  Newman is named chief of staff at Rowan Memorial Hospital.
  
• 1937 — The Salisbury Bees of the Carolina League play their games at Newman Park (1937-38).
  
• 1938 — Dr. Newman is named vice president of the Class D North Carolina State League.
  
• 1939 — The Salisbury Giants play North Carolina State League games at Newman Park (1939-42). The 1942 roster includes three players who make it to the major leagues.
  
• 1941 — Coach Kirkland coaches a stout Catawba team at Newman Park that includes right fielder Joe Ferebee.
  
• 1942 — World War II brings a halt to American Legion baseball in the summers of 1942-43, the only summers the park doesn't provide a home for Legion baseball prior to 2020.
  
• 1944 — American Legion baseball returns to Newman Park.
  
• 1945 — There were no minor league games at Newman Park in 1943-44, but the North Carolina State League was back in business in 1945.  Salisbury minor league baseball at Newman Park had an affiliation with the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates from 1945-52.
  
• 1948 — Dr. Newman Sr. is elected president of the Rowan County unit of the American Cancer Society.
  
• 1950 — Coach Joe Ferebee begins his first tenure as head coach of the Salisbury Legion team.
  
• 1951 — Scary flamethrower Rocket Ron Necciai, whose fastballs break the ribs of hitters, pitches for the Salisbury Pirates at Newman Park, mostly without distinction. A year later, he strikes out 27 batters in a nine-inning game in the Appalachian League.
  
• 1951 — Dr. Newman Sr. dies from a heart attack at 62.
  
• 1953 — The Salisbury ROCOTS (ROwan COunty's Team of Salisbury) competed in the Tar Heele League at Newman Park in 1953 and were affiliated with the Boston Red Sox. Eli Grba, a member of the ROCOTs, pitched for the 1960 New York Yankees and threw the first pitch for the Los Angeles Angels when they were an American League expansion franchise in 1961.
  
• 1954 — Coach Ferebee's Salisbury Legion team wins the Area III championship for the first time.
  
• 1955 — Coach Ferebee's Salisbury Legion team changes baseball forever in Rowan County with area, sectional and regional championships and a trip to the World Series in Minnesota. Tiny southpaw Tom Eaton pitches almost every game and becomes a legendary figure. Baseball becomes a very big deal in Salisbury.
  
• 1956 — Coach Ferebee is hired as Pfeiffer baseball coach and leaves the Salisbury program.
  
• 1960 — Salisbury had a minor league baseball void from 1954-59, but the Salisbury Braves, an independent team made up of players with local ties, played in the Western Carolina League in 1960 and won the championship. That team includes pitcher Lawson Garrison, who integrates professional baseball as far as the minor league teams representing Salisbury.
  
• 1961 — The Salisbury Braves were a Class D affiliate of the National League's new Houston franchise and played in the Western Carolina League. Salisbury's Aaron Pointer, a Black player from San Francisco, batted .402 that season. That's the last time a player batted .400 in a full-season minor league in the U.S.
  Pointer, who was 19 when he played for Salisbury in 1961, had 14 triples and scored an incredible 117 runs in 93 games. He played briefly in the majors and became a college and NFL official.
  
• 1962 — For the first time, the American Legion baseball team at Newman Park competes as a united "Rowan County" under coach Jack Turney.
  
• 1963 — Salisbury minor league baseball enjoys its most successful run at Newman Park as the Salisbury Dodgers in 1963-64. The Dodgers had a sturdy farm system, and Salisbury finished second in the Western Carolinas League playoffs in 1963 and won the championship in 1964.
  The 1963 Salisbury pitching staff included Jack Billingham, who would win 145 MLB games.
  The 1964 Salisbury pitching staff included future L.A. Dodger John Purdin, who pitched a perfect game for Salisbury that season against Lexington.
  Salisbury faced Rock Hill Cardinals pitcher Steve Carlton that season as well as Greenville Braves slugger Cito Gaston.
  
