In January of 1969, Herschel Greer, vice-president of Vols, Inc., the stock corporation that owned the now-defunct Nashville Vols and the property known as Sulphur Dell, announced the ownership group approved a sale to Frederic Gregg, Jr. Gregg was a financier and owner of Lin Broadcasting Group.According to Greer, Gregg paid $255,000 for the land.On Wednesday, April 17, about 35 people gathered to say goodbye to Sulphur Dell. A little after 2 PM a giant claw was raised at the roof of the gra...
Many Hall of Famers appeared in Nashville at Sulphur Dell or Tom Wilson Park, either in a regular season game, exhibition game, barnstorming game, or as a manager of one of the ball clubs.In this episode, let me take you to 1905 during a five-day period when five Hall of Famers appeared here. You might be surprised at one of them!Want to stay in touch? Find me here:Twitter: Skip's CornerInstagram: @skipscornerFacebook: Skip NipperEmail me: 262downright@gmail.comAll Skip’s Corner episodes © 20...
An African American a cappella ensemble consisting of students at Fisk University organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. The Fisk Jubilee Singers became famous worldwide.In 1882, a baseball team was formed to become the Fisk University B. B. C. (Base Ball Club), playing other Black college and independent teams.In this episode, learn about the part Fisk Jubilee Hall played in the foundation of Nashville’s baseball history, and four Fisk students, Comer Cox, Halley Harding, Bil...
Jim O’Toole was a Cincinnati Reds” Bonus Baby” and sent to Nashville for 1958 for his first pro season.The Vols did not have a particularly good year, but the left-hander did. At season's end, he led the AA Southern Association in wins with 20, complete games with 21, 280 innings pitched, and 189 strikeouts.He became a dependable starter in the majors for Cincinnati, and his story is a commendable one. Listen to the Jim O’Toole story!Mike Havey’s SABR biography on Jim O’Toole was used in prep...
I met Bill Greason in October of 2017, when the Friends of Rickwood hosted the inaugural Southern Negro League conference in BIrmingham. He spoke to us in the Rickwood conference room and told his story, then took questions from everyone until it was time for him to return to his home in Birmingham.Before he got up to leave, I asked him if I could have our picture taken together, and he obliged. It’s a photo I won’t forget.He was a man among all men, and in this episode I tell about meeting R...
In this episode, I discuss quirky plays, oddities, and noteworthy happenings at Sulphur Dell. Some are historic, while others are just plain funny.Listen to more great history from Nashville’s quirky yet famous ballpark!Want to stay in touch? Find me here:Twitter: Skip's CornerInstagram: @skipscornerFacebook: Skip NipperEmail me: 262downright@gmail.comAll Skip’s Corner episodes © 2022-2024 by Skip Nipper. All Rights Reserved.Thanks to my podcast producer David Nipper, who also wrote and perfo...
A few days ago I got a chance to catch up with an old friend in North Carolina. His name is Rooster Narron. I Have known him a long time, but in the not too distant past we took in a few Nashville Sounds games together at Herschel Greer Stadium.Those visits turned into a writing opportunity for me as I learned Rooster’s dad and an important part he played in the history of baseball.I hope you will listen as I recount my biography on his dad!Want to stay in touch? Find me here:Twitter: Skip's ...
Baseball, as we know it, had its foundations in the 1800s, probably around 1835, a few years before the Mills Commission declared that Abner Doubleday drew out the playing field and wrote a few rules in 1939.How did softball start and how did it become so popular?In Nashville, softball leagues once rivaled the number of area baseball leagues, and once there a game was played that drew attention to the difference in the two sports. I tell about that game in this episode!Want to stay in to...
Fred Russell, Nashville Banner sportswriter, began a project in 1943 to select a Nashville Vols Hall of Fame. He did not complete the list, but he named a lineup of players through that season and later in 1950.Listen to this episode as I tell about Russell’s choices, then consider helping me complete the Hall of Fame for players through 1962 - I hope you will!Want to stay in touch? Find me here:Twitter: Skip's CornerInstagram: @skipscornerFacebook: Skip NipperEmail me: 262downright@gmail.com...
Sam Smith, president of the South Atlantic League, was at the 1962 Old Timers banquet. Why, might you ask? Because the Southern Association had folded only five days before, and he was wooing Nashville to come to the SALLY League for 1962.Birmingham decided to pull its club over the use of Negroes, and the Detroit Tigers, the Barons major league affiliate, had little choice but to associate with Nashville should the team and league stay in business in 1962.That did not happen, but the Tigers ...
