Team History
Beginning play in 1901, the Nashville Volunteers (commonly known as the “Vols”) were a charter member of the newly formed Southern Association. Their home ballpark was called Athletic Park, which would later come to be known as Sulphur Dell. The Dell was a notorious hitter's park often called "Suffer Hell" by pitchers and outfielders.
The Vols won the first two Southern Association championships in 1901 and 1902 behind the leadership of manager Newt Fisher. During the 1902 season, Nashville’s Hugh Hill recorded a .416 batting average, a mark never topped in the league.
The Vols would not win another league pennant until 1908 under manager Bill Bernhard. The championship was won on the final game of the season at Sulphur Dell. Going into the game, the Vols had the same number of losses (56) as the New Orleans Pelicans. But the Pelicans were in first place with 76 wins to the Vols’ second-place 74. Several games that were cancelled due to rain were not made up that late in the season. Vols pitcher Vedder Sitton hurled a three-hit, 1-0 shutout, allowing Nashville to win their third championship by two percentage points.
Eight years later, on July 11, 1916 at the Dell, Vols pitcher Tom Rogers delivered a perfect game against the Chattanooga Lookouts. He retired all 27 batters in the 2-0 victory for the team’s only perfect game in its history. The Vols also won their third Southern Association crown behind Rogers’ league-leading 24 wins.
The first night game at Sulphur Dell was held on May 18, 1931. An estimated 7,000 fans attended the game.
Following the arrival of Larry Gilbert as Vols manager in 1939, the Vols won their first pennant in 24 years in 1940 with Johnny Sain as pitcher and batter. During Major League Baseball's Centennial in 2001, the 1940 Nashville Vols were named as the 47th best minor league team of all time. The Vols also won the league championship in 1943, 1944, 1948, and 1949.
During the 1954 season, Vols outfielder Bob Lennon hit 64 home runs, a league record never broken. Forty of the home runs were hit at Sulphur Dell.
Following the 1961 season, the Southern Association ceased operations. Sulphur Dell was empty the next year, but the Double-A South Atlantic League came to Nashville in 1963 for one season. Poor attendance and financial problems forced team to leave Nashville at the conclusion of the 1963 season.
Professional baseball was absent from the Music City from 1964 to 1977. But in 1978, Vanderbilt University baseball coach Larry Schmittou led a group of local owners and founded the Nashville Sounds of the Southern League, abandoning the nickname "Vols" which was shared by the University of Tennessee (Knoxville). The Sounds became one of the most successful minor league franchises, moving to Class Triple-A in 1985. They are currently members of the Pacific Coast League.
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