GASTON COLLEGE RECORD BOOK: Baseball's first and only draft pick was a local strikeout legend - Alan Lindsay

(Part 9 of a 10-part series)

When Alan Lindsay came to play baseball at Gaston College, he was already a local legend for Cherryville's Junior and Senior High and American Legion Post 100 baseball teams.

By the time his career ended at Gaston College after the 1971 season, Lindsay set history that remains today as the school's only player to be drafted by a major league franchise.

When he played professionally in 1972, he also became the first Gaston College product to play professional baseball.

The story of how he turned down professional baseball twice before signing a free agent contract shows the uncertainty that existed in the country during the Vietnam War era.

A 6-foot-4, 215-pound left-handed pitcher, Lindsay's pitching performances in high school, during American Legion baseball and at Gaston College were events if for no other reason than major league scouts frequently attended those contests.

Those scouts wanted to find out how more about Lindsay's proficiency to strike out so many hitters.

Before coming to Gaston College, Lindsay racked up 725 strikeouts in 428 2-3 innings for Cherryville teams dating back to Junior High. He also had two 21-strikeout games in Legion baseball - once each in the 1968 and 1969 seasons.

After going 11-2 with 169 strikeouts in 80 2-3 innings for Cherryville High in his senior year of 1969, the Chicago White Sox drafted Lindsay in the 24th round of the June major league draft.

Lindsay forsook the pros to sign with Gaston College though he was drafted again by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 9th round of the January 1970 second phase major league draft - or before he'd ever thrown an official pitch for Gaston College.

Back then, the U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War created issues for Lindsay that made his decision complicated.

"Looking back on it now, I should've went with the Pirates," Lindsay said. "I was really stuck with the Vietnam War going on. I knew that I got a one-year deferment if I was playing pro ball but I didn't know what would happen after that year had ended.
"I didn't go and didn't take a chance at the time."

Instead, Lindsay and former high school rivals Rocky Goforth (Kings Mountain), Searly Lowery (Kings Mountain) and John Colvard (Lincolnton) formed a formidable pitching staff for Gaston College coach Dean Burroughs' 1970 N.C. Community College Conference championship team.

Lindsay had a 3-2 record with 56 strikeouts in 34 innings highlighted by 2-hitter in a 4-2 win over Sandhills Community College that wrapped up the Warriors' second of four straight league championships.

The following year in 1971, Lindsay was even better with a 7-2 overall record and 100 strikeouts in 56 innings highlighted by a near no-hitter in a 13-0 victory over Surry Community College and a school-record 19 strikeouts in a 2-hit 7-0 shutout at Lenoir Community College that completed an unbeaten, 11-0 NCCC season.

The school-record 156 career strikeouts gave Lindsay a staggering 881 strikeouts in 518 2-3 innings in local baseball games covering six springs and summers from 1965 to 1971.

"I always had a good time and we had good teams," Lindsay said of career.

He considered the Gaston College near no-hitter a career highlight; He has thrown 6 2-3 no-hit innings and had two strikes on the batter when a bloop single in shallow right field ended up being the only hit he allowed that day.

"I made a bad pitch is what I would say," Lindsay said.

Once his Gaston College career ended, Lindsay still longed to give professional baseball a shot.

In the late winter of 1972, he did tryouts for the Minnesota Twins in Orlando, Fla., and the Houston Astros in Cocoa, Fla.

"It was about three days before spring training camp started and my dad and I went down there," Lindsay said. "We warmed up on the side. I actually had stopped in Orlando first to talk to the Twins. They said they didn't need anybody at the time but Houston called and told us to go to Cocoa where the Astros trained.
"I went down there and tried out and they said 'Go back to where you're staying and we'll give you a call.' They called, had a fair contract and I signed it."

In eight appearances (three starts) for the Astros' Florida Rookie League team in 1972, Lindsay had a 2-1 record and 4.00 ERA. But the Astros didn't renew his contract and he returned to Gaston County where he played semipro baseball and began a career as a truck driver.

He now lives in rural Cleveland County with his wife Beke, a longtime teacher.

Lindsay said he's happy to hear that Gaston College had restarted athletics that included a baseball team that won a league championship during the 2021-22 school year.

"Baseball's always been big around here so I'm sure they'll be able to attract some good players," Lindsay said. "It's good to know they have a team again."