Today I umpired a game in Tennessee Vintage Baseball at Oaklands Mansion in Murfreesboro between the Stones River Scouts and Phoenix of East Nashville. These teams play the “gentleman’s game” (gentle ladies play these days, too) and it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.The rules are different from what we may know, and in this episode I tell about the rules of 19th Century base ball (remember, in those days, it as two words, “base” and “ball.”) and how they changed over the...
Henry Kimbro was a stocky speedster who earned his living slap-hitting baseballs between third base and shortstop or into the outfield gaps. He served as the leadoff hitter for the Baltimore Elite Giants for 13 of his 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues as his 5’ 8”, 175- pound frame could generate quite a punch when he chose.On Saturday, August 10, the Nashville Sounds will honor Henry Kimbro in a special way, a fitting tribute for one of Nashville’s favorite baseball sons!Want to stay in touch?...
Chuck Dressen stuck by his players and taught them to win. He studied them, and he played situational baseball. In Nashville he won over 200 games in parts of four seasons and led the Vols to a fourth-, third-, and two second-place finishes. He became a well-loved, no nonsense Nashville manager.In this episode you will hear about the career of Chuck Dressen.Want to stay in touch? Find me here:Twitter: Skip's CornerInstagram: @skipscornerFacebook: Skip NipperEmail me: 262downright@gmail....
The first ceremonial opening day “first pitch” took place in National Park, later to be named Griffith Stadium, on April 14, 1910, by William Howard Taft, preceding the game between the Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Nationals.It began a tradition by presidents, dignitaries, entertainers, and other special guests before games in the major leagues. Many teams have started games throughout the season with the custom, including Nashville’s minor league teams.On April 8, 1961, Vice Preside...
Scrolling through online sources for baseball games (whether one word, “baseball,” or two “base ball,” every once in a while I come across something with added interest.I am going to take you back to October of 1868, Saturday, the 3rd, and then fast-forward to an article in the Sunday, July 10, 1927 edition of the Nashville Banner, entitled “C. S. Caldwell Relates Baseball Happenings of 59 years Ago.”You see, Caldwell played in the game in 1868, and you will learn about his recollection of th...
Before Dick Sisler was Nashville Vols manager, his claim to fame was secured several years before as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.In a previous episode I told about his career and events during his Nashville tenure. But his feat on October 1, 1950, his home run that sealed the National League pennant, broke the spell of expectations for the son of a Hall of Famer, and I felt more needed to be said.Sisler’s story continues beyond his minor and major leagues managing career until he re...
Tom Wilson built a ballpark for his Nashville Elite Giants and opened it in time for the 1929 Negro Southern League season. It became an venue for not only baseball, but family gatherings, festivals, and all sorts of events for all people, Black or White.In this episode, I give background about Tom Wilson's life, including when he demolished his ballpark and built the Paradise Ballroom to his passing in 1947.Listen as I give you the precise location of Tom Wilson Park!Want to stay in touch? F...
I want to tell you about a great baseball player who came out of the ranks of the Nashville Interscholastic League and made his way to the major leagues for nine seasons and had about as much talent as anyone who came out of Nashville.That player was Bobby Tillman, a 6’4” right-hander, signed out of Middle Tennessee State College by Red Sox scout, George Digby in 1958. Tillman passed away on June 23, 2000, of a heart attack at the age of 63; but his legacy in sports, especially baseball, live...
Even though the Nashville franchise would exist until the demise of the Southern Association after the 1961 season, the handwriting was on the wall. The excitement of a new era of Nashville baseball possibly being ushered in for 1955 seemed fleeting, even with a new Vols/Reds affiliation.Were the opening-day rainouts the precursor to the last years of a storied franchise?Want to stay in touch? Find me here:Twitter: Skip's CornerInstagram: @skipscornerFacebook: Skip NipperEmail me: 262downrigh...
Negro Leaguers statistics for past years have been elevated equal to that of Major League players. Not all years, but in particular, seven leagues for various seasons. No easy task for researchers and historians who have been working on this project, it now brings to light the on-the-field efforts of many Black baseball players, as the stats now change leaderboards in many categories.Two native Nashville players, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes and Henry Kimbro, recognized for the talents but not wi...