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    Baseball in Memphis
    Baseball in Memphis
    Baseball in Memphis
    Ebook240 pages55 minutes

    Baseball in Memphis

    By Clarence Watkins and Jay Gauthreaux

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Auto Zone Park, arguably the best minor-league baseball park built in the past 25 years, is nestled in a corner of downtown Memphis. Located across the street from the historic Peabody Hotel and two blocks from Beale Street, Auto Zone opened in 2000 to rave reviews. It is the phoenix that rose from the ashes of Russwood Park. Baseball enthusiasts remember Russwood and the players who roamed the field, like Dazzy Vance, one-arm Pete Gray, Big Klu, and Moonlight Graham. Images of Baseball: Baseball in Memphis highlights the history of the Chicks and the Redbirds and pays homage to the original amateur Chickasaws, the Red Sox, and the Blues.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMar 26, 2012
    ISBN9781439642238
    Baseball in Memphis
    Author

    Clarence Watkins

    Author Clarence Watkins is on the board of directors of the Friends of Rickwood, and he cofounded the Southern Association Baseball Conference with David Brewer. This conference is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Southern baseball. Watkins is also a member of the Triple Play Club and a collector of memorabilia related to the Southern League.

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      Book preview

      Baseball in Memphis - Clarence Watkins

      heaven."

      INTRODUCTION

      At one of the book signings for Baseball in Birmingham, an incident occurred that made me want to write another book of baseball history. An elderly woman came into the bookstore with business other than buying one of my books. When she saw me at a table, she approached and asked what my book was about. After I gave her a brief summary, she told me about her memories as a child going to baseball games at Rickwood Field with her dad. Because her parents had no sons, and she was the youngest of several daughters, she got to go with him. She briefly paused before she said, That was the only time I had my father all to myself! It is my hope that writing this book about the history of Memphis baseball will evoke equally meaningful memories for baseball fans in Memphis.

      Memphis was also a key player in the formation of the first Southern League in baseball. Before professional baseball in 1885, Memphis had an array of great amateur teams to fuel the love of the sport for its citizens. Teams such as the Red Sox, the Blues, and the Eckfords gave Memphis a strong foundation and knowledgeable fan base. During the absence of professional baseball before 1900, the Mighty Chickasaws claimed championships for the state and region, traveling to New Orleans, Nashville, Huntsville, and Selma to take on all rivals.

      Prior to 1900, Memphis had several baseball parks, including Olympic, Citizen, Cycle, Chickasaw, and Red Elm Bottom. It is Red Elm Bottom that would evolve into Red Elm Park, and later into Russwood Park that we have such fond memories of. Let us take a walk back in time to become reacquainted with the heroes of the game: Ed Hurlburt, Dazzy Vance, Pete Gray, Doc Prothro, Johnny Antonelli, and Razor Shines. Baseball in Memphis was much more than a game.

      The images and stories told in this book are only a small assortment of the history of baseball in Memphis; each team deserves its own book. No doubt, some very good and popular players do not appear in this text. Hopefully, this book will serve as the beginning of more research and publishing on the history of baseball in Memphis.

      1

      THE EARLY DAYS

      On the edge of Memphis, out on Madison Avenue, lay an ideal piece of bottomland called Red Elm Bottom—a favorite picnic spot for Memphians. Red Elm Bottom gently sloped down into a flat area of land fed by a small stream; this was the Elysian field of Memphis baseball. By 1896, a wooden ballpark had been built. After major renovations in 1915, the facility was renamed Russwood Park in honor of owner Russell E. Gardner. (Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.)

      With the end of the original Southern League in 1897, Memphians did not lack for quality baseball. A group of college athletes, home for the summer, formed the Memphis Chickasaws, a team of seasoned players capable of defeating professional teams. On the far right in the first row is Joe Montedonico, the player who kept the scrapbook on the feats of the original Chickasaws. (Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.)

      In a time before radio and television, alerting fans to upcoming games was important. No one enjoyed paying a dime for a streetcar ride to the baseball park only to find out there was no game that day. Listed in the 1913 program was the fact that a giant baseball was extended over the intersection of Main and Madison Streets to tell fans that there would be a game that day. Then, the streetcars advertised game-day notification, as seen in this 1910 postcard. (Author’s collection.)

      The full impact that Christian Brothers College and High School had on amateur baseball in Memphis may never be fully appreciated. In the 1890s, the Gideon Stars was the team to beat in the tri-state area. The team was coached by Brother Gideon (back row, wearing a bow tie). (Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.)

      An early picture of Red Elm Park shows the natural slope of the land down to the bottom. This incline provided fans good views of the game. This photograph was taken before 1912, since the seven-story Baptist Memorial Hospital is not in the background. (Courtesy of Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library and Information Center.)

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