Bradsher Hayes

King of the Southern Diamond Bradsher Hayes

Arthur Bradsher was nicknamed the King of the Southern Diamond by the legendary John Heisman after he started the 1904 season hurling 25 consecutive no-hit innings. Baseball was king at the turn of the 20th century. America wanted an idol from the college playing fields and found one in Arthur Brown Bradsher, the best pitcher in the country. He had pinpoint control, movie star looks and cum laude intelligence. One newspaper reported, "Every woman in the South wanted to marry him and every baseball boss in the country wanted to own him." The Trinity College (now Duke University) strikeout king captured the hearts of Southern fans and newspaper reporters after he pitched three shutouts in eight days in April 1902, striking out forty-five batters and allowing a total of three hits. This phenomenal performance has never been matched. This creative nonfiction work depicts much more than the exciting escapades on the ball field. It also is a tender love story between Trinity College sweethearts Arthur Bradsher and Lizzie Muse. In 1905, the pros offered Bradsher $10,000, the highest proposed contract for a college player at the turn of the century. Would it be Lizzie or baseball? Would he pitch for Boston and lose Lizzie? Or would he decide on a life of love and family? "King of the Southern Diamond" came from the desire of a grandson to know a grandfather he never met. Love, God, baseball, family, and adventure ... "King of the Southern Diamond" touches all the bases.