Updated entries highlighted in bold

"I remember...

Sulphur Dell

Old Sulphur Dell
I remember it well
It had this most distinctive smell
of livestock and cinder
and cigarette smoke
of hot dogs and burgers
and fizz from the cokes
it always seemed to be a magical place
you could see the excitement in everyone's face
many a game were played at the dell
and it served our city extremely well
but in the 1960's it all came to an end
and Nashville certainly lost a very dear friend.

-Pete Mason, Nashville, TN

 

"I remember...watching those great teams from the late '40s and early '50s when I was in junior high and high school (Bailey and East).

I remember players like second baseman Buster Boguskie; shortstop Hal Quick; catchers Smokey Burgess, Carl Sawatski, Rube Walker, and Roy Easterwood; rightfielder Charley Workman; centerfielders Charley Gilbert and Carmen Mauro; leftfielders Elwood "Footsie" Grantham and Johnny Krukman; pitchers Pete Mallory, Ben Wade, Hal Jeffcoat and Bobo Holloman (but for the life of me I can't remember who played 1st and 3rd during those times).

I remember Rube Walker putting one on the roof of the Atlantic Ice Co. building.

I remember leaving the All-Star game in '48 or '49 (I think) when the Vols were down several runs, and later hearing them come back to win as I listened to the radio.

I remember the PA system always playing "Three Blind Mice" as the umpires entered the field to start the game.

I remember "Footsie" Grantham, who was for some reason unknown to me, playing second base, getting spiked by Memphis Chick Mickey Cochran, which essentially ended Grantham's career (Grantham's knee was so badly injured he had to carried off the field.)

I remember my dad telling me about playing at the Dell a couple of times when he pitched for Hume-Fogg in 1928 and 1929 (they were state champs in '28).

I look back very fondly on the many pleasant times at the Dell, and consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience them!

-Don Duke, Cadiz, KY

"I remember...my Grandmother (Bertha Holt) and uncles (Bill & Richard Holt) were regular attendees of the games at Sulphur Dell.  My Grandmother won the bed I sleep in at a game in the 1950s from Davis Cabinet Co.  t's a Lillian Russell 4-poster bed and my Mother (Margaret Bruckert) bought the dresser, night stand and chest to go with it.  We have added the newer pieces over the years and our home is full of Davis Cabinet Co. furniture now.  It all started with my Grandmother winning the bed at a game at Sulphur Dell!

-Linda Hulsey, Nashville, TN

"I remember...riding the Cedar Street-Joe Johnson bus from Union Street downtown to the ball park with my father. We had to leave before night games ended to catch the last bus back downtown.

Once shortstop Bobby Durnbaugh turned on an inside pitch and hit a woman sitting behind third base...Bob Lennon had an exaggerated swing to hit pop flies over the right field wall...George Schmees played the right field dump like no one else...a 12-year-old Knothole-leaguer named Ronnie Baines took part in a throwing contest from right field to home plate and with his golden arm, he threw the ball over the pressbox and out of the park...and visitors being thrown out at first base after hitting what they thought were singles off of the right field wall!

-Glenn H. Griffin, Pelham, AL

"I remember...my father, Hugh Poland, managed the Vols 1951-1953 and I had the great pleasure of being bat boy for the home games. There are far, far, too many memories of the "Dell" to put them all here but I do want to relate one story.

Dizzy Dean was announcing the minor league "game of the week" from the press box. My dad had known Dizzy from when they were in spring training together in the '30s. As the game progressed, the Vols were at bat and the batter hit a "darter" right down the third base line where my dad was in the coaches box. The ball hit the bag and then went foul. The plate umpire missed the call and said it was a "foul ball". My dad came unglued and gave the ump such a verbal chastising, he was sent to the showers. Dizzy sent for my dad to come to the press box after he had dressed. While in the press box between innings, Dizzy asked my dad on the air what the home plate ump would think if he saw my dad in the press box with "Ole DIz". My dad said, "I don't think we have to worry about that because the ump can't see that far". About ten minutes later the league president sent a teletype to the press box telling my dad to get off the air and fined him."

-Bill Poland, Clarksville, TN

"I remember...I was the last play-by-play broadcaster in the Dell in 1963, when I was a freshman at Vanderbilt.  My radio gig lasted only a few weeks before the sponsor canceled and the games were taken off the air.  That was the Vols' only year in the Sally League, the last year they played at the Dell.

