Sulphur Dell

Sulphur Dell
Sulphur Dell, with its famous right field slope
Former namesSulphur Spring Park (1885–1889)
Athletic Park (1890–1907)
Location900 Fifth Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee
United States
Coordinates36°10′22″N 86°47′08″W / 36.17278°N 86.78556°W / 36.17278; -86.78556
Field size1885–1926:
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)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
BuiltNovember 1884 – May 24, 1885
OpenedMarch 30, 1885
ClosedSeptember 7, 1963
(last Vols game)
DemolishedApril 16, 1969
Construction cost$7,600 (1885)[1]
($229,000 in 2021 dollars[2])
Tenants
  • Nashville Americans (SL) 1885–1886
  • Nashville Blues (SL) 1887
  • Nashville Tigers (SL) 1893–1894
  • Nashville Seraphs (SL) 1895
  • Nashville Centennials (CL) 1897
  • Nashville Vols (SA/SAL) 1901–1961, 1963
  • Nashville Standard/Elite Giants (Indp.) 1920–1928
  • Nashville Stars (NML) 1942
  • Nashville Black Vols/Cubs (NSL) 1945–1951

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]

References

Specific
  1. ↑ "The Base-Ball Season". The Daily American. Nashville. March 5, 1885. p. 4. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ 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. 1 2 3 "Sulphur Dell". Stats Crew. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "The Blue Stockings". Republican Banner. Nashville. May 12, 1870. p. 4. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "A Card". Daily Republican Banner. Nashville. July 25, 1839. p. 3. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Nipper, Skip (December 12, 2013). "Baseball Shrines". 262 Down Right. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ Traughber, Bill (August 26, 2013). "Looking Back: Sulphur Dell Demolished in 1969". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "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.

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