• 1965 — Salisbury's minor league affiliation was back with Houston in 1965. Houston had changed its mascot from Colt .45s to Astros after the opening of its new domed stadium.
  Salisbury had a great hitter at Newman Park that season — Bob "Bull' Watson, who was a National League All-Star twice in the 1970s.
  The Western Carolinas League was exciting in 1965, as Gastonia had Al Oliver, Lexington had Bobby Bonds, and Rock Hill was managed by Sparky Anderson.
  
• 1966 — Danny Walton, who had a decent major league career, played for the Salisbury Astros at Newman Park that season and hit 20 homers as an 18-year-old.
  Walton hit 17 homers for the Milwaukee Brewers four years later.
  Fred Stanley played shortstop for Salisbury in 1966 as an 18-year-old. He played in the big leagues for 14 seasons.
  The Greenville Mets had the WCL's best prospect that season — Nolan Ryan.
  
• 1967 — Coach Ferebee returns for his second stint with the Rowan County Legion program at Newman Park and will compile an amazing record.
  
• 1968 — Rowan County Legion is state runner-up. For four straight seasons, Rowan will play in the state finals.
  
• 1968 — After having no pro baseball at Newman Park in 1967, Salisbury made a comeback and was affiliated with the Washington Senators in 1968. Unfortunately, the Salisbury Senators were 34-87 and had the distinction of being one of the worst teams in minor league history. In the six-team Western Carolinas League, they finished 20 games out of fifth place. The team's best player was Tom Grieve, who had a nine-season career in MLB.  The league's best prospect proved to be Greenwood Braves outfielder Dusty Baker.
  That would be Newman Park's last fling with professional baseball.
  
• 1969 — Rowan County Legion wind the state championship against Wilmington, with Marty Brennaman making the most famous broadcast in Newman Park's history on Randy Benson's series-deciding walk-off home run.
  
• 1970 — Rowan County Legion is state runner-up.
  
• 1971 — Rowan County wins the state championship.
  
• 1973 — Rowan County Legion wins the Area III championship.
  
• 1979 — Rowan County Legion is state runner-up.
  
• 1980 — Rowan County Legion is state runner-up.
  
• 1984 — Rowan County Legion wins the state championship. There are some renovations to Newman Park that year.
  
• 1985 — Rowan County Legion wins Area III, the last major championship for Coach Ferebee.
  
• 1989 — The final season for Coach Ferebee at the helm of the Rowan Legion team. He is credited with 673 coaching victories for Salisbury and Rowan County Legion teams.
  
• 1990 — Coach Jim DeHart takes the reins of Rowan County Legion.
  
• 1992 — Coach Dick Williams pilots Catawba baseball to a record of 38-7 and a 21-0 conference record.
  
• 1993 — Rowan County Legion wins the state championship, maintaining a remarkable streak of a state title in every decade. Rowan County wins a program record 47 games that still stands.
  
• 1995 — Newman Park is also the home for high school baseball in the 1990s. Salisbury High played many home games there before it got an on-campus facility. Newman Park also hosts the Cliff Peeler Baseball Classic.
  
• 1996 — Former Catawba third baseman Jim Gantt is named as Catawba's head baseball coach. He'll become a legend at Newman Park, not only as a teacher and motivator, but as a groundskeeper.
  
• 1996 — Rowan Legion doesn't win the state championship, but it hosts the Southeast Regional at Newman Park and wins the regional. That means a trip to the World Series in Oregon, the first World Series adventure for the local program since 1955. There are improvements at Newman Park that are made in order to serve as regional host, including a new press box and concession stand.
  There had been two earlier press boxes, one at field level (with no view of right field) and one high atop the grandstand area.
  
• 1998 — Rowan County Legion wins Area III.
  
