The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. [1] They were established as charter members of the Southern Association in 1901. [2] Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers (regularly shortened to Vols) in 1908. [3] Nashville remained in the Southern Association until the circuit disbanded after the 1961 season. [2] The team sat out the 1962 campaign but returned for a final season in the South Atlantic League in 1963 before ceasing operations altogether. [1] Over 62 seasons, numerous players, managers, and coaches won awards, were selected for All-Star teams, or led their league in various statistical areas.
Eight Vols won the Southern Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, more than any other team in the league. [4] These were: Greek George, Ed Sauer, Chuck Workman, Carl Sawatski, Bob Schultz, Jack Harshman, Bob Lennon, and Stan Palys. The only Vol to win the Rookie of the Year Award was Jim O'Toole. Eighty-seven players and four managers and coaches were selected for midseason All-Star teams. Of these, 14 were selected twice with Nashville: Buddy Gilbert, Larry Gilbert, Oris Hockett, Bob Kelly, Pete Mallory, Rube Novotney, Hugh Poland, Hal Quick, Carl Sawatski, Phil Shartzer, Jim Shilling, Dick Sisler, Leo Twardy, and Ben Wade. Two players were chosen as the MVP for their contributions in All-Star games: Tommy Brown and Chuck Coles. Additionally, the Vols served as the competition for the Southern Association All-Stars on six occasions in games held at Nashville's Sulphur Dell.
Five players hold Southern Association records for single-season performances in major statistical categories. Les Fleming holds the batting average record (.414 in 1941), Charlie Gilbert the runs record (178 in 1948), Jim Poole the runs batted in (RBI) record (167 in 1930), Joe Dwyer the doubles record (65 in 1936), and Bob Lennon the home run record (64 in 1954). Lennon led the league in five major categories in 1954: batting average (.345), hits (210), runs (139), RBI (161), and home runs (64). Charlie English led the circuit in four areas in 1942: batting average (.341), hits (217), RBI (139), and doubles (50). Ed Sauer led the league in four categories in 1943: batting average (.368), runs (113), doubles (51), and stolen bases (30).
† | Southern Association record |
(#) | Number of wins by individuals who won an award multiple times |
---|---|
*(#) | Tie between two or more individuals; number indicates total number of individuals with same performance |
These players won Southern Association year-end awards during the club's membership from 1901 to 1961.
Award | Recipient | Season | Position | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player | Greek George [n 1] | 1940 | Catcher | [5] |
Most Valuable Player | Ed Sauer | 1943 | Outfielder | [6] |
Most Valuable Player | Chuck Workman | 1948 | Outfielder | [7] |
Most Valuable Player | Carl Sawatski | 1949 | Catcher | [8] |
Most Valuable Player | Bob Schultz | 1950 | Pitcher | [9] |
Most Valuable Player | Jack Harshman | 1953 | Pitcher | [10] |
Most Valuable Player | Bob Lennon | 1954 | Outfielder | [11] |
Most Valuable Player | Stan Palys | 1957 | Outfielder | [12] |
Rookie of the Year | Jim O'Toole | 1958 | Pitcher | [13] |
Nashville Banner sportswriters Fred Russell and George Leonard created two rosters of the all-time greatest players, covering the periods of 1901 to 1919 and 1920 to 1963. [14]
Position | Fred Russell | George Leonard |
---|---|---|
Player | Player | |
First baseman | Les Fleming | Les Fleming |
Second baseman | John Mihalic | John Mihalic |
Shortstop | Lonny Frey | Woody Williams |
Third baseman | Charlie English | Rance Pless |
Outfielder | Kiki Cuyler | Babe Barna |
Outfielder | Phil Weintraub | Kiki Cuyler |
Catcher | Greek George | Smoky Burgess |
Catcher | Carl Sawatski | Carl Sawatski |
Right-handed pitcher | Tiny Chaplin | Red Lucas |
Right-handed pitcher | Red Lucas | Pete Mallory |
Right-handed pitcher | Jim Maloney | Jim Maloney |
Right-handed pitcher | Boots Poffenberger | Boots Poffenberger |
Left-handed pitcher | Jim O'Toole | Jack Harshman |
Left-handed pitcher | Bob Schultz | Jim O'Toole |
Left-handed pitcher | Boyd Tepler | Bob Schultz |
Manager | Larry Gilbert | Larry Gilbert |
These players, coaches, and managers were selected to participate in the Southern Association All-Star Game (1938–1961) or the South Atlantic League All-Star Game (1963). Additionally, the Vols served as the competition for the Southern Association All-Stars on six occasions (1940, 1943, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1957) in games held at Nashville's Sulphur Dell. [15]
These players won Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards for their contributions in the Southern Association All-Star Game (1938–1961).
Season | Player | Position | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1957 | Tommy Brown [n 3] | Third baseman | [43] |
1958 | Chuck Coles | First baseman | [44] |
These players led all other players in their league in distinct statistical batting categories in a single season.
These pitchers led all other pitchers in their league in distinct statistical pitching categories in a single season.
The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry, specifically the "Nashville sound", a subgenre of country music which originated in the city and became popular in the mid-1950s. The team plays their home games at First Horizon Park, which opened in 2015 on the site of the historic Sulphur Dell ballpark. The Sounds previously played at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. They are the oldest active professional sports franchise in Nashville.
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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.
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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.
Seymour "Cy" Block was an American professional baseball second baseman and third baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball during the 1942, 1945, and 1946 seasons. He played in the minor leagues from 1938 to 1950, with the exception of his military service from 1943 to 1944. After his playing career, Block became an insurance salesman.
The Nashville Xpress were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 1994. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadium, sharing the ballpark with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the American Association. The Xpress were named for the trains which ran along tracks beyond the outfield wall and the team's sudden arrival and expected departure.
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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).
Isaac Newton "Ike" "Newt" Fisher was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League in 1898. Fisher helped organize the Southern Association, a higher-level minor league, and led its Nashville Baseball Club to win the first two Southern Association pennants as a player-manager.
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 Southern Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) was an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Southern Association based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league sportswriters. Early iterations of the honor were voted on by league managers. Though the league was established in 1901, the award was not created until 1936. It continued to be issued through the 1961 season, after which the league disbanded.
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."
The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in their respective divisions as voted on by the managers, general managers, and broadcasters from each of the league's eight clubs.
Nashville, Tennessee, has hosted Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams since the late 19th century but has never been home to a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. The city's professional baseball history dates back to 1884 with the formation of the Nashville Americans, who were charter members of the original Southern League in 1885 and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later renamed Athletic Park and Sulphur Dell. This ballpark was the home of Nashville's minor league teams through 1963. Of the numerous clubs to play there, the best known and longest in operation was the Nashville Vols, who competed from 1901 to 1963, primarily in the Southern Association.