David Cheadle This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Hendersonville Times-News

   www.hendersonvillenews.com/app - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/5/2005   Last Visited: 6/5/2005

   Cheadle, a first-round pick in '70, advises to keep joy in game
   ...
   Asheville High's David Cheadle, seated right, looks over his New York Yankees contract on June 18, 1970, with his mother, Barbara Cheadle, seated left and standing left to right, Yankees scout Clyde Klutzz, Cheadle's father, Dave Sr., and lawyer Bobby Robinson. (photo courtesy of david cheadle)
   ...
   His name was David Cheadle, who graduated from Asheville High that year, and his asset was a cannon of a left arm.
   
   Firing pitches at a little more than 90 mph as an Asheville High senior, it was a common sight to see a handful of professional scouts at games watching Cheadle's every move. In early June of 1970 he was drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees as the 12th overall pick.
   ...
   If it happens, Cheadle, 53, says it wouldn't bother him one bit to be outdone.
   
   "The answer to that question is simple -- my ego is gone now. Of course, I am proud that I was the 12th overall pick and the highest pick ever from the mountains, but if a kid gets drafted higher than me, then I'm all for it. For any kid to get the opportunity to make money and be successful in baseball makes me happy," Cheadle said from his Virginia Beach, Va., home.
   
   Cheadle had signed a scholarship to play baseball at the University of North Carolina, but the draft changed his plans. At first the Yankees offered him a signing bonus of $27,000, which he turned down.
   
   Cheadle and his father, David Sr., got in touch with Asheville attorney Bobby Robinson, and Robinson and the family negotiated with the Yankees and a deal was made.
   ...
   The bonus jumped to close to $200,000, according to Cheadle, and that also included a four-year scholarship to UNC.
   ...
   I remember one game he got so mad that he stormed to the dugout and punched a hole in the wall," Cheadle said.
   
   Cheadle played three years in the minors and was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 1973. Then in the fall of that year, he got the call he'd been waiting for his entire life.
   ...
   As you can imagine, it was a dramatic change and a dream come true," Cheadle said.
   
   On Sept. 16, 1973, he made his major league debut, strolling out to the mound in the 11th inning to face the Cincinnati Reds with two outs.
   
   "My wife and I were watching television, watching the game, and then there comes Dave walking out to the mound. We couldn't believe it," Cheadle Sr. said.
   
   Cheadle, who said his fastball topped out at 96 mph during his pro career, got the final out of the 11th, and in the 12th had the pleasure of facing the likes of Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.
   ...
   I couldn't believe I was actually coming in the game," Cheadle said.
   ...
   Cheadle never made it back to the big leagues, and in 1977 he re-entered UNC and earned his degree. Now he is a software developer for IBM, but he still gets asked for autographs through the mail.
   
   "It's kind of curious, really. There are these baseball fanatics across the country who try to get autographs of the entire team from each year. They'll send an index card and self-addressed, stamped envelope, so I usually send my autograph and other stuff. It's kind of neat," Cheadle said.
   
   Cheadle will be watching the draft, because he, too, has ties to someone who could among the top picks.
   
   "We've got a player here in Virginia Beach, Justin Upton, who was just recently named the national player of the year. His brother, B.J., was the No. 2 overall pick just a few years ago," Cheadle said. "There's plenty of baseball talent here and in North Carolina, too, this year."
   ...
   Cheadle ended up spending eight years in professional baseball and went 0-1 with two strikeouts and three walks in his major league career.

2. 2. Hendersonville Times-News

   www.hendersonvillenews.com/app - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/7/2005   Last Visited: 6/7/2005

   Asheville High's Dave Cheadle, selected 12th by the New York Yankees in 1970, had held that honor for 35 years until Maybin, an 18-year-old outfielder from Arden, heard his name called over the sound system at Original Steakhouse and Sports Theatre in Skyland.