Editing Luke Appling (section)

==Early life and career==
Appling was born in [[High Point, North Carolina]]. He attended Fulton High School in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. He later said that he had been lefthanded, a trait that he shared with his father, until he was in high school. At that point, he said that he became righthanded because he wanted to play shortstop.<ref name=Quotes>{{cite web|title=Luke Appling Quotes|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/luke_appling_quotes.shtml|publisher=[[Baseball Almanac]]|access-date=April 8, 2014}}</ref>

Appling attended [[Oglethorpe University|Oglethorpe College]] in Atlanta for two years. In 1930, the Oglethorpe baseball team was undefeated in a 15-game season; in his last game at Oglethorpe, Appling hit three home runs against [[Mercer University]].<ref name="Oglethorpe">{{cite web|title=Oglethorpe hosts family of baseball great and alum Luke Appling|url=http://source.oglethorpe.edu/2012/04/19/oglethorpe-hosts-family-of-baseball-great-and-alum-luke-appling/|publisher=[[Oglethorpe University]]|access-date=December 14, 2016|date=April 19, 2012}}</ref>
Appling signed with the [[Atlanta Crackers]] of the [[Southern Association|Southern League]] that year. He was a good hitter in his first year, but committed 42 errors in 104 games. The [[Chicago Cubs]] showed some interest at first, but decided not to sign him, and the White Sox ended up purchasing him from the Crackers for $20,000.{{cn|date=November 2023}}