 In 1916, Pearson formed the Asheville Royal Giants, Asheville's first black semi-professional baseball team.The Royal Giants played at Oates Park on Asheville's south side and sometimes at Pearson Park.Baseball was not a full-time career for his players, many of whom held jobs at Biltmore Estate, on trains, or in hotels like the Grove Park Inn, Battery Park Hotel, and the former George Vanderbilt Hotel.