Nashville Tigers

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Nashville Tigers
1893 – 1894
Nashville, Tennessee

Team Logo
Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • none
Minor League affiliations
Major League affiliations
  • none
Name
  • Nashville Tigers (1893–1894)
Ballpark
Minor League titles
League titles none

The Nashville Tigers were a minor league baseball team of the Southern League based in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1893 to 1894. The team was the third professional baseball team in Nashville, replacing the city's previous entry, the Nashville Blues. They played their home games at Athletic Park. The Tigers are credited with playing the first night baseball game in the city on July 6, 1894.

[edit] Team history

Six years after Nashville's last professional baseball team ceased operations, a new team was organized. They were called the Nashville Tigers and would compete in the Southern League. 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.

In their first season of play, 1893, the Tigers were managed by Ted Sullivan. The team finished in last place with a 33-60 record.

The Tigers returned to play in 1894 under the management of major leaguer George Stallings. On July 6, 1894, the team played a tripleheader against the New Orleans Pelicans. To make up for games that were rained out on the previous two nights, two games were played during the day and one that night. The teams spilt the doubleheader, each winning one game. That evening, 54 large electric lights were placed around Athletic Park to light the field. Adding to the novelty of a night game, players came onto the field wearing costumes that included grass skirts, ballet costumes, loud suits, bonnets, and dresses. The decidedly unusual contest drew an estimated 4,000 fans; typical games drew a few hundred. The Nashville Tigers won the game by a score of three runs to two. This marked the first time that a nighttime baseball game was played in Nashville. This feat is often incorrectly attributed to the Nashville Vols in 1931.

That year, the franchise finished the first half in sixth place with a 24-35 record. Approximately nine games into the second half, the league folded due to financial problems with franchises. Some teams were selling their players to other clubs in order to stay financially solvent, while others refused to continue play. This prompted the Southern League to call the rest of the season off. As of the last game, the Tigers were in first place with a 6-3 record.

The top hitters for the 1894 team were first baseman Charles Dooley (.332), second baseman John O’Brien (.319), and shortstop Pete Sweeney (.278). The top two pitchers were George Borchers (11-14) and George Harper (8-3).

In 1895, the league returned to play, but the Tigers did not. Nashville fielded a new franchise called the Nashville Seraphs.

[edit] Season-by-season results

Nashville Tigers
Year Record Win % Finish
1893 33-60 .355 12th (of 12)
1894* 30-38 .441 1st (of 6)
Totals 66-98 .402 -

* The league suspended operations approximately nine games into the second half of the season.

[edit] References