Sulphur Dell
Sulphur Dell, with its famous right field slope | |
| Former names | Sulphur Spring Park (1885–1889) Athletic Park (1890–1907) |
|---|---|
| Location | 900 Fifth Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee United States |
| Coordinates | 36°10′22″N 86°47′08″W / 36.17278°N 86.78556°W |
| Field size | 1885–1926: Left Field: 362 ft (110 m) Center Field: 485 ft (148 m) Right Field: 362 ft (110 m) 1927–1963: Left Field: 334 ft (102 m) Center Field: 421 ft (128 m) Right Field: 262 ft (80 m) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | November 1884 – May 24, 1885 |
| Opened | March 30, 1885 |
| Closed | September 7, 1963 (last Vols game) |
| Demolished | April 16, 1969 |
| Construction cost | $7,600 (1885)[1] ($229,000 in 2021 dollars[2]) |
| Tenants | |
| |
Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, Fourth Avenue North, Harrison Street, and Fifth Avenue North.[3] The ballpark was famous for its short distance to the right field wall (262 ft (80 m)) and a steep incline in the outfield that ran along the entire outfield wall, mostly in right and center fields.[4] Sportswriter Grantland Rice started calling it "Sulphur Dell" in 1908.[5]
Amateur teams started playing baseball in the area known as Sulphur Spring Bottom as early as 1870.[6] It was a popular recreation area with a natural sulphur spring.[7] It became the home stadium of a few Minor League Baseball teams from 1885 to 1963.[3] A wooden grandstand was built in 1885 for the Nashville Americans baseball team.[8] Other professional baseball teams played there later.[9] The team that played at Sulphur Dell the longest was the Southern Association's Nashville Vols, who played from 1901 to 1963.[3]
After the Vols stopped playing, amateur baseball teams played there in 1964. It was turned into a race track for automobiles for three weeks in 1965. The stadium then served as a tow-in lot for Metro Nashville, before being torn down on April 16, 1969.[10] Until 2014, it was the location of parking lots used by state employees. Since 2015, it has been the location of First Horizon Park, the home stadium of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds baseball team.[11]
-
A game at Sulphur Dell in 1908
-
Opening Day at the ballpark in 1909
-
The ballpark during a flood in 1937
-
The front entrance in the 1950s
-
The seats in the 1950s
References
- Specific
- ↑ "The Base-Ball Season". The Daily American. Nashville. March 5, 1885. p. 4. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Sulphur Dell". Stats Crew. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
- ↑ Nipper, Skip (January 4, 2014). "Sulphur Dell: A Brief History". 262 Down Right. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ Nipper, Skip (January 14, 2015). "Grantland Rice Named "Sulphur Dell" On This Day". 262 Down Right. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ "The Blue Stockings". Republican Banner. Nashville. May 12, 1870. p. 4. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "A Card". Daily Republican Banner. Nashville. July 25, 1839. p. 3. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Traughber, Bill (June 25, 2012). "Looking Back: Nashville's Sulphur Springs Ballpark". Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ↑ Nipper, Skip (December 12, 2013). "Baseball Shrines". 262 Down Right. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ Traughber, Bill (August 26, 2013). "Looking Back: Sulphur Dell Demolished in 1969". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ↑ "Ballpark at Sulphur Dell". Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. December 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- General
- Nipper, Skip (2007). Baseball in Nashville. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4391-8.
- Traughber, Bill (2017). Nashville Baseball History: From Sulphur Dell to the Sounds. South Orange, New Jersey: Summer Games Books. ISBN 978-1-938545-83-2.
Other websites
- Media related to Sulphur Dell at Wikimedia Commons
- Project Ballpark profile
- The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture entry
- An article about the ballpark