Scoring straight A's in D ball

Edd Hartness' journey through the Class D circuits began as a teenager toward the end of the Great Depression. When it concluded nearly two decades later, he was nearing middle age and was no closer to the big leagues than when he started.

Yet the 86-year-old Hartness looks back on his Class D days with pride. He spent only six seasons in the Georgia State and Georgia-Florida Leagues, but that was more than enough time to become one of the most beloved and talented players the region had ever seen. Hartness set several league records while playing for Americus, Eastman and Tifton, also leaving his mark as one of the most effective managers of his day.

Though his resume included a handful of Pacific Coast League games in 1946, Hartness spent much of his career in the Deep South, where he embodied the Minor League player of that era. He was scrappy, colorful and clearly made a difference for whatever team he played or managed.

Though he never made much of an impact outside the Georgia State and Georgia-Florida Leagues, what he did there earned him a spot in the inaugural class of the Class D Hall of Fame in 2005. While he never achieved fame and fortune in baseball, Hartness has no regrets.

"I got the most out of it," he said. "So I'm not disappointed. I don't know of any one thing that I might not have done. I made some mistakes, but I made a lot of right decisions. And we had a pretty good time down there."

Hartness had more than just a good time on the Class D circuits -- he had success, lots of it, beginning in 1938 when he tied for the Georgia-Florida League lead with eight home runs as an 18-year-old. He hit .356 the following season for Americus, finishing second in the circuit, before batting .300 for Macon of the Class B South Atlantic League in 1940.

But like so many other ballplayers of the era, World War II interrupted Hartness' career. He returned from the Pacific Theater in 1946 and began the season with Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League. Hartness pinch-hit in a handful of games before Los Angeles, which had a glut of first basemen, sold him to Nashville of the Southern Association.

It was in Nashville that Hartness contracted malaria, effectively ending any chance he had of sticking with the Double-A club.

"A lot of players felt like I didn't get a fair shake in Nashville," Hartness said. "So I went back to Macon [in 1947 and 48] before Eastman bought my contract. After that, I was a player/manager for seven years."

Hartness played and managed on the Class D circuits for four of the next six seasons with Eastman and Tifton, sandwiching in another two-year stint at Macon. All told, he hit .348 in six Class D seasons, including a league-leading .400 with Eastman in 1950. He was one of only six players ever to crack that barrier in the Georgia State League. Hartness' 201 hits in 1950 are second only to the 207 Alvin Jenkins collected with Jesup in 1951, while his 137 runs scored that season rank third on the league's all-time list.

He also set league standards for total bases (331), doubles (48), extra-base hits (79) and putouts (1,307) in 1950. Hartness' 134 RBIs that year are among the top 10 in league history, bettered by only seven men, including himself, who drove in 136 runs the previous season.

"Hitting was never one of my problems," Hartness said. "That's what I remember most about my time down there. I remember one night after a game, we were eating and the general manager came up to me. I was hitting about .380 at the time and he said he believed I would hit .400 if I didn't have to worry about managing. But I figured my average went up because I managed.

"When I started managing, I began thinking about winning and making the right decisions on the ballfield. I completely forgot about hitting, except when I was up there to hit. And 1950 was just one of those years. I wasn't thinking about hitting and I was in the top five in every category."

Hartness guided Eastman to a first-place finish in 1949 and a GSL championship in 1950. He also piloted Tifton for two seasons, reaching the playoffs in 1953. Hartness played and managed Macon in the Class A South Atlantic League in 1951 and 1952, reaching the playoffs both seasons. He finished his career by playing and managing for two seasons in the Class C Provincial League with Sherbrooke, where he made it to the postseason in 1954.

"I don't ever think it [his success] was because of the league," Hartness said. "The Georgia-Florida League was one of the best Class D leagues there was. There was good pitching in that league. And the Georgia State League would go out and hire anyone to pitch for them."

Hartness and his wife, Julie, have been married for 60 years and still live in Georgia. They have three children and Hartness went on to own a thriving novelty company after leaving baseball. He stayed with the business until he retired but never quite lost his desire to be around baseball, coaching Little League and youth programs for many years. Hartness said he still wants to make a video to teach kids how to play the game and ignore the outside pressure that's put on them.

There's a room in Hartness' house where he keeps some memorabilia from his playing days. He has an old Macon uniform and some pictures, his favorite being one of him and Connie Mack. There's also a picture of him and the first club he managed in Eastman.

There are few people who remember those days. For Hartness, though, his time in Class D baseball in southern Georgia remains as vivid now as it was more than five decades ago.