The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. [4] They were established as charter members of the Southern Association in 1901. [5] Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers (regularly shortened to Vols) in 1908. [6] Nashville remained in the Southern Association until it disbanded after the 1961 season. [5] The team sat out the 1962 campaign but returned for a final season in the South Atlantic League in 1963 before ceasing operations altogether. [4] The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starting pitcher is an honor which is given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, [7] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. [8] The Vols used 55 different Opening Day starters in their 62 seasons.
Nashville's first Opening Day game was played against the Chattanooga Lookouts at Stanton Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 2, 1901. [9] Ted Corbett was their starting pitcher that day; he took a no decision in the 15–14 loss, which lasted 10 innings. [9] Their first Opening Day game held at home was against the Birmingham Barons at Athletic Park on April 10, 1907. [10] Starter John Duggan pitched a complete game for the 3–0 victory. [10] Nashville's Athletic Park became known as Sulphur Dell in 1908. [11] The Vols' final Opening Day at the Dell occurred on April 8, 1961, against Chattanooga. [12] Albert Johnston started the game, a 5–3 defeat, and was charged with the loss. [12] On April 19, 1963, the Vols opened their final season versus the Knoxville Smokies at Bill Meyer Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. [13] Starting pitcher Aubrey Gatewood did not figure in the decision in the 8–4 win. [13]
Nashville's Opening Day starting pitchers had a combined Opening Day record of 28 wins, 23 losses, and 11 no decisions, including 1 tie, in 62 seasons. At Sulphur Dell, they had a record of 11 wins, 10 losses, and 6 no decisions, including 1 tie, in 27 Opening Day starts. Vols pitchers had a record of 17 wins, 13 losses, and 5 no decisions in 35 Opening Day starts on the road.
Seven Vols made two Opening Day starts: Art Herman (1903 and 1905), Frank Bair (1911 and 1912), George Milstead (1929 and 1932), George Jeffcoat (1940 and 1941), Leo Twardy (1946 and 1947), Pete Mallory (1948 and 1949), and Jerry Davis (1957 and 1959). Six Nashville Opening Day starters also started Opening Day games in Major League Baseball: Wiley Piatt for the Philadelphia Phillies (1899); [14] George McQuillan for Philadelphia (1908 and 1910) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1915); [15] [16] [17] Waite Hoyt for the New York Yankees (1927), Brooklyn Dodgers (1932), and Pittsburgh (1935); [18] [19] [20] Red Lucas for the Cincinnati Reds (1929 and 1930); [21] [22] Russ Meyer for the Chicago Cubs (1948); [23] and Jack Harshman for the Baltimore Orioles (1959). [24]
Pitcher (#) | Number indicates multiple appearances as a Vols Opening Day starter |
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Score (#) | Game score with Vols runs listed first; number of innings in a game that was shorter or longer than 9 innings in parentheses |
Location | Stadium in italics denotes a Vols home game |
W | Win earned by starting pitcher; Vols won game |
L | Loss earned by starting pitcher; Vols lost game |
ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Vols won game |
ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Vols lost game |
ND (T) | No decision by starting pitcher; game resulted in a tie |
Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, Fourth Avenue North, Harrison Street, and Fifth Avenue North. The ballpark was home to the city's minor league baseball teams from 1885 to 1963. The facility was demolished in 1969.
Herschel Greer Stadium was a Minor League Baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification, approximately two mi (3.2 km) south of the city's downtown district. The facility closed at the end of the 2014 baseball season and remained deserted for over four years until its demolition in 2019. Following an archaeological survey, the land is expected to be reincorporated into Fort Negley Park.
The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers in 1908 in reference to Tennessee's nickname, "The Volunteer State". The Vols played their home games at Athletic Park, which had been home to the city's professional baseball teams since 1885 and was renamed Sulphur Dell in 1908.
The Nashville Americans were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League from 1885 to 1886. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell.
The Nashville Blues were a minor league baseball team that played in the Southern League in 1887. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell.
The Nashville Tigers were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League from 1893 to 1894. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Athletic Park, later known as Sulphur Dell.
The Nashville Seraphs, often known as the Nashvilles, were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League in 1895. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Athletic Park, later known as Sulphur Dell. The club won the Southern League pennant in their only season, becoming the city's first minor league baseball team to win a league championship.
The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. They were established as charter members of the Southern Association (SA) in 1901. Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers in 1908. Nashville remained in the Southern Association until the circuit disbanded after the 1961 season. The team sat out the 1962 campaign but returned for a final season in the South Atlantic League (SAL) in 1963 before ceasing operations altogether. Over 62 seasons, the Vols played 9,015 regular-season games and compiled a win–loss record of 4,569–4,446 (.507). They qualified for postseason playoffs on 16 occasions in which they had a record of 108–74–1 (.593). Combining all 9,198 regular-season and postseason games, Nashville's all-time record was 4,677–4,520–1 (.509).
The Nashville Centennials were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class C Central League in 1897. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and were named in reference to the celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of Tennessee's admission to the union in 1796, highlighted by the 1897 Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition. The Centennials played their home games at Athletic Park, later known as Sulphur Dell.
The 1915 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 1915 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. Dan McGugin served his 12th season as the Commodores' head coach. Vanderbilt was a member of the SIAA. They faced a 10-game schedule. Vanderbilt scored 459 points in its first seven shutout games, and 514 points in 510 minutes of actual playing time by season's end, making it a legitimate "point-a-minute team" leading the nation in scoring with a school record still unequaled today.
The 1925 Vanderbilt Commodores football team was an American football team that represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southern Conference during the 1925 football season. In its 21st year under head coach Dan McGugin, the team compiled a 6–3 record, finished in 11th place in the conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 158 to 63.
Bradley Walker was a Nashville attorney who, in his youth, was found to be naturally proficient at virtually any sport he tried, including football, baseball, track, boxing, tennis and golf— in all these sports he either set records or won championships or awards.
The Redbirds–Sounds rivalry is a Minor League Baseball rivalry between Tennessee's two Triple-A baseball teams, the Memphis Redbirds and the Nashville Sounds. The teams compete in the West Division of the International League. Their games are played at Memphis' AutoZone Park and Nashville's First Horizon Park. From 2012 to 2015, the rivalry was incorporated into a promotion called the I-40 Cup Series.
The Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team was established in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1978, after Larry Schmittou and a group of investors purchased the rights to operate an expansion franchise of the Double-A Southern League. The Sounds played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. In 2015, the Sounds left Greer for First Tennessee Park, now known as First Horizon Park, a new facility located on the site of the historic Sulphur Dell ballpark, home to Nashville's minor league teams from 1885 to 1963.
The 1908 Nashville Vols season was the 15th season of minor league baseball in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Nashville Vols' 8th season in the Southern Association. The Vols finished the previous season in last place, but this year won the league pennant, by defeating he New Orleans Pelicans 1-0 on the last day of the season in a game dubbed by Grantland Rice "The Greatest Game Ever Played In Dixie."