Sulphur Dell, the Nashville Vols...

Book Signing, Baseball in Nashville

2008-06-20T15:37:00.022-05:00

Skip Nipper will be signing copies of his book, Baseball in Nashville (Arcadia Publishing) at the Nashville Sounds game tomorrow night, Saturday, June 21st vs. the Memphis Redbirds at Herschel Greer Stadium.

Born and raised in Nashville, his interest in local baseball is deeply-rooted in his life-long interest in The National Game, interlaced with fond memories of Nashville’s famous ballpark, Sulphur Dell, shared by others through http://www.sulphurdell.com/.

A 1972 graduate of Memphis State University, Nipper has been a sporting goods sales representative for 37 years for New Era Cap Co. He took great delight in compiling this photographic history of Nashville’s illustrious baseball history.

Nipper is president of the Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association, a member of SABR (Society of American Baseball Research) and the Grantland Rice-Fred Russell (Tennessee) Chapter of SABR. He also has served as president of the Sporting Goods Agents Association and is a member of the National Sporting Goods Association.

Besides baseball historical research, Nipper enjoys reading, collecting baseball memorabilia, and attending games of the minor league Nashville Sounds.

He hopes that this compilation will rekindle memories for baseball fans in the Nashville area and that his publication does justice to Nashville’s baseball past. Nipper regards the book as a present to his father, Virgil Nipper, who laid the foundation for his own memories through suppertime discussions and backyard practices.

Detroit's Tiger Stadium

2008-06-10T17:20:00.006-05:00

Word comes that Tiger Stadium in Detroit is due to meet the wrecking ball. There have been efforts to preserve the old ballpark, or at least to keep some portion of the hallowed grounds as a monument to all the famous ballplayers who strolled the outfield, roamed the infield, and valiantly threw from Detroit's pitcher's mound. Yet, the park is destined for demolition.

It does not take much thought for a city to preserve their historical parks, if not just for the past memories, but for the future of the game itself. With emphasis on Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) programs, don't those kids need a place to play? And wouldn't a historical site be just the ticket? If there was ever a reason to keep the park in some form, that sure seems to be logical.

Perhaps it is unreasonable to expect the towering grandstands to be kept, but the field itself would be a proud testament to past generations, and a practical place to play for future ones.

Much has been said about Birmingham and its old ballpark, Rickwood Field. Lots of games are played there each year, and the city takes great care of it. Many youngsters must enjoy playing on dirt and grass that Willie Mays and other ballplayers did, too.

We keep taking thrills away from our kids, don't we?

Southern Association Friendships

2008-06-02T16:38:00.028-05:00

For the past few years Friends of Rickwood has held a Southern Association reunion conference that has been very well attended. Persons have traveled from Southern Association cities Atlanta, Mobile, New Orleans, Memphis, Birmingham, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Little Rock. Others have made their way from far-away places such as Tampa and Minneapolis, all to share ideas, memories, and research with each other.

With oral and visual presentations, memorabilia displays and collections, and ballpark visits, the conference has had plenty to offer. But that's not all.

As enjoyable as the conferences have been, even better has been the friendships that have been made that have lasted from those times. Regular emails, phone calls, and continued ballpark visits together have resulted in continued research and memorabilia finds, unreluctantly shared among the baseball bunch.

And now and then, someone opens their home and baseball den to anyone who wants to see.

Rallying around a the common interest of the old Southern Association has helped to keep the memories alive, too. The opportunity to get together is always shorter than anyone likes, but it is always great to rub elbows with each other, tell a story or two, or consult over the latest 'find'.

So, here is my tribute (knowing that I am going to leave someone out): Thanks Clarence, Lamar, Joe, David, Bill, Randall, Derby, David (another one), Tony, Ben, Dave, Ken, Mark, Bill (another one of those, too), Phil, Kevin, Johny, Larry, and Dan, and any others whose names I just can't recall.

I am grateful for being able to call you "baseball friends".

Enjoy the Game!

Back To Rickwood

2008-05-31T17:19:00.009-05:00

Birmingham, Alabama still has something that not many cities have: Their old ballpark that dates back to the earliest part of the 1900s.

No, Rickwood Field is not the same as Fenway or Wrigley, but it comes pretty darn close albeit for a minor league ballpark. No, there is no Wrigleyville or crowds in the streets or shops nearby. This minor league ballpark has an aura all its own, and is neatly wrapped in green and black in its original neighborhood setting.

One can take in the sights surrounding the game being played, but for just one moment one should close their eyes and listen to the ballpark sounds. It really does take one back to an earlier day.

The Friends of Rickwood organization, led by amicable David Brewer, continues to maintain the best features of Rickwood. The annual Rickwood Classic allows fans and players to experience 'what it used to be like', and the event is always well-attended.

Rickwood Field

2008-05-27T17:42:00.005-05:00

The Birmingham Barons will face the Jacksonville Suns in a Southern League game at historic Rickwood Field tomorrow, May 28th, at 12:30 PM. One game each year is hosted by Friends of Rickwood, an organization that oversees the old ballpark that was home to Birmingham's minor league teams and the Negro League Black Barons for many seasons.

