SAL To Begin Search For New President
Published on March 20, 2007 under South Atlantic League (SAL1) News Release
KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C.-John H. Moss, the longest tenured league president in Minor League Baseball, and the South Atlantic League have announced that Moss will be stepping down as league President on December 31, 2007, and assuming the position of President Emeritus of the SAL, effective January 1, 2008.
Moss is serving in his 50th year as President of the Western Carolinas/South Atlantic League. In 1947, the Kings Mountain, N.C., native became the youngest person elected President of a professional baseball league when he took the Western Carolina League from semi-pro to professional status. A dozen years later, in 1960, Moss organized the Class A circuit as the Western Carolinas League (which became known as the South Atlantic League in 1979) and has served as its President since that time. He was honored with a lifetime contract in 1990, becoming the only person in baseball with that type of job security.
Under Moss' direction, the South Atlantic League has brought professional baseball to 43 cities, represented by 114 ownerships. He has stressed the importance of providing quality, wholesome, family entertainment at an affordable price, which enabled the league to grow to 16 clubs in eight states and attract a league-record attendance of 3,833,816 fans during the 2006 season.
"It has indeed been a privilege for me to serve as President of the South Atlantic League," Moss said. "The league has a storied history that has brought the great game of baseball to many of the .nest cities this country has to offer throughout the Southeast and the Eastern Seaboard. I consider it a tremendous lifetime reward to meet and work with so many wonderful people who have worked so hard for the good of their communities."
As President Emeritus, Moss will develop a permanent home for the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame and oversee the facility upon completion. Moss began inducting deserving members annually into the league's Hall of Fame with the Class of 1994 and has recognized 79 people through the Class of 2006. As president, he has begun negotiations with several cities interested in hosting the SAL Hall of Fame.
"Developing the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame is an undertaking that I look forward to carrying out to its completion," Moss said. "For a league that has 103 years of baseball history, the project is a considerable one in order to truly re.ect the impact the game's history has had on the Southeast."
Moss also served nearly 24 years as Mayor of Kings Mountain, with Newsweek labeling him as "The Mayor with the Midas Touch." In addition to his pursuits in professional baseball, his extensive sports background includes serving as general manager of teams in the Detroit Tigers' minor league organization along with the Rock Hill Chiefs and the Wausau Muskies of the Central States Professional Football League. Moss has directed sports tournaments in baseball, basketball, the Western Carolinas Horse Show and the Rib Mountain Hill Climb Racing, sponsored by the Road America Auto Racing Club. His business activities have included the Moss Dixon Block Company, John Moss and Associates, Inc., and the Consortium for Progress, Inc. Moss has been the owner and publisher of the Cleveland Times newspaper and vice president of the International Safety Company, Inc.
Through the years, Moss has accumulated countless awards and recognitions. Included among his achievements has been his selection into .ve Halls of Fame, among them the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the North Carolina American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame, the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame and the Cleveland County Sports Hall of Fame. He also was an inaugural member in the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame.
Assisting Moss throughout most of his career was his loving wife, the late Elaine Beilke Moss. Elaine Moss served as Director of Administration for the South Atlantic League and was honored on November 10, 1990 when she received the South Atlantic League's Distinguished Achievement Award. She was inducted into the SAL Hall of Fame in 1994, and was active in community events while serving as First Lady of Kings Mountains for more than two decades.
"Elaine did a wonderful job for the league and I have no doubt that without her, the league would not be the strong entity that it is today," Moss said. "She was never one who sought the spotlight. Instead, she preferred to handle her duties in a warm and personal manner that led to such tremendous success for everyone involved."
The South Atlantic League's Personnel Committee hopes to name a successor to Moss as league president by July 1, 2007. Personnel and Search Committee chairman, Alan Stein said, "this is a very melancholy undertaking that those of us in the South Atlantic League are taking very seriously. We will conduct our process with the utmost dignity that will be re.ective of the magni.cent tenure of John Henry Moss and will have a year to celebrate his achievements for and in the baseball industry". The new president will work with Moss for the remaining six months of the year before assuming the responsibilities on January 1, 2008.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
