Glenn Gardner

Glenn Gardner began his athletic career in 1925, two years before Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in a single season, and retired from competition in 1941, at about the same time that Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak came to an end. Sandwiched in between, he put together a Hall-of-Fame worthy body of athletic work. Glenn grew up in Morganton and McCaysville and attended high school across the border at Copperhill, at a time when Georgia students were allowed to attend that school by paying a small tuition charge. Copperhill High School provided the most comprehensive and competitive athletic program in the area, including the only opportunity for boys to play organized football. Also, Glenn’s uncle John Carter was the principal and basketball coach at Copperhill, undoubtedly another factor in his decision to attend the school. Glenn was a star in football and basketball at Copperhill, and played baseball in the summers with local amateur teams. He graduated from Copperhill in the spring of 1928. Glenn’s father, Herschel Gardner, was one of the early local baseball notables and is credited by some with “bringing baseball” to the Fannin/Copperhill area in the opening years of the 20th century. It was in the game of baseball that Glenn truly excelled. Oglethorpe University in Atlanta awarded Glenn a scholarship to play baseball for the Petrels and he competed there for two years. He was the starting left fielder for the 1930 Oglethorpe team that won the Southern Conference championship with an undefeated record of 12-0 against college competition and 16-1 overall. Gardner was one of the mainstays of the team, hitting at a lusty .367 clip and playing sound defense. One of his teammates, and roommate, was future Major League Hall of Famer, Luke Appling. After his time at Oglethorpe, Glenn Gardner proceeded to play semi-professional baseball with some of the best teams in the South from the summer of 1930 through the 1941 season. He played with teams in Helen, Georgia, ATCO of the Northwest Georgia Textile League, Fisher Body in Atlanta, Union Springs, Alabama, Dixisteel of the Atlanta Commercial League and finally with the Post Office Scott League in Atlanta. He won the Northwest Georgia Textile League batting title in 1932 with an average of .430 while playing second base for the ATCO team. Gardner’s halcyon days in semi-pro baseball occurred during his tenure with the Dixisteel team of Atlanta. The team was sponsored by the Atlantic Steel Company and year after year fielded one of the strongest amateur baseball teams in the United States. Glenn Gardner was the starting second baseman for Dixisteel from 1936 through 1940. The team won the Mid-South Amateur Baseball Championships in 1937 and 1938. The 1937 team went on to play in the National Amateur Baseball Tournament in Battle Creek, Michigan where they finished as national runners-up. Gardner was named to the all-tournament second team at second base. The Ruth Dickey/Glenn Gardner wedding was the social event of the summer of 1937 in Copperhill and McCaysville. They were both members of the Copperhill High graduating class of 1928. Ruth was a popular teacher at McCaysville Elementary School before moving to Atlanta after the wedding. The marriage produced two children, Bob and Glenda. Glenda Wattenbarger now resides in Epworth and is the diligent caretaker of pictures and memorabilia from the lives of her mother and father, as well as the entire family of her great uncle, John Mercer Carter. Glenn Gardner retired from baseball competition following the 1941 season. He worked for the Postal Service in Atlanta until his retirement in 1971. He and Ruth retired to Warm Springs, Georgia where he died on September 9, 1994. He is buried in the Methodist Cemetery in Morganton.