“It’s amazing to see how much Davidson has changed and to see who the young men I coached have become,” said Stevens, who coached baseball for 18 years before leaving the college in 1974. “Harry Cline was an excellent catcher and an all-around great guy.”
Cline was the first person to encourage Harris to join the baseball team their first year at Davidson. The two discovered they both played first base in high school, but during tryouts, Harris was surprised to find Cline playing catcher.
“He told me he’d never been behind the plate before in his life,” Harris said.
Cline would go on to become team captain, All Southern Conference catcher for three seasons and MVP his senior year. He worked seamlessly with Harris, helping him lead the team pitchers in earned run averages while posting a season ERA that ranked in the top ten for Davidson at that time. Together, they were “the battery” that drove the team to victory.
“Harry was always thinking ahead, trying to get on top of the next play,” said teammate Nick Daves ’62. “His consistency is what made him such a great player, and he carried that into his life off the field.”
After Davidson, Harris and Cline remained close friends at the University of North Carolina School of Law, stood in each other’s weddings and continued to stay in touch through all of life’s changes. The year before Cline passed, he and Harris attended a Phillies spring training game together in Clearwater, Florida.
“It’s really special to stay in touch with a friend for so many years,” Harris said. “When I look at the Davidson team now, I know they’re building friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Two Wildcat baseball teams — 63 years apart — swapped stories and compared notes at the bullpen dedication. For Harris and his teammates, these scholar-athletes provide a glimpse of life at Davidson today.