Some nights it seemed like there were more players than fans in the park."

-Warren Corbett, Bethesda, MD

"I remember...seeing the final games played at Sulphur Dell, a doubleheader sweep by the Vols over Lynchburg.  In fact, I still have the scorecard from that day although it is not in the best of shape.  Charlie Teuscher hit 3 home runs that day, including 2 in the nightcap and the game-winner in the 8th inning of the 2-1 victory, the last game played by the Vols at the park.  I believe there were about 700-800 people there that day for the final games.

I have really enjoyed reading the comments on the website for Sulphur Dell memories!"

-Tim Weatherly, Nashville, TN

"I remember...there was a ladder in the upper stands that led to the roof.  My friends and I were always tempted to scale that ladder in order to retrieve the foul balls that collected up there.  We were always stopped before we were half way up the ladder by some attendant.there was a ladder in the upper stands that led to the roof.  My friends and I were always tempted to scale that ladder in order to retrieve the foul balls that collected up there.  We were always stopped before we were half way up the ladder by some attendant.

I remember the perpetual smell of the nearby snuff factory.  It was just a part of the overall sensual experience along with the crackling cinders just outside the stadium on the third base side.  It was kind of a dreary looking place from the outside, but when I entered the park, the sight of that green, green grass would always take my breath away.

I was there at the last game played at the Dell.  There is a picture that pops up occasionally showing three boys high in the stands on the first base side.  They were my buddies and me, one of whom was Steve Jones (we called him Yogi).  I believe I paid something like ten dollars for a season ticket that last year."

-Bill King, Kingston Springs, TN

"I remember...my dad took me there from the time I was barely able to talk.  I remember our having many good times, and that time together gave us a bond that I will not ever forget.  Daddy used to say to folks that I was "his boy."  I loved sports, especially baseball, so much that if I could have pursued my career of choice, I would have become a sports announcer.

"I remember...the wonderful times I had as a young boy going to Sulphur Dell ballgames and trying to get a ball off the icehouse that was knocked over the right field screen during practice, usually by Mickey Rocco.  I never did!

One event in particular will always be one to remember.  In 1940, one of the attractions was to get all the kids out to the pitcher's mound after the game and throw a ball in the air for them to scramble after.  I got the ball one time and umpire Paul Blanchard took me into the dugout and all the players signed it.  I can remember almost every player on that team.

As a kid will do, I played pitch with it and damaged some of the names; however, most are still legible today.  About two years ago I had seen on television that police labs could cause these autographs to become more legible, so I decided to call a friend at the TBI; hopefully he could have their laboratory fix it.  It seems that it can only be accomplished on television!"

-Jimmy Howell, Nashville, TN

"I remember...growing up just a few blocks from Sulphur Dell.  Both of my parents worked at the old Werthen Bag Co. on 8th Avenue.  My dad was a great fan of the Vols, so we made most of the games!"

-Louie Kerr, Nashville, TN

"I remember...going to many games at the 'Dell' when I was a child.  As a teenager, I went to many Shrine Circuses which were held there.  My father was a Shriner and the circus acts were spectacular there.  Since it was outside, there were acrobats doing wonderful acts on poles that were 50- to 60-feet high and swaying from one side to another."

The indoor circus couldn't hold a candle to the ones held at Sulphur Dell.  I wonder how many people my age remember those days---I'm 74!"

-Joyce M. Faye, Nashville, TN

"I remember...working at DuPont and riding the bus over to watch the Gilberts, Boguskie, Maloney, Sawatski, and many others.  I remember watching this great third baseman with the Atlanta Crackers; I remarked to my cousin that I thought he will be a great one and it all came true.

It was the great Eddie Matthews!"

-Harry Ferguson, Hermitage, TN

"I remember...John Mullane, a police officer in Nashville who years ago worked at Sulphur Dell and you would always see John out there, as he was a very statuesque officer and a very kind, understanding, loyal fan!"

-Russell Breechen, Nashville, TN

"I remember...the 'Dell' in the early 50's with an overflow crowd in right field, watching Little Bo at second base and a great pitcher and athlete named Jack Harshman on the mound.  If Harshman was not on the mound a lot of times he would be playing first base.  He was such a great power hitter that when he was in the lineup he would bat cleanup.  He was called up to the majors but never made it big there.

