1908 Nashville Vols season
# 1908 Nashville Vols season

The 1908 Nashville Vols season was the 15th season of minor league baseball in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Nashville Vols' 8th season in the Southern Association. The Vols finished the previous season in last place, but this year won the league pennant, by defeating he New Orleans Pelicans 1-0 on the last day of the season in a game dubbed by Grantland Rice "The Greatest Game Ever Played In Dixie."

This is also the season Rice dubbed the ballpark Sulphur Dell. The team's player-manager was Bill Bernhard. The team featured just two players from Tennessee: Pryor McElveen and Hub Perdue. First baseman Jake Daubert led the league in home runs with six.

## Before the season

The Vols finished last place in the Southern Association in 1907. A new group of men purchased the team, including Ferdinand E. Kuhn, James B. Carr, Thomas James Tyne, J. T. Connor, James A. Bowling, Robert L. Bolling, Rufus E. Fort, and William G. Hirsig. Well known attorney S. A. Champion supplied legal services. The group envisioned an ambitious project of stadium renovations at Sulphur Dell, and managed to cull $50,000. Kuhn was selected to head the Board of Directors. He went on a trip to Ponce de Leon Park in Atlanta to observe a modern park and plan renovations.

Kuhn hired Bill Bernhard as manager.

## Schedule

### Game log

1908 Game Log (75–56) :

April (4–6)

#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak

1April 16@ Atlanta1–3Ford (1–0)Sorrell (0–1)Ponce de Leon Park6,0000–1L1

2April 17@ Atlanta3–0Duggan (1–0)Castleton (0–1)Ponce de Leon Park3,0001–1W1

April 20Montgomery3–3—Sulphur Dell4,4001–1W1

3April 21Montgomery1–5Van AdaSorrell (0–2)—Sulphur Dell2,0001–2L1

4April 22Montgomery5–6CristallDuggan (1–1)—Sulphur Dell1,5001–3L2

5April 23Montgomery4–2Perdue (1–0)Helm—Sulphur Dell1,5002–3W1

6April 25Birmingham3–0Hess (1–0)Robitaille—Sulphur Dell3,0003–3W2

7April 27Birmingham7–6Hunter (1–0)McNeal—Sulphur Dell1,5004–3W3

8April 28Birmingham1–4FlehartyDuggan (1–2)—Sulphur Dell1,5004–4L1

9April 29@ Montgomery1–4ThomasPerdue (1–1)—4–5L2

10April 30@ Montgomery1–4StackpoleHess (1–1)—4–6L3 :

May (11–12)

#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak

11May 1@ Montgomery5–0Kellum (1–0)Merriman5–6W1

12May 2@ Montgomery1–35–7L1

13May 4@ Birmingham3–1Duggan (2–2)McNeal6–7W1

14May 7@ Birmingham1–4TurnerPerdue (1–2)4506–8L1

15May 8Atlanta1–4FordHess (1–2)—Sulphur Dell6–9L2

16May 9Atlanta2–1Kellum (2–0)McKenzie—Sulphur Dell1,5007–9W1

17May 11Atlanta4–2Yerkes (1–0)Cummings—Sulphur Dell1,5008–9W2

18May 12Atlanta5–6FordDuggan (2–3)—Sulphur Dell2.0008–10L1

19May 14@ Memphis6–2Duggan (3–3)ChappelleRusswood Park9–10W1

20May 15@ Memphis5–1Hess (2–2)SavidgeRusswood Park10–10W2

21May 16@ Memphis3–2Hunter (2–1)GarrityRusswood Park11–10W3

22May 18@ Little Rock5–3Perdue (2–2)Connelly12–10W4

23May 19@ Little Rock1–3HartKellum (2–1)12–11L1

24May 20@ Little Rock1–10EylerHess (2–3)12–12L2

May 21@ New Orleans0–0Athletic Park12–12L2

25May 22@ New Orleans1–4BartleyHunter (2–2)Athletic Park12–13L3

26May 23@ New Orleans1–10GuesePerdue (2–3)Athletic Park12–14L4

27May 24@ New Orleans0–5BartleyHess (2–4)Athletic Park12–15L5

28May 25@ Mobile2–1Kellum (3–1)TorreyMonroe Park13–15W1

29May 26@ Mobile10–4Duggan (4–3)BeekerMonroe Park14–15W2

30May 29Memphis9–1Hunter (3–2)GarritySulphur Dell3,00015–15W3

31May 30Memphis0–1SavidgeDuggan (4–4)Sulphur Dell4,00015–16L1

32May 30Memphis2–5ChappelleHess (2–5)Sulphur Dell15–17L2

33May 31@ Memphis1–4ShieldsPerdue (2–4)Russwood Park15–18L3 :

June (15–10)

#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak

34June 1Memphis3–1Kellum (4–1)Garrity—Sulphur Dell1,50016–18W1

35June 2New Orleans2–5GueseYerkes (1–2)—Sulphur Dell1,80016–19L1

36June 4New Orleans3–2Duggan (5–4)Clark—Sulphur Dell1,50017–19W1

37June 5New Orleans5–2Duggan (6–4)Bartley—Sulphur Dell1,80018–19W2

38June 6Mobile2–5BeekerKellum (4–2)—Sulphur Dell2,80018–20L1

39June 8Mobile8–1Perdue (3–4)Torrey—Sulphur Dell1,40019–20W1

40June 9Mobile1–3StockdaleYerkes (1–3)—Sulphur Dell1,50019–21L1

41June 10Mobile3–0Duggan (7–4)Beeker—Sulphur Dell1,20020–21W1

42June 11Little Rock2–8EylerBernhard (0–1)—Sulphur Dell1,59920–22L1

43June 12Little Rock7–0Perdue (4–4)Walters—Sulphur Dell1,20021–22W1

44June 13Little Rock1–8EastmanKellum (4–3)—Sulphur Dell1,50021–23L1

45June 15Birmingham0–6RobitailleDuggan (7–5)—Sulphur Dell1,10021–24L2

46June 16Birmingham5–3Perdue (5–4)Turner—Sulphur Dell1,30022–24W1

47June 17Birmingham6–0Kellum (5–3)Robinson—Sulphur Dell1,50023–24W2

48June 18Montgomery5–1Bernhard (1–1)Cristall—Sulphur Dell1,50024–24W3

49June 19Montgomery7–2Duggan (8–5)Guese—Sulphur Dell1,50025–24W4

50June 20Montgomery8–0Perdue (6–4)Juul—Sulphur Dell3,00026–24W5

51June 22@ Atlanta5–4Kellum (6–3)Schopp—Ponce de Leon Park27–24W6

52June 23@ Atlanta5–1Perdue (7–4)—Ponce de Leon Park28–24W7

53June 23@ Atlanta1–4CastletonDuggan (8–6)—Ponce de Leon Park28–25L1

54June 24@ Atlanta0–5FordBernhard (1–2)—Ponce de Leon Park28–26L2

55June 25@ Montgomery3–4GueseKellum (6–4)—28–27L3

56June 26@ Montgomery1–2ThomasPerdue (7–5)—28–28L4

57June 27@ Montgomery3–2Duggan (9–6)McCafferty—29–28W1

58June 30Atlanta3–1Duggan (10–6)