Legion fans love baseball and peanuts

Fans attending Atlanta Braves or Kannapolis Intimidators baseball games expect to hear venders yelling, “Hot roasted peanuts! Get your hot roasted peanuts!”

But at the Mocksville-Davie Legion games in Davie County, it’s the smell of roasting peanuts that gets the fans’ attention. Before fans can even reach the bleachers, the aroma hits them. It’s a challenge to walk by without buying some.

“Hot roasted peanuts are great,” Charles Haynes said. “It’s baseball. Having hot roasted peanuts is like having chocolate syrup poured on your vanilla ice cream. They are better when they are hot.”

Haynes is the game announcer and that means he’s there for the duration. “I’ve eaten peanuts all night. I can’t leave, so I eat peanuts.”

Joe Brown is the Legion’s peanut man.

“You have to have the peanuts ready when fans start coming in or they will be mad,” he explained. “One customer came in one night, and we didn’t have any peanuts. He said that buying hot roasted peanuts was the only reason he came to the games and turned around and went home.”

Brown starts roasting peanuts about 112 hours before the 7:15 p.m. start. “There is no secret to roasting peanuts,” Brown says. “It’s just knowing when to put them in the roaster and knowing when to take them out ... And, of course, using good peanuts.”

Brown says he doesn’t know how he became the peanut man, but he is third person to hold the title.

“The American Legion board of directors decided 10 years ago to invest in a peanut-roasting machine,” Brown said. “Gene Jones was the first peanut man, followed by Bill Cook. I sort of filled in for Cook when he was out sick.”

The peanut man roasts three fresh batches of peanuts at each game. “That’s all you can do in one game, and we always sell out,” Brown said. “We charged $1 for a big bag of peanuts 10 years ago, and we still charge $1 today.”

Rowan Legion baseball fan Gary Davis tried out the famous roasted peanuts at a recent game between the Mocksville-Davie and Rowan Legion teams. “They are the best I’ve had tonight,” he joked.

Gene Hendrix , a loyal Davie Legion fan, said, “These are the best roasted peanuts anywhere.”

Contact James Barringer at 704-797-4261 or photography@salisburypost.com .