7,000. That’s approximately how many fans filled the grandstand at Sulphur Dell when the Nashville Vols took the field for their first night game on May 18, 1931.
Before the Sounds brought baseball back to North Nashville at First Horizon Park in 2015, Sulphur Dell stood in its place and introduced the city to America’s favorite pastime.
The name of the game
Before the ballpark, the recreational area was known as “Sulphur Springs Bottom” for the nearby natural sulphur spring used as a watering hole. In 1885, the Nashville Americans arrived, playing in Athletic Park during the inaugural season of the Southern League. It wasn’t until ~20 years later that Nashville Tennessean sports writer Grantland Rice called the ballpark Sulphur Dell in a column, and the name stuck.
Ballpark battles
Another one of Sulphur Dell’s nicknames is a non-so-endearing moniker — “Suffer Hell.” Outside of frequent flooding and smells from the nearby meat-packing plant, the ballpark earned the nickname over time due to the low-lying field’s unique dimensions and the challenges it posed to players.
- Fans had a front-row seat to the action. The distance from first base to the grandstand was just 42 ft, and even less to third base.
- Navigating the outfield was a task, as it was inclined, and overflow crowds sat on the slope.
- The field also had one of the shortest porches in professional baseball. Home plate and the wall in right field were only 262 ft apart. By comparison, the shortest porch in MLB today is Boston’s Fenway Park at 302 ft in right field.
Look back at the ballpark as former players and fans share their memories in this video produced by The Tennessean. | Photo via NPL’s Digital Collections
Beyond ball
The venue was also used for various concerts by Tex Ritter, Jackie Wilson, and James Brown. It is Music City, after all. That’s in addition to rodeos and even the Shrine Circus.
While the Nashville Americans were the city’s first professional team, and a slew of others played throughout the ballpark’s 100-year existence, the Nashville Vols were the longest tenant.
The team’s attendance began to fall after World War II as the Southern Association failed to integrate the league + Major League games started being televised. The Vols played their final game at Sulphur Dell on Sept. 8, 1963, ending the era on a high note with a doubleheader victory over Lynchburg.
The ballpark was used for amateur games the following year before converting to a triangle-shaped motor speedway for a series of races in 1965. Sulphur Dell was demolished in April 1969.