Another memory was a relief pitcher named Pete Modica that had the nickname 'The Fireman'.  The Tennessean did a article on him and had him dressed up in a fireman's attire.

I retired from Tennessee State Government and parked many times in the lot where the Dell was located.  Often I would just stop and look around where the old ice house was and the big gas tank and be sad that the Dell was now just a memory.

To read about the accomplishments of these great men was such a joy but it makes me sad to think they are probably all gone!"

-Ishmael Wood, Lebanon, TN

"I remember...going to see the Vols one night in 1953 and I'll  never forget it.  They played 2 games that night and won both.  The right-fielder hit a home run.  We came back in 1956  and later I left one night when the Vols were behind and Larry Munson was the broadcaster and they came back and won in the 9th!"

-W. C.  Chilton, McMinnvile, TN

"I remember...the most memorable time I had at Sulphur Dell was probably 1958.  A few of my friends and myself went to hear Bo Diddley.  I wonder if there was ever as much fun and noise in that old park as there was that night!"

-Dillard Adams, Gallatin, TN

"I remember...the delightful carbonated drink, Pepsol, from the middle thirties.  My father used to take me to Sulphur Dell to the ball games and they sold Pepsol there.  It was a red-colored drink, carbonated and had a delightful pepsin flavor (similar to cinnamon). 

My father told me it was especially good for you as pepsin was a substance that soothed the stomach.  It was sold in groceries even up into the fifties, until it disappeared.  There was a story about it in the Tennessean a year or two ago.  Too bad; it was a great drink and had tremendous potential.  Locally brewed and bottled and just faded away. 

It certainly had more to offer than some of the so-called refreshing drinks offered today.  Remember...my own theory: "Everything good gets discontinued"!"

-M. F. Schwartz, Jr., Hendersonville, TN

"I remember...that it was a great day for me when my Dad would take me to a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at Sulphur Dell.  We would always sit on the 3^rd base side because he claimed that was the best view.  I still do that whenever I go to a game.  I was always excited about baseball and he knew what a treat that was for me. He liked it too, being a former player in the Memphis sandlots.

I always took my Don Mueller glove purchased at Walter Nipper’s Nashville Sporting Goods in hopes of that elusive foul ball.  Can you still hear that Thonk! on the roof as the foul balls came down?

I also remember watching the games on TV; the camera angle was behind home plate and didn’t move much, but it was still like being there for me.  Of course, there was Larry Munson when the Vols went on the road; who knew he was “creating” the game from the Third National Bank Building.  When he said it was “a hot , muggy, night in Mobile”, I thought he was there.  When he would describe the long foul ball hit by the likes of Jim Gentile, Emil Panko, Bob Montag, and Jesse Levan, I just knew he was there, particularly with the 'peanuts' and 'popcorn' yells in the background!  Do you remember some other Vols like Eric Roden, George “ Shotgun” Shuba, Larry Dipipo, Larry Taylor, and Phil Shartzer?

I also went to the Knot Hole Nights decked out in my Elliston Place Pharmacy uniform and had great times there.  The real treat came later as noted by Marlin Keel: I actually got to play there along with other Gilbert League players like Marlin, Sam O’Neal, Jim & Mike Mondelli, Billy Lynch, Butch McGrath, Billy Dale, Wayne Rankhorn, Jim Armistead, Pete Brown, Jim Minnick, and the consummate coach, George Archie.  It was easy to overlook that a rodeo had been there earlier in the week and all was not yet cleaned up – it was still great!  I enjoyed reading the notes from Bob Teitlebaum and remember him, Jimmy Davy, and George Leonard providing the excellent coverage of the Vols and sandlot baseball in Nashville.

Sulphur Dell was at the center of all Nashville baseball back then and I’m glad I had the chance to see it firsthand!"

-Joe Benedict, Knoxville, TN

"I remember...how quirky the place was.  That 'smell'; and I would have sworn that some of that signage in right was tin, because it made a very loud "bam" when someone hit a liner off of it.  And those terraces: I remember Chico Alvarez in left one night, catching a drive while flat on his back on that bank.  My memory of the 'Dell' is mainly about the Jay Hook-Jim O'Toole-Jim Maloney-Johnny Edwards era, all of whom had fair-to-good major league careers.