• 2000 — The last season for Coach DeHart with Rowan Legion. Rowan is the Area III champion. It also the first year of the double-elimination, single-site state tournament bringing together every Area champion and runner-up. The first one is in Caldwell County. Rowan finished second.
  
• 2001 — Catawba baseball leads Division II in home attendance.
  
• 2001 — A new covered batting cage is added down the right-field line at Newman Park. The slope along the right field foul area is removed and a wall is erected.
  
• 2001 — Jim Gantt takes the reins of Rowan County Legion and is now the head coach of both programs that call Newman Park home.
  
• 2002 — Rowan County Legion wins the state tournament that it hosts at Newman Park.
  
• 2002 — Rowan Legion loses an elimination game in the Southeast Regional in Shelby and finishes with a 43-2 record. While it didn't reach the World Series, most still consider it the best team in program history.
  
• 2003 — The slope in left field is removed at Newman Park.
  
• 2004 — A new 18-foot high outfield wall is erected at Newman Park. It makes it tougher to hit homers, especially in American Legion play.
  
• 2006 — Catawba's David Thomas scores 84 runs, the school record for a single season. Tim Smith sets a Catawba record for wins in a season with 13. Jimbo Davis gets the last of his school career record 235 RBIs for Catawba. Catawba breaks the school-record with 47 wins.
  
• 2008 — Catawba's David Thomas establishes a school record for career hits with 344. His No. 7 jersey is honored on the right-field wall.
  
• 2008 — Jerry Sands, a future MLB player, hits the last of his 61 home runs for Catawba, a school career record.
  
• 2009 — Rowan County Legion wins a number of championships, including area, state and region. Rowan heads to its third World Series, this one in Fargo, N.D.
  
• 2010 — Catawba's Craige Lyerly gets a base hit 39 straight games in a streak he started in 2009. He breaks a school record that had stood since 1956.
  
• 2010 — Rowan Legion player Patrick Snider dies of cancer. His memory is honored with his No. 7 on the right-field wall at Newman Park.
  
• 2012 — Catawba coach Jim Gantt is named North Carolina Amateur Coach of the Year after leading the Indians to the Division II National Championship Tournament in Cary.
  
• 2013 — Nick Lomascolo finishes his career with a Catawba record for wins — 36.
  
• 2015 — Rowan County Legion wins the state championship, after hosting the state tourney at Newman Park.
  
• 2015 — Catawba's Will Albertson drives in 91 runs and hits 26 homers, both school records for a season.
  
• 2015 — Catawba's Jim Gantt coaches his second team to the D-II National Championship Tournament in Cary and the Indians finish runner-up. Catawba ties the school record with 47 wins.
  
• 2016 — Rowan County Legion wins the state championship played at Wingate, the first time Rowan ever has won back-to-back state championships. Rowan County also wins the regional in Asheboro. Rowan makes a trip to the World Series in Shelby and is runner-up. Rowan loses the title game in extra innings.
  
• 2017 — Rowan County plays in the state tournament, and coach Gantt gets his 500th win as Rowan Legion head coach.
  
• 2018 — Rowan County Legion wins Area III.
  
• 2018 — Catawba's Chance Bowden sets the school record for doubles in a career with 84.
  
• 2019 — Catawba wins 47 games, tying the school record. The Indians make it to the D-II National Championship Tournament in Cary for the third time under Gantt's leadership.
  
• 2020 — Catawba is ranked second nationally in Division II when the pandemic brings a halt to the college baseball season. Catawba was 19-3. Gant has 853 career wins as Catawba head coach. His teams have won 23 championships and he's been named SAC Coach of the Year 11 times.
  
• 2020 — Legion baseball is canceled by the national committee because of concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is still summer baseball at Newman Park. Coach Gantt helps organsize a league and coaches a winning season in NC3 baseball.

Jeff Childress
Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Development
Director of the Catawba Chiefs Club
2300 W. Innes St.
Salisbury, NC 28144
704-637-4265
jchildre@catawba.edu