Gene Locklear

Gene Locklear (born July 19, 1949) is an American professional baseball outfielder and commercial artist. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees from 1973 to 1977 and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 1978. Locklear began painting as a child and became a professional artist during his baseball career.

Early life Locklear was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, in 1949. He was raised on a tobacco farm in Pembroke, North Carolina. Locklear is a full-blooded member of the Lumbee people.

Locklear attended Pembroke Senior High School, where he played baseball and gridiron football. He graduated in 1968. He also earned a degree in commercial art through a correspondence course, as Pembroke did not have any art classes. He made his professional debut that year with the Tampa Tarpons of the Class A Florida State League before the Reds reassigned him to the Sioux Falls Packers of the Class A Northern League. Locklear played for the Trois-Rivières Aigles of the Class AA Eastern League in 1971 and had a .323 batting average, which led the league. In 1972, he played for the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA American Association and again won the batting title, finishing the season with a .325 average. He finished the season with a .233 average in 180 at bats between Cincinnati and San Diego. The Padres assigned Locklear to the Hawaii Islanders of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League to start the 1974 season. He batted .341 in 77 games and was promoted to the Padres, where he received 50 at bats. Locklear began the 1975 season with San Diego, but remained behind Bobby Tolan in their depth chart. Locklear returned to the Padres after playing in 18 games for Hawaii and batted .321 in 237 at bats for the Reds for the 1975 season. Rick Sawyer went to the Padres from Syracuse as the player to be named later. The Yankees promoted Locklear to the major leagues on August 3. Though the Yankees were competing for the postseason, they acquired Cliff Johnson and Dave Kingman rather than turn to Locklear. He signed a two-year contract worth over $100,000 per season with the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball. Locklear did not make the team. The Reds offered Locklear a roster spot with Indianapolis, which he declined. Locklear retired from baseball. He began selling his paintings while he was in high school. In addition to athletes, Locklear also paints Native American people and landscapes. He also made 26 paintings of Pete Rose and a collage of baseball stars that Rose hung in a restaurant that he owned.

Locklear has sold paintings to athletes including Ted Williams, Lance Armstrong, and Tiger Woods, and has sold paintings for upwards of $30,000. He painted murals in front of crowds at Super Bowl XXVII, the MLB All-Star Game, and the NBA All-Star Game. He designed the cover of the souvenir program for the 1995 MLB All Star Game. Locklear was the official artist of the Arena Football League and Super Bowl XXXVII.

Personal life Locklear and his wife, Susan, married in 1985. They live in El Cajon, California.