I remember going there on "Safety Patrol Night" and being struck by the heckling of Stan Palys of Birmingham and Sammy ?, the third baseman for Mobile.  The Dell, John R. on WLAC, and Fred Russell in the Banner are some of my best memories of growing up in Nashville!"

-Tony Bosworth, Nashville, TN

"I remember...Rod Kanehl, who went from the Vols in '61 to the Mets in '62.  We were playing another Southern Association team and the catcher went out to the mound to talk with the pitcher and Rod was on third base.  When the catcher got to the mound, Rod ran for home and scored.  The catcher had failed to call time out!"

-Fred Sadler, Goodlettsville, TN

"I remember...I was a fan of the Vols from June 1936 on (the first game I ever saw was when First Baseman Jimmy Wasdell got his jaw broken by a pitched ball in 1936).  We went to many a game on Saturday, riding the bus to the ball park and getting in free because it was children's day, buying a Pepsol and scorecard.  I still have cinders in my knee from the time I slipped and fell in the "parking lot".  The first time I saw another ballpark (Memphis), I wondered why it had a level right field!"

-Annette Levy Ratkin, Nashville, TN

"I remember...going to North High (I was born and raised in Nashville), graduated in 1949.  Not only did I play baseball for North High and with CMI for Tom Page, I also played professionally for Natchez and Morristown.

To add to your historical facts, I operated the scoreboard at Sulphur Dell Park for two years, around 1945 and 1946; Jimmy Gidcomb, my teammate at North High, was the batboy!"

-Paul H. Boyte, Sacramento, CA

"I remember...the great times in the Dell!  My Dad told me he went every time he could afford it and I guess it terminated his attendance in 1930 when I was born in the midst of the 'no-frills' depression.  I'm 75 now but except for quite a few player names I can vividly remember the good times and incidents at Sulphur Dell.

At about fifteen years of age my buddy James Benson and I worked Saturdays 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM in my father's store, Dunaway's Grocery in Murfreesboro, to earn five dollars each.   On some Sundays, we took our loot, bought round trip tickets on Greyhound and headed for Nashville.  First stop after the bus station was the juice bar close to Church Street for fresh orange or pineapple juice, crushed before our eyes, then on to the double-header.  We remained for both games and worked in a couple of hot dogs and popcorn with cokes.

Our favorite players over time were John Mihalic, Buster Boguskie, Les Fleming, Tookie and Charlie Gilbert (along with their father/manager Larry Gilbert) and Carl Sawatski; high on the list was Hal Jeffcoat.  Speaking of Hal, in the snapshot of him the website includes, I feel sure I am the the slim guy to the left of the fellow in bib overalls in that picture.  I recall some special occasion where fans were allowed on the playing field between games and a good many of us headed for the "Dump".

After the second game it was always in the script to stop at the Krystal for hamburgers and cokes, then squeeze on the bus with the hoards of soldiers heading back to Smyrna Army Air Base.  What better day could a kid want?

One more thing which occurred, because so many athletes had been drafted into the military, the Vols signed a one-armed outfielder.  He could bat one-handed fairly well, and was good in the outfield.  He could field the ball on the run, secure glove and ball under his opposite arm pit, shell the ball out of the glove and make the play in one smooth motion. I'm not sure, but I think his name was Brown."

-Bill Dunaway, Huntsville, AL

"I remember...my dad spoke fondly, as so many Nashvillians do, of Sulphur Dell!"

-Lynn Vincent, Nashville, TN

"I remember...when my Dad played with the Vols in Nashville, I was in the 4th grade in 1932.  We usually went to school in West Baden Springs, Indiana and then traveled down to Nashville for the summer.  We did this every year up through 1937.

We enjoyed going to the home games.  Mother would take us out of school early so we could get to the game a little before batting practice ended.  We were allowed to have one ten-cent concession per game.  Usually we chose popcorn.  We would bet that this would be a ball, a strike, a hit, a grounder, a fly ball, a home run, etc.  We passed the popcorn back and forth during the game.  I remember the concession man who sold hot dogs walking through the stands singing, "Red hots, red hots, they're already ready and they're all red hot, with a pickle in the middle and an onion on top, red hots, red hots."  We got one of those to eat about once per week.  I have such fond memories of Sulphur Dell and the baseball games there.

