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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Forrest Harrill “Smoky” Burgess, Forest City. Photo by Rusty Long

  • Monument Name

    Forrest Harrill “Smoky” Burgess Statue, Forest City

  • Type

    Statue

  • Creator

    Big Statues, Provo, Utah, Foundry

    Matt Glen, Provo, Utah, Sculptor

  • City

    Forest City

  • County

    Rutherford

  • Description

    The bronze statue is Burgess exact height of 5’8” and depicts him in the follow-through motion of swinging a baseball bat. The uniform worn is that of the Pittsburgh Pirates and bears the number 6 which Burgess wore for the 1960 World Series Champions. The statue is mounted to a base of brick-masonry with a cast concrete top and bronze plaque. The statue is centered in a walk-way representative of a baseball diamond.

    Images: Front (close-up) view | Bronze plaque | Back view of the statue | Back (close-up) view | Side view | Far-off view of the statue and the gymnasium

  • Inscription

    FORREST HARRILL “SMOKY’ BURGESS / CAROLEEN, NORTH CAROLINA / BORN FEBRUARY 6, 1927 / DIED SEPTEMBER 15, 1991

    MAJOR LEAGUE CATCHER / BATTED LEFT-HANDED AND THREW RIGHT-HANDED / 6-TIME ALL STAR / .295 CAREER BATTING AVERAGE / 126 CAREER HOME RUNS / 145 CAREER PINCH HITS – 4TH ALL TIME

    SIGNED BY CHICAGO CUBS IN 1944 / CHICAGO CUBS 1949-1951 / PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 1952-1955 / CINCINNATI REDS 1955-1958 / PITTSBURGH PIRATES 1959-1964 / CHICAGO WHITE SOX 1964-1967 / MEMBER OF 1960 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION / PITTSBURGH PIRATES / MEMBER OF CINCINNATI REDS HALL OF FAME / MEMBER OF NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

  • Custodian

    Town of Forest City

  • Dedication Date

    November 9, 2013

  • Decade

    2010s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.338680 , -81.873160 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      Andrews, M.A. “Dedication to Our Hometown Hero Smoky Burgess,” Rutherford Weekly (Forest City, NC), November 2021, (accessed August 5, 2022) Link

      Sturgill, Andy. “Smoky Burgess,” Society for American Baseball Research, (accessed August 5, 2022) Link

      “Big Statues Creates Life-size Bronze Statue to Memorialize Pinch Hitter Forrest Harrill “Smoky” Burgess,” Cision PRWeb, prweb.com, (accessed August 5, 2022) Link

      “Forrest Harrill 'Smoky' Burgess,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed August 5, 2022) Link

      “Forrest Harrill “Smoky” Burgess Forrest City, North Carolina,” Big Statues, (accessed August 5, 2022) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Bronze statue and tablet, brick base with concrete top

  • Sponsors

    Town of Forest City

  • Subject Notes

    Forrest Harrill “Smoky” Burgess was a major league baseball catcher who batted left and threw right. He was a 6-time All-star and became one of the best pinch hitters in baseball history. He was given the nickname “Smoky” for the Smokey Mountains but spelled it “Smoky” throughout his career.

    Vernon Law of Orem, Utah and a former team mate of Burgess assisted the sculptor by giving his input to the swing and likeness.

  • Location

    The statue is located near the intersection of W. Main Street (US Hwy. 221-A) and Memorial Drive next to the Cool Springs Gymnasium. The gymnasium address is 121 Memorial Drive, Forest City, NC.

  • Landscape

    The statue stands in the center of a walk-way representative of a baseball diamond.

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