LUMBERTON — In advance of Lumbee Homecoming, Frank Fulton is excited to unveil the Native American National baseball team to Robeson County residents on July 3, midway through the tribe’s annual celebration.
“We feel like it would be more advantageous to play a day before the 4th (of July) so family and friends can visit and have a good time with the (Lumbee) Festival,” Fulton said.
The former head baseball coach at Hampden-Sydney College and the German national team boasts 40 years of experience including scouting stints with Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Fulton currently heads the V-Marlins club, an international summer team that facilitates players to college and professional baseball. With his work throughout various nations as well as close ties to states along the east coast, he noticed a passion among Native American baseball players.
His objective for Native American players across the U.S. became clear: to represent their unique culture and “share goodwill with other peoples through the game of baseball.”
Two weeks before the Robeson County Slugfest, Fulton made a trip to Pembroke to scout, meet with local coaches and hold tryouts.
“I just kind of fell in love with the fact that there were guys that loved baseball and enjoyed the opportunity to get on the field,” he said.
“Every time I come to [Robeson County], I really don’t want to go back home. I just love the people. There’s a sense of community. There’s a sense of responsibility.”
Meeting with Purnell Swett baseball coach Jeff Lamb and the school’s Athletic Director William Deese, Fulton had enough confidence to form the Native American Warriors and a place to host the special showcase in July.
The team will eventually have three levels: senior (age 18 and up), junior (age 18 and under) and youth development.
The current composition of the group is dominated by those of Lumbee heritage, with Maliseet and Cherokee represented as well. In addition to North Carolina, representatives from Utah and Virginia were recruited to join and Fulton is vying for a wider representation from over 400 tribes across the nation.
A slew of current and former county athletes grace the roster, including the county’s reigning player of the year, Zack Carter.
As acting commissioner of the effort, he says he wants participants, especially those from Robeson County, to see other opportunities outside the state and country.
“Not that they’ve got to go get anything special from anywhere else, but let them show their talents and skills, and the beautiful things that are there in their community and sharing it with other people,” said Fulton. “Our mission is to create life warriors through sport.”
His overall goal is to rival national teams in other countries and he’d like to see the organization evolve into a global brand that competes both overseas as well as home in the Americas. Fulton added that doing so requires the help of bigger partnerships to host events where people pay to watch, establish youth baseball camps as well as international exchanges.
As of now, there are six scheduled games over the next month that include stops in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The Warriors will take on the V-Marlins in Pembroke to complement what is expected to be a festive evening on the diamond where ex-MLB veterans will be honored. Gene Locklear and the late Dwight Lowry are to be recognized as hometown heroes, with Locklear signing autographs. They’ll be joined by 16-year major league vet Johnny Grubb.
Opening ceremonies from Purnell Swett begin at 6:30 p.m. with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.
