Former KM mayor, minor league founder, is dead at 90

By Joe DePriest

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Published: July 1, 2009

CHARLOTTE - John Henry Moss, former Kings Mountain mayor and founder of the Class A South Atlantic League, died Wednesday at Kings Mountain Hospital, according to current Mayor Rick Murphrey.

Moss, often called "Mr. Baseball," was 90.

In 1947, Moss established the Western Carolina League, a semi-pro baseball league featuring teams in small towns in western North and South Carolina. It grew to 16 clubs in eight states and in 1979 became the SAL.

Moss served as president until 2007 and then became president emeritus. In 2004, he was inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame.

Moss was mayor of Kings Mountain for 23 years and the architect of Moss Lake, the city's 15-billion gallon reservoir that bears his name.

During the 1970s, Moss brought more than $20 million in federal grants -- worth several times that in today's dollars -- into Kings Mountain. Newsweek magazine once called him the "mayor with the Midas touch," and he became a national speaker.

"John was a dear friend and a wonderful person," Murphrey said. "He was a true visionary, a true professional and a man of integrity. John was proud of Kings Mountain, and Kings Mountain was always proud of John. He will be missed."

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Harris Funeral Home of Kings Mountain.