John Henry Moss, born in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, played minor league baseball in 1940, then joined the army and served as a bodyguard to Gen. Ira T. Wyche during World War II. After returning to Kings Mountain in 1947, he established the Western Carolina League, a semi-pro baseball league in small towns in western North and South Carolina, and it was approved for membership in the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues in October 1947. Between 1950 and 1958, he worked as a general manager for minor league teams in the Detroit Tigers' system. Back in Kings Mountain in 1959, he was named to reorganize the Western Carolinas League, which was approved for membership in the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues on June 29, 1959. In 1980, the Western Carolinas League took the name South Atlantic League, and under his leadership it grew to 16 clubs in 8 states. By emphasizing quality, wholesome, family-friendly entertainment at an affordable price, he helped bring professional baseball to 43 cities represented by 114 ownership groups. Assisting him through most of his career was his wife, Elaine Beilke Moss, who served as Director of Administration and Finance for the Western Carolinas and South Atlantic League for 45 years before her death in 2004. In addition to his baseball leadership, he served as Mayor of Kings Mountain from 1965 to 1988 and gained national recognition for securing more than $40 million in federal grants, leading Newsweek to call him the "mayor with the Midas touch." In 2007, to honor his lifetime commitment and 50 years of dedication to the South Atlantic League, the league's Board of Directors retired jersey number 50 throughout the league.