Nashville high school baseball goes way back, as far back as there have been school teams, helping to set the foundation of local sports.One of the more exciting years I have read about was in 1956, when a few of the high school teams th...

Nashville's unique baseball charm is evident in its rich history of amateur leagues, some dating back to the 19th Century. These leagues were not just about competition, but also about the whimsical "for the championship of the city" challenges...

To attract fans to Nashville's opening day in 1947, the Nashville Tennessean published a report on the history of Sulphur Dell by J. D. Brown. I read this article in the podcast; it gives a detailed account of when the ballpark was tra...

In 1938, a consolidation of farm clubs between Brooklyn and Nashville was agreed upon at an all-day conference in Cincinnati between Larry MacPhail, the new Dodgers boss, and Nashville owner, Fay Murray.But for the outbreak of World War ...

In the final season of the Nashville Vols in 1963, general manager Ed Doherty declared August 30 as "George Archie Night" at the ballpark—a fitting tribute to a local hero.Archie was a coach for the Nashville Vols at the time, an unpaid ...

Stephen W. Dittmore has over 20 years of experience as a higher education administrator and professor. He received a PhD from the University of Louisville in 2007 and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Drake University.

My brother Jim ("Jimbo," to me, mostly shortened to just "Bo") and I learned everything there was to know about The Game from our Dad, Virgil Nipper: how to throw, indeed, and how to hit.Jim sent me one of his unique perspectives not lon...

In 2005, the Nashville Sounds won the Pacific Coast League championship, the first pennant for the ball club since 1982.Teams are often pre-judged for success on where they are in the standings on Memorial Day.In this episode, you...

In what I have often termed, “the greatest coup in the history of the Southern Association”, on November 8, 1938, Nashville club owner Fay Murray shocked baseball fans, Southern Association moguls, and everyone in between by announcing he had c...

A baseball museum in Nashville could be a fantastic addition to the city's cultural landscape. Nashville already has strong ties to baseball, with a strong amateur baseball foundation, the Nashville Sounds, and the possibility of an MLB stadium...

Will General is the marketing director for Music City Baseball, the initiative is to bring MLB to Nashville as the "Nashville Stars.”He joined me to tell me how he is leading efforts to grow the Stars brand and how honoring the Negro Lea...

Umpires have been criticized and disparaged for years, yet they continue to uphold the integrity of the game. The pay scale is pretty good, but defending one's decision in the old days could lead to fights among players, managers, and fans....

On April 19, 1963, opening night in Knoxville before 2,827 fans to begin the season, Eddie Crawford stepped to the plate as the third batter in the first inning for Nashville, becoming the first Negro player to play in a regular season game for...

We often think of Tennessee State and Fisk Universities as institutes of higher learning in Nashville for African American students. Did you know at one time there was another Black university?Founded in 1866 as the Nashville Normal and ...

Would you venture a guess as to which year was Nashville professional baseball’s first championship?The answer is 1895, and the team had an unusual name: Seraphs. Other members of the Southern League were Atlanta, Evansville, Little Rock...

Before joining the Nashville Vols, Buddy Gilbert spent two seasons in Savannah, a Cincinnati Reds farm club, just like Nashville. One of his teammates in 1957 was Curt Flood, a 19-year-old prospect who played third base for the ball club.

In this episode, I tell about a special group of Nashville baseball fans and give special tribute to one of them. In 2003 Oktoberfest in Germantown, I first met Pete Mason who shared a special story that occurred at Sulphur Dell.Pete rec...

When asked how I feel about MLB coming to Nashville, I do not hesitate to answer, and in this episode you will hear me tell what my stance is.Controversial? No, not when many share the same feelings I do. Taking a stand, having an opinio...

i hope you enjoyed hearing Mark Aubrey in Part One, because we continue talking about Knoxville baseball, the Negro Southern League, and University of Tennessee baseball in Part Two!Mark has researching skills like few others, and you ca...

Mark Aubrey is a distinguished Negro Leagues researcher from Seymour, Tennessee, near Knoxville. His focus has been on the 1920 Negro Southern League and the history of the Knoxville Giants.You will enjoy listening to Mark and his passio...

Listen to this episode with TrapperHaskins as he tells about the influence of his father and family, and how he became one of the founders of the Tennessee Vintage Base Ball Association.Trapper is a passionate author, musician, carpenter...

In 2000, Trapper Haskins moved to Maine with his wife, Mandy, where he undertook a two-year apprenticeship learning traditional wooden boatbuilding in Rockland. Once finished, they took the rowboat they built, Oxbow, 2,300 miles down the Missis...

In Part Two of our talk, author Keith Wood continues discussing the Memphis Red Sox with me. His work brings out the financially-stable Martin brothers, the location of Martin Park, and how politics shaped Negro League baseball in Memphis.<...

Keith Wood landed a position in the Memphis City School District at Sheffield High after college. He moved to Millington Central High School in northwest Shelby County while completing his master's in history at the University of Memphis.

In 1949, Bob Borkowski batted .376 in 138 games with the Nashville Vols to win the Double-A Southern Association batting title. On July 23, teammate Carl Sawatski was leading the team in batting with a .379 average, with Babe Barna hitting at a...