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Dorothy Copus Brush Buck Stewart was there
when In earlier days, baseball was truly the "nation's
pastime." Whether it was a hamlet or a city, a local baseball
team was the sport of choice for both players and spectators.
It was from these fields of dreams that some of the most talented
players were discovered and lured into pro baseball. Two young men from Cumberland County went
that route in 1920. Both played on the Pleasant Hill team. Earl
W. Webb came from a coal mining family in Bon Air, and one of
his daughters wrote a book about his time in the majors. This
column is about the other fellow, Walter "Buck" Stewart,
who was born in Yankeetown, six miles out of Sparta. Stewart had lost a finger on his right hand,
but he learned to throw with his left hand. He was a southpaw
pitcher but a right-handed hitter. The 5-foot-11-inch, 165-pound
Stewart was 18 in 1919 when he left the Plateau to play ball
in the Florida State League. The next year he played in Texas,
and in 1921, Buck had a brief five games with Detroit but was
then sent to the Eastern League. In 1922, he played for Syracuse
in the International League but in 1923 he was back with the
Southern Association in Birmingham. That was followed by three
seasons with Toronto, again in the International League. After bouncing around the minor league for
those years, he was finally picked up by the St. Louis Browns
in 1926. Bad luck interrupted his career for two seasons because
a ruptured appendix called for a long recovery. In 1930, he was
back on the mound for the Browns and won 20 games, lost 12. In
1931 his contract was upped to $9,000. During the early 1930s, the Chronicle made
mention of Stewart frequently in short front-page items. In February
1932, the paper announced that Walter and Lona Stewart had purchased
110 acres and planned to build a handsome Colonial residence
on it in the near future. The land fronted the new concrete road
running from Crossville to Monterey, about two miles from town
just beyond the Obed River. March 3, 1932 - Walter Stewart, ace of the
St. Louis Browns pitching staff, is a serious hold out. There
are rumors that the Athletics and Senators each want a "Brown"
player but Walter's name hasn't been mentioned by St. Louis management
as being for sale. We couldn't blame either Buck or the management;
however, it's a good bet that Buck will be on hand and in good
shape when the season opens. March 17, 1932 - Walter "Bucky"
Stewart signed a contract to play again with the Browns. He will
leave at once for training quarters in Florida. The next mention of Stewart was not until
April 20, 1933, when the paper reprinted a glowing article on
Buck which had appeared in the Washington News. He had been traded
by St. Louis to the Washington Senators during the winter. It
stated, "Walter, who is a master at placing the ball where
he wants it to go, was putting them over the plate in his effortless
style." The article said the Baltimore coach realized
Stewart was a pitcher with control, and he gave his hitters orders
to step up and swing hard. "When Stewart realized what was
happening he started to bear down. For five innings, he had the
Orioles eating out of his hand, setting them down in one-two-three
order. In the ninth, he showed the stuff he is made of."
The final score was Senators 5, Orioles 4. The 1933 World Series pitted the Senators
against the New York Giants. Walter Stewart, the star southpaw,
pride of Cumberland County, failed to win during his time on
the mound. Oct. 3, 1935 - Mr. and Mrs. Walter Stewart
and son Bobby arrived from Cleveland, OH, to spend several months
at their beautiful home on the Monterey Highway. Bucky was with
the Cleveland Indians most of the past season and materially
aided that team in finishing in third place in the American League. Jan. 16, 1936 - Walter Stewart has been released
by the Cleveland Indians where he played last year. He has already
received three telegrams relative to accepting contracts with
other leagues this season. As yet he has made no arrangements. Shortly after that, Walter decided to end his baseball career in 1936, when he and W.E. Mayberry Sr. formed a partnership called the Ideal Furniture Co. In 1945 Mayberry sold his interest in the company to Stewart who spent the rest of his life as a successful business man in Crossville and as just one of the fellows. · · · |