George Edd Barker

George Edd Barker was a resident of Abingdon, Virginia. The 1976 Emory & Henry Sports Hall of Fame inductee was ineligible to play for the Wasps due to his commitment to a professional baseball career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he served as assistant baseball coach and and longtime E&H baseball fan.

Barker signed a professional baseball contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers and moved up the organization for 10 years as a relief pitcher. Barker threw a no-hitter against a Japanese All-Star team while touring Japan in 1954 with the Pueblo Dodgers. He was invited in 1958 to attend spring training with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched for a number of major and minor league teams, compiling a career record of 64-46.

Barker attended Virginia Tech before finding his home at Emory & Henry College, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Phi. A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, Barker served as Regional Sales Manager for the Magnavox Company for 18 years and established Coal Marketing Corporation.

Born on September 25, 1930, George Edd Barker passed away on Tuesday, January 31, 2012.