Nashville Blues

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Nashville Blues
1887
Nashville, Tennessee

Team Logo
Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • none
Minor League affiliations
Major League affiliations
  • none
Name
  • Nashville Blues (1887)
Ballpark
Minor League titles
League titles none

The Nashville Blues was a minor league baseball team of the Southern League based in Nashville, Tennessee during 1887. The team was the second professional baseball team in Nashville, replacing the city's previous entry, the Nashville Americans. They played their home games at Athletic Park.

Contents

[edit] Team history

The Nashville Blues replaced the Nashville Americans as the city's entry into the Southern League in 1887. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, which would later come to be known as Sulphur Dell. With a distance of 262 feet to the right field wall, it was a notorious hitter's park.

The Blues were managed by third baseman George Bradley, a former major league player for 11 years. Another notable player was pitcher Al Maul, who had a 15 year career in the majors. They played their first home game in March against the Syracuse Shamrocks. Nashville later played a three game exhibition series against the National League's Detroit Wolverines. Detroit swept the Blues 14-4, 8-0, and 12-2.

In those days, the state of Tennessee had a blue law which banned the playing of baseball on Sundays. After being advised that the law was unconstitutional, the Blues played their first scheduled Sunday. Prior to the game, a group, including Nashville ministers, gathered to see that the law was enforced. The game was played without incident, but the Davidson County grand jury later sent indictments to all the Nashville and Savannah players involved in the game and officials of the Nashville Base Ball Association. The charges were later dropped and games continued to be played on Sundays without reprimand.

Financial problems plagued the team throughout the season. Circumstances were so dire that the team had to actually sell off players during the season in order to remain solvent. This affected the team’s record. At one point they were 16-3, but when they started losing players, they also started losing more often. It got so bad that that the franchise had to fold and leave the league during the first week of August. Their final win-loss record was 34-40. It was estimated that the Blues lost as much as $18,000.

Nashville was without a professsional baseball team until 1893 when they fielded the Nashville Tigers in the Southern League.

[edit] Season-by-season results

Nashville Blues
Year Record Win % Finish
1885* 34-30 .531 -
Totals 34-30 34-30 -
* The team dropped out of the league before the end of the season.

[edit] Uniforms

The uniforms of the team consisted of light blue shirts and pants, white belts, red stockings, and red & white caps.

[edit] References