It's a wonderful testament to the olden, golden days of baseball.

Rickwood Field is a step back to those days, with terrific sight lines from any seat in the grandstand. The weather-washed outfield signs add to the atmosphere that recalls sunny Sunday afternoon doubleheaders and cool, early season night games under the lights.

And once a year, at least, fans get to revisit their long gone heroes and visions of past ballgames.

Over 200 games are still played at Rickwood, including college, high school, and amateur games. The stadium and outfield walls may have stopped in place, but the infield continues be dragged, the foul lines are still laid out, and the outfield grass is cut, all in anticpation of the next scheduled game.

It's too bad Nashville did not have the vision to maintain old Sulphur Dell. Maybe the right field porch would not have been kept, and that would have been just fine, if only the field would still be around for today's players to use it. Grandsons and nephews and great-grand-whatevers would enjoy playing in the park that generations before them loved playing in.

It's just too bad.

Country Music's Eddy Arnold

2008-05-18T21:26:00.013-05:00

Recently beloved singer Eddy Arnold passed away. Arnold was a supporter of Nashville baseball and made an investment in the local team during the winter of 1958.

That year, a group of local businessmen formed Vols, Inc. to purchase the financially-strapped minor league Nashville Vols from T. L. Murray. One of those civic leaders was Eddy Arnold. Shares in Vols, Inc. were sold at $5 each, and 4,876 shares were sold. At the end of the 1959 Southern Association baseball season, the venture had lost almost $3,000.

Although the number of Vols, Inc. shares owned by Arnold is unknown, he served as secretary of the corporation. For anyone who owns an old stock certificate, Arnold’s facsimile signature is on it (so is Hershel Greer’s; the current PCL Nashville Sounds stadium is named for him).

The Vols, Inc. organization owned the ballclub through 1963 when it was disbanded after the demise of the Southern Association after the 1961 season, an absence of pro baseball in Nashville in 1962, and a one-year presence in the Southl Atlantic League. Sulphur Dell was sold in 1965 and torn down in 1969.

Nashville Sounds Downtown Ballpark Proposal

2007-04-18T15:59:00.000-05:00

The Nashville Sounds downtown ballpark issue seems to be dead. That’s too bad.

Have we reverted to politics as it was in the early 1900s, when politicians would not allow ballparks to be built on valuable property and were instead built near city dumps, railroad yards, and meat-packing plants?

With teams playing in such poor locales, the fans came anyway, to enjoy the game that would become the nation’s favorite pastime. Professional baseball became recognized as a valuable community entity and businesses sprang up around ballparks because fans spent their money there before and after the games.

Memphis, Louisville, and Indianapolis have focused on ballparks as the central theme for development and built beautiful, fan-friendly stadiums. Steadfast fans, and a whole lot of new ones, flocked to the games and brought their families with them.

The riverfront thermal plant site in Nashville will eventually become a first-class commercial enterprise no matter who the developer is. I cannot explain the details for the pitchers’ duel between Streuver Brothers and the Sounds, but I do know that a tenant was ready to move into a finished ballpark.

We can allow the Sounds to remain at dilapidated Greer Stadium or find a less-desirable place to build a park. But heaven forbid that we watch another dynamic city reach out and take our Sounds away.

Bonds, McGwire tainted their own reputations

2007-01-19T17:32:00.000-06:00

When all attention in the baseball world should be given to Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr. due to their recent selections into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, we learn of a report that Barry Bonds failed an amphetamines test in 2006 (Report: Bonds failed test, The Tennessean, January 12, 2007).

Gwynn and Ripken accumulated on-field records worthy of their honors. Each one’s integrity was not an issue, either; their uprightness sealed election to baseball’s “hallowed hall”.

Mark McGwire failed miserably to garner votes by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) as his failure to discuss steroid use during a Congressional inquiry gave uncertainty to his truthfulness. Perhaps Pete Rose, who has been banned from baseball, would be in the Hall of Fame today had he only “fessed up” to gambling on the sport that provided him his livelihood.

It would be much better for Rose, McGwire, and now Bonds, had they made decisions that would not have caused raised eyebrows regarding their reputations.

Bonds will probably break Hank Aaron’s career home run record, needing only 22 homers to reach the magic mark. However, the latest news is added to his reported use of performance-enhancing steroids.

Five years after his retirement Bonds will be eligible for the Hall of Fame selection process. Can we ignore the failure of high-profile pro athletes to maintain principles that support their accomplishments on the field? Those who cast Hall of Fame votes this year certainly did not, and when Bonds is eligible for election, his integrity should be a deciding factor.

Nashville's New Ballpark

2006-12-13T21:44:00.000-06:00

It has been reported that construction for the new Nashville Sounds ballpark will be delayed, and that it is possible the stadium will not be ready until mid-season of 2008. Environmental issues, and determining who is responsible for potential problems that may arise, have caused a delay in proceding with construction.

A new ballpark for the Sounds has been a long and arduous process. The City Council did not give immediate approval, wanting to be sure that the Sounds management team had crossed every "t" and dotted every "i", and I don't blame them. I don't blame the Sounds for making sure that a fail-proof plan was in place to ensure approval from Nashville's leaders, either.

