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Emo was a Greensboro native, part of a large Lebanese immigrant family consisting of (among others), the Koury's (Joe and Fred Koury), the Showfety's, and the Mack's (John Mack of Mooresville, a football star at Duke in the late '60s, is retired Chairman/CEO of Morgan Stanley). They were (are) an accomplished family.
Emo became one of the region’s greatest minor-league baseball stars. In 1941, Emo started out playing for Danville, followed by the Durham Bulls, Montreal Royals, Raleigh Capitals, Burlington Bees, before finishing up his career with the Greensboro Patriots from 1947-1949. Showfety was a Carolina League All-Star in 1947, 1948, and 1949, hitting 35 HRs and batting .347 for the Patriots in '49. My older brother 'drug bats' (was 'batboy') during Emo's Greensboro playing days.
Emo is probably the most popular player in Greensboro’s long, storied baseball history. Showfety, an Elon graduate, was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 for football and baseball and is part of the inaugural class of the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame.
Got to love the old baseball memories and legends. For those of us who revere the game, they are so much a part of who we are. Emo left us for 'the big game in the sky', July 11, 2002, at age 82. Rest In Peace, Great Emo.
I have no particulars to share except to say that I was 5 to 7 years old when he played for the Patriots. My dad had returned with a purple heart from WWII and we lived in the old ORD (Oversea's Replacement Depot) barracks. Former home of the Army Air Corps camp for retraining of pilots and others (?) before returning to the front.
ReplyDeleteAs a returning Army infantryman, our family of 6 was able to have a temporary home for the exorbitant sum (ha) or $100 per year. I loved it. I loved Proximity School. I enjoyed the Greensboro trolley rides. It was quite a time in this old man's childhood.
Probably my favorite times were when Dad would take me to that iconic Greensboro Memorial Stadium to see Emo Showfety and the rest of the Patriots play (we always sat on the 3rd base side). I was mesmerized by his home run exploits. As a first grader, I thought he was greater than Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb combined.
Maybe not. To this 6 year old, he really was.