During one season there was a man who was 10 1/2' tall.  He sat over on the right side of home plate about half way between there and the visitor's dugout.  Even sitting down he towered over everyone.  My brother Byron Franklin Speece, who passed away January 14, 2002, and I would watch him to see if he cheered for us or the visitors.  He cheered for the Vols.  I read a number of years later that he died at about the age of thirty.

Some of the players I remember were Hank Leiber and Phil Wintraub who went up to the major leagues from Nashville.  Hank Leiber was so young and good looking.  I, of course, thought he was wonderful.  I heard that a number of years later he was hit in the head while at bat.  It caused major problems for him.  The baseball league set up an apartment for him in the Los Angeles area with a valet to care for him for the rest of his life.  I don't know if that is true or not but hope it was so.  That was before batting helmets were invented.

Others were Lance Richbourg, the manager, Bill Rodda, shortstop, Ray Starr, James Brillheart, and others I forget today but will remember tomorrow.

There was one ball game we played with the New Orleans team.  They had a catcher named Charles P. George.  He slid into second base on a hit and spiked the second baseman.  Later in the game one of our players slid into home and spiked him at the plate.  Nothing was done by the umpires for this.  Seemed fair to them, I expect.

I remember Junie McBride warming up my Dad.  I know that I caught for him before he went to spring training.  By the time he left I had a red hand because the catcher's mitt was well worn and had a deep hole in the middle where the ball lodged.  I maybe do know Junie but it has been a long, long time since I was in Sulphur Dell.

Please write to me or have Junie write to me.  Maybe we can dredge up some forgotten memories!  I have written to Walter Johnson's grandson Henry Thomas about the Washington Nationals and their starting again in Washington, D.C.  I hope to hear something about that!"

-Irene Speece Thoren, Roanoke, VA

"I remember...the night that I believe it was Tookie Gilbert that hit it over the fence almost dead center field.  It hit a bus in the street and came back in the park and he only got a triple!"

-Richard Ramsey, Winter Haven, FL (and Nashville native)

"I remember...stories about my Grandfather, Bill Rodda, who played for the Nashville Vols between 1932 through 1939.  He was recognized for playing over a thousand games.  I have articles & photo's from his scrapbook.  I have collected items from his Pacific Coast League days when he played for the San Francisco Missions between 1926 thru 1931!"

-Ken Knudson, Antioch, CA

"I remember...being a member of the Knot Hole Gang, I got in at a reduced price.  Each time I went they punched my card.  After a certain number of punches, you then got in free at the next game."

They always had a give-away program to entice more patrons.  They would draw a winning ticket and then the winner got to go out to the pitchers mound where they would roll a wheel barrow full of change along with a shovel, and a grass sack (a toe sack back then).  The lucky person could shovel as much money into the bag as they could.  Without ever testing the weight of the bag, if they could carry it off the field it was theirs to keep.

I never saw it cost the team one cent; everyone always put more money in the bag than they could lift!"

-Jerry Dugan, Livingston, TN

"I remember...the spirit of Sulphur Dell, even in its dying days.  The crowds were sparse, the old stadium needed a good facelift, but the magic of the game and the exciting feeling of another game, another pitch, and the crack of the bat never lost its allure.

For a few fans, a sportswriter named George Leonard (my Dad), and an 8-year-old kid, every game was exciting.  I learned about scoring a game, how to run a scoreboard, and how to catch a foul ball at the Dell.  For me, the stadium has many fond memories.  I have a great photo of my Dad in the press box, hammering out another story on an old "Royal" typewriter, as he views the field below.  My Dad was in his element at the Park, and so was I!"

-Ernie Leonard, Nashville, TN

"I remember...my grandfather, Bryon Speece (Lord Byron, as he was referred to), saying that he played for the Vols from 1932-1938.  You have a team photo showing him in 1937.  He was the winningest pitcher for the Southern League in 1936 at 22 and 9.  Mom has written some memoirs and I believe that one of the player perks for performance was free Dr. Pepper and other consumables!"

-Paul Thoren, California

"I remember...as a young boy riding the bus to Sulphur Dell with my Dad who loved baseball better that anything.  One of the greatest thrills I had was going to the pressbox with Mr. Johnson of the Nashville Banner, and looking out at my dad sitting on the third base side.  I can still hear my Dad screaming at the umpires when a call went against the "Vols"; he always called them "Blind Toms".  I also can remember when they used to slide the doors back after the seventh inning stretch and people would come running in to catch the final innings.  My Dad passed away in 1963 and had he lived, he would have been heartbroken to see the "Old Ball Park" closed."

