Sulphur Dell

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Sulphur Dell
nickname = Athletic Park
"Suffer Hell"


location = Nashville, Tennessee
United States
coordinates = coord|36|10|23.31|N|86|47|7.39|W|display=inline,title
broke_ground =
built =
opened = 1870 (grandstand built 1885)
renovated = 1927
expanded =
closed = September 7, 1963
demolished = 1969
owner = Vols, Inc.
operator = Vols, Inc.
surface = grass
construction_cost =
architect =
structural engineer =
services engineer =
general_contractor=
project_manager =
main_contractors =
former_names =
tenants =
Nashville Americans (SOU) (1885–1886)
Nashville Blues (SOU) (1887)
Nashville Tigers (SOU) (1893–1894)
Nashville Seraphs (SOU) (1895)
Nashville Vols (SA) (1901–1961)
Nashville Vols (SAL) (1963)
seating_capacity = 8,500
dimensions = Left Field: 334 ft (102 m)
Center Field: 421 ft (128 m)
Right Field: 262 ft (80 m)

Sulphur Dell is a former minor league baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee. It was used for baseball for nearly 100 years, from by|1870 to by|1963. From by|1901 to by|1963, it was the home of the Nashville Vols minor league team. The ballpark, demolished in by|1969, was located in the block between present day Jackson Street, Fourth Avenue, Harrison Street, and Fifth Avenue.

History

Athletic Park was located near an area known to pioneers as Sulphur Springs Bottom, which had a natural sulphur spring, and was located in the area of French Lick Springs. The lands were used for trading, picnics, and recreation. Baseball was first played there shortly after the end of the Civil War. Eventually, a portion of the land was designated for baseball and called Athletic Park. It wasn't until 1908, when Grantland Rice, a local sports journalist for the "Nashville Daily News" and the "Nashville Tennessean", referred to the ballpark as Sulphur Spring Dell—later shortened to Sulphur Dell.

The original grandstand was built in 1885. It was torn down in the winter of 1926 and 1927, and was rebuilt as a concrete-and-steel structure with a slightly different orientation.

Sulphur Dell was best known for having one of the most significant "terraces" or sloping outfields in baseball history, a steep incline that ran along the entire outfield wall, most dramatically in right and center fields. With a very short right field fence (posted 262 feet down the right field line), right fielders were usually positioned about halfway up the slope and were known as "mountain goats." The area was subject to flooding when the Cumberland River exceeded its banks.

The park was located near the city dump, which lent a unique fragrance to the surroundings. It was also known for being extremely friendly to hitters, which led pitchers to call it "Suffer Hell." Casey Stengel once joked that he could bunt a home run down the first base line, which was only 42 feet from the stands. The third base line was even closer, at 26 feet.

In 1969, the ballpark was demolished. Today it is the site of a number of parking lots north of the state capitol building.

References

*Nipper, Skip. "Baseball in Nashville". Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7385-4391-8

External links

* [http://www.sulphurdell.com Sulphur Dell home page]
* [http://tennessean.com/learn-nashville/archives/02/10/24473619.shtml?Element_ID=24473619 How did Sulphur Dell ballpark get its name and fame?]
* [http://www.projectballpark.org/history/nnl2/sulph.html Sulphur Dell pictures]
* [http://www.tennessean.com/galleries/2004/sports/041604_sulphurdell/ More Sulphur Dell photos]