Delayed or not, this project will be worth waiting for. Baseball fans in Nashville and throughout the mid-state region have deserved a new ballpark for a long time. Herschel Greer Stadium, once the crown jewel of the Southern League during the rise of minor league popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, has fallen into disrepair. I understand that the park has not met the minimum requirements that the Pacific Coast League demands for its member's ballparks and has given a waiver each year so that Nashville could maintain its membership in the league.

Nashville must be a pretty important cog in the wheel of the PCL for that to happen.

There is no doubt that the ballpark will be built. It will be the centerpiece for construction and urban growth in the SoBro district of downtown Nashville, too, and will add an attractive venue to the Cumberland River area of the city. "Patience" is the watchword, as I am sure Nashville baseball fans prefer that the entire project be completely finished as planned. Crossing the "t's" and dotting the "i's" will set the foundation for successful project completion.

In 2008, no matter the month, Nashville will be able to watch the Sounds in one of the finest stadiums and ballparks in the United States, and will immediately begin to challenge Sacramento and Memphis for attendance records at the turnstiles!

Baseball and Country Music

2006-11-20T08:11:00.000-06:00

In his book of the early days of baseball, The Glory of Their Times, Lawrence S. Ritter quotes the notable Columbia University philospher Jacques Barzum, "whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." In Nashville, as Country Music flourished in the 1940s and 1950s, so did interest in the local baseball scene. The Nashville Vols games in the Southern Association gave fans an opportunity to pull for the home team at the same time the Grand Ole Opry’s rise in popularity brought folks from all parts of the United States to Music City. The two became entertainment opportunities that paralleled each other’s success.

Country Music became popular as stories and ballads were sung that went right to the heart of America’s conscience. A working man’s troubles, the delight of love, and the purity of down-home life were told through simple music that was pleasing to the ear. And as baseball is a worthy subject, it is a storyteller’s delight, just like that music. Think about it: No one will say anything foolish about baseball. In the early days, no one was singing foolish music, either.

Both baseball and music cross generations, cultures, races, and social groups. Music may have the upper hand today, but there are still millions of fans whose love for the National Game transcends most barriers. Segregation is no longer a problem for lovers of baseball or music, as it certainly was in years gone by. People from all walks of life find a home team to cheer for. Baseball has become internationally popular, and young and old pursue their favorite passions.

Sounds like a perfect combination, doesn’t it?

An Un-level Playing Field

2006-10-18T18:45:00.000-05:00

The NLCS is in full swing, with the winner ready to take on the Detroit Tigers. I never thought I would be in favor of a wild card team and a league championship series, but it is part of the game now, just like the DH in the AL.

I always wondered why the DH was never approved for the NL, especially since Commissioner Selig has consolidated the umpires and interleague play has been so popular. Shouldn't all the teams be playing each other on a level playing field?

There was no level playing field at Sulphur Dell. The right fielder, if standing at the base of the fence, stood 22 1/2 feet above the playing field. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? The story goes that Phil Weintraub, playing the 'porch' back in the 30s, ran down the slope to field a hard-hit grounder, only to have it go between his legs. As he turned to run up the hill to retrieve the ball, it had bounded off the fence and once again went between his legs. Finally grabbing the ball on his way back down the hill, he overthrew the third baseman to attempt to make a play on the batter who had rounded second, allowing him to score. Weintraub took three errors on the same play.

As told by Nashville's Mr. Baseball, Junie McBride, Weintraub claimed that a player couldn't make three errors on one play, but the scorer said one could.

In the late 50s the owners of the Nashville Vols talked about leveling Sulphur Dell to make it easier for players to navigate the outfield, but it never happened. It is good that it didn't, as the stories such as told about Weintraub are treasures that only add to the mystique and memories of the old ballpark.

Germantown Oktoberfest

2006-10-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Oktoberfest in Germantown was blessed with unbelievable weather and proved to be an exciting day with great crowds. For the fourth year I had a www.sulphurdell.com booth, and many visitors stopped by to talk.

You may know that Sulphur Dell was only a few blocks away from the Germantown area.

Sulphur Dell and Nashville Vols t-shirts and caps were a hit. Most of the folks who purchased items at the booth had a story and I had a chance to tell and listen to memories of old Sulphur Dell. Nashville's baseball history is alive and well!

If you had a chance to stop by, thanks for taking the time. If you made a purchase, thanks for that, too. I hope you or your loved one enjoy the t-shirt or cap. A few purchased Sulphur Dell tapestry/throws for Christmas presents, too, or just to take home for their den.

It was a great day and I appreciate all the memories!

Sulphur Dell and Nashville Baseball

2006-10-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

This is an opportunity for you to 'blog' your memories! Sulphur Dell, once "Baseball's Most Historic Park Since 1870" in Nashville, Tennessee, was the baseball home of the Nashville Vols in the Southern Association from 1901 until 1961 and in the South Atlantic League in 1963. Long gone but not forgotten, the memories remain for many who visited the old ballpark and cheered for the Vols.

Post your memories or banter about today's baseball events. It's "open season", so play ball!