-Jim Cain, Nashville, TN

"I remember...moving to Nashville in 1950 from Mobile where I worked for the Bears as a sidelines kid, clubhouse boy and all around utility kid.  When the Bears came to town, they let me work as visiting batboy.  After the series, Vols trainer Willie White gave me a job shagging foul balls on the sidelines in the bullpen, even providing me with a uniform.  Working for the team the remainder of the season and as ball boy in the early part of 1951 was one of the highlights of my childhood.  Larry Munson was my hero and inspired me to become a broadcaster, a craft that has served me very well.  On my final day, I sat in earshot of Larry Gilbert when he offered Al (Red) Worthington his first professional contract.  I have a less-pleasant memory of being given a big chaw of tobacco by one of the bullpen pitchers.  It was a long ride home on the bus that night for a 14 year old who didn't know you weren't supposed to swallow the juice!"

-John Camp, Big Canoe, Georgia

"I remember...going to the games in 1958 and 1959.  My brother worked there as a manager in the commisary; his name was Alex Sparks.  I enjoyed watching the Vols play.  I remember Chico Alvarez and Charlie Nangerjo when they played there.  I always sat at the 3rd base side and left of the dugout.  I really enjoy reading about other fans' memories!"

-June (Sparks) Saunders, Whitney, Texas

"I remember...George Schmees, Eric Rodin, Buster Boguskie, Hugh Poland, and Larry Munson. I went to the Dell often, and played there for West High!"

-Larry Neuhoff, San Diego, CA

"I remember...Bama Ray hitting a ball that penetrated the right field screen to go through for a home run, ruled by the home plate umpire!  I remember the special catcher's mitt made for Birmingham catcher Gus Triandos to catch knuckle ball pitcher Bobo Newsom; it was an amusing looking-mitt about the size of an old wash tub!  I remember Jim Piersall  climbing the screen behind home plate in a fit of anger!  I remember Buster Boguskie, my all time favorite Vol, refereeing our old grammar school  basketball games and becoming good friends with him; he was my favorite Vol as well as one of my favorite people!  I remember, as an old Knot Hole member, Ted Williams and the Red Sox coming to the Dell for an exhibition game; he did not play but pinch-hit in the latter innings and hit a line drive off the right field screen, stopping at first base and shaking and dropping his head in amazement! After the game, some of us kids followed him from the dugout to the Greyhound bus waiting outside the right-field fence and begged him for an autograph; he never even acknowleged us, just looked straight ahead all the way to the bus, no smile, no nothing......after that, as a kid, he was no longer my hero!"

-Jerry Parkhurst, Nashville, TN

"I remember...as a very little girl sitting right outside the door of the press box on that screened walkway high above the seats, looking down at the people, waiting for my father, Fred Russell, to come out when the games were over. Thank you for preserving the memory of Sulphur Dell!"

-Carolyn Russell, Nashville, TN

"I remember...the details on that great comeback game that Fred Sadler remembers, when the Vols rallied in the bottom of the ninth from a 7-0 deficit, scoring 8 runs without making a single out.  That's the one that I left early and have regretted all my life!  Thanks again, Fred. There was nothing like time at Sulphur Dell when I was a kid.  Fantastic memories!"

-Lee Keith, Greensboro, NC

"I remember...sitting on the 'dump' on the Vols' opening day, 1948.  There were 4,000 others like me covering the whole dump and part of the left field area next to the stands because there were over 12,000 people there.   The Tennessean ran a full width picture the next day showing the crowd all the way around the outfield.  I don't remember who we were playing that day, but we won.  Charlie Gilbert hit 2 homers and Charlie Workman hit 1.  Gilbert later had one of the greatest starts of any player with 7 homers in the first 4 games, 2-2-1-2.  He and Workman had a Mantle/Maris kind of a season until he faded at the last.  Workman ended up with 52 homers and led the league.  Gilbert had 42.  Elwood 'Footsie' Grantham had 33.  'Footsie', the colorful left fielder, also set a league record for strikeouts with over 220.  I'll always remember seeing several of those first game homers going over our heads and the screen as we sat out on the 'dump'.  There was no place like Sulphur Dell!"

-Lou Vodopya

"I remember...Chico Alvarez most vividly as a guy who didn't like to play doubleheaders.  One day in the second game, he was the lead off hitter, and he took a third strike.  He looked back at the ump, stared at him, and then dropped his bat, rather ceremoniously, on home plate.  Of course, he was tossed.  But, he didn't have to play two that day!  He was a character!"

-Lee Keith, Greensboro, NC

"I was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame.  No big deal there, but the reason I am writing is that in giving a speech about my experiences in baseball, I described Sulphur Dell as we all remember it.  The audience gasped at the dimensions and the story of how Jack Harshman went from 47 homers one year to a 23-game winner two years later in Sulphur Dell.  After the talk, Bob Humphreys, whom I've known for a long time, came up and said he remembered Sulphur Dell for a right-handed hitter "chinking" one over the screen to beat him.  Bob Boone was the main speaker, but he had never heard of Sulphur Dell.  I'll bet his daddy has!"

-Bob Teitlebaum, Salem, VA

"My story is about the speaker at the University of Tennessee Baseball Banquet on February 3, 2004, Buck O'Neil.  He is 92 years old and was a member of the Kansas City Monarchs playing first base.  He told various stories about Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson and others and mentioned a few places he played.  During his presentation I decided to try to catch up with him after the banquet and ask him about playing in the Dell.

When he finished and after the applause was over he offered to answer questions from the audience and I was the first to stand with my hand up.  I asked him if he ever had the opportunity to play at Nashville in Sulphur Dell.  He said, "yes, I remember that screen and flat spot in right field very well."  We had about 500 people present and when I said the words Sulphur Dell some guy on the other side of the room yelled 'yeah' and people applauded.

Just wanted to pass this on to you because I appreciate what you are doing for the history of that ball park. If you ever need a baseball speaker , Buck o"Neil is worth looking up.  That is, if you haven't heard him already!"

-Billy Beal, Oak Ridge, TN

"I remember...Larry Munson broadcasting the game between the Vols and the Lookouts when the score was 0-0 in the ninth inning, Gil Cohn was at bat, and there was a 3-2 count.  I also think that both pitchers were throwing no-hitters, but the next pitch to Gil was a down-the-middle fastball, and he hit that ball out of the park for a homerun!  Larry announced that the (curse word!) had just hit a homerun!  The Lookouts had won, 1-0!"

-David Crick, Cleveland, TN

"I remember...once in the very early 30's I held the lucky number score card.  I won a steak dinner and a great baseball board game.  My dad must have eaten the steak, but at age 10 I had many happy hours playing that game back home in Springfield with my neighborhood friends.  Today I am 81 years old but I would still like to play that baseball game and go see the Vols play the Memphis Chicks, the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Knoxville Smokies, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Little Rock Pebbles, the Birmingham Barons, or the Atlanta Crackers.

I also remember my dad was amused and in agreement when a sportswriter wrote that Lance Richbourg played the right field dump like a 'mountain goat'!"

"I remember...the times when George Leonard, Jr. and I walked the catwalk to the press box when his father George Leonard, Sr. was a sports writer for the Nashville Tennessean.  We would try and catch the foul balls that were hit up there.  Then we would go down on the field after the game and get the broken bats and a few balls.  I also remember all the Knot Hole League long distance throwing contest that I participated in.  Last but not least, I remember the great games that I was fortunate enough to see."

-Frank Frankenbach, Cocoa Beach, FL

"I remember...as a boy of about 9 in 1960 or so seeing the Vols against a Detroit Tiger team, I believe. The pitcher for the Tigers farm team was on rehab, I think named Frank Lary?  He hit a homerun through the Gates Tire over Left Center wall to win $100. All of this is fuzzy; I just wonder if anybody could refresh that story?  I am 52 now and can still smell that ballpark!"

-Larry Grissim, Lebanon, TN

"Because of my contribution to Sulphur Dell memories on the "I remember..." page, I received an email on Nov. 16, from Walter Englert in Santa Clara, California, wanting to know if I was the person who used to sit on the third base side of Sulphur Dell along with his mother and brother, and my mother, sister, and me, the Harry Englert family and the Marshall Darden family. After over 50 years, what a surprise to hear from this old friend who used to live on Chesterfield off West End Avenue, and he and his brother, Harry, attended West End High School. The Englerts had an aunt that lived in the 1300 block of 6th Avenue North where we lived at 6th and Taylor, and I believe the old Englert home place is still standing in North Nashville. So, your website reaches across the country to so many, like me and the Englerts, that have fond memories of old Sulphur Dell."

-Paul Darden, Nashville, TN

"I remember...it's hard for me to explain all I remember about Sulphur Dell in one letter.  I was the roof boy, scoreboard operator for balls, strikes and outs, gathered scores of other games from out of town to put on the scoreboard and give to the broadcasters, and the office boy during the middle 1950s.

I was a sportswriter at The Tennessean twice in the 1960s, but I moved to Roanoke, VA in 1970 where I was a sports writer for 30 years.  I have often written about Sulphur Dell, never forgetting that 262-foot right field fence.  I also have a copy of the Southern Association Record Book 1901-57, a copy of the guide put out by Fred Russell and George Leonard for the 50th Anniversary of the the Vols, as well as copies of the Sabbatini Sketch books on the Vols for 1949 and 1950.

I'm retired from daily newspaper writing. I do some free lance writing and review books for two papers that deal with sports. I am starting my fourth season as official scorer for the Salem Avalanche in the Carolina League.  Over the years, I've talked with several scouts who are former players that performed in the Dell.  I have talked of the Dell when I give some guest lectures in History of Sports in America, but these students of modern day parks can hardly appreciate the Dell!

-Bob Teitlebaum, Salem, VA 

"I remember...alas I was born in 1963 the last year that Nashville had a team.  I have heard stories all through the years from my relatives of what a great place the Dell was for a game.  With your site, I am able to now get a better understanding of how special the stadium and times were and what I missed!

-Jeffrey Green, Nashville, TN

"I remember...my parents took me to Sulphur Dell each year in the mid- to late- 50’s and maybe a few times in the early 60’s.  The names that come to mind are Tommy Brown at third base, Bobby Durnbuagh at shortstop, Larry Taylor at second base, Haven Schmitch, and of course, the rightfielder who roamed the "Dump" and his name was George Schmees.  I always enjoyed going to the Dell and listening to Dick Shively and later Larry Munson do the play by play on the radio.

-Teddy Ray, Fayetteville, TN 

"I remember...as a boy going with my dad "Dub Allen" who many know loved the game of baseball.  I always knew when we were getting close to the stadium by the strong smell of those livestock barns (y'all know the smell!).  I remember walking down those side streets and alleys after we had parked the car. While walking and stepping over railroad tracks I would see that large white gas tank; as a kid that tank really looked big!  Once we walked into the stadium, we always sat out in the right field section sort of behind first base.

I remember smelling the  cigar and pipe smoke that always smelled sort of good to me, and the hard, old wooden seats where you almost always would get a splinter (especially as a kid that was up and down all through the game like most kids).  A couple of times I had to sit behind a large pole and watch the game.  The old tire sign that hung out in right center that read "$50.00 if you hit a home run" through always was exciting.  My dad seemed to know everybody and it would take us an hour to walk back to the car due to all the chit-chat with friends.

The last day I was with my dad before he passed away in the summer of 2000 we drove to the site of Sulphur Dell.  What made me want to pull into the parking lot was when he saw the old Atlantic Ice house that stood behind right field.  He had just told me that he once got a ball out of the gutter there when he was a kid.  I could tell he was excited to see the old site of Sulphur Dell, so I pulled into the State parking lot and stopped about where I figured the pitcher's mound was.  He said he had many great memories as a child himself as a part-time batboy and as a spectator.  I told him I can sit here and look around and see the old field.  I could sort of see the old infield in my mind, the noise, and I even seemed to begin smelling that old cigar and pipe smell.

We were quiet when we pulled out of the lot and were both smiling with those wonderful memories that we had just shared together for the last time.

-Mike Allen, Nashville (Donelson), TN

"I remember...so many fond memories of Sulphur Dell. I can vividly remember walking up the concourse to the stands in early April each year and standing in awe at the beauty of the green, well-manicured field, the imposing fences, and the anticipation of the beginning of another year of Nashville Vols baseball. In the 1950's a child 12 or under could get a general admission season pass for $3. That was the only birthday present I wanted every year for many years. After many Little League games, my parents would leave me at the Dell to watch the Vols game and come back to get me later.

"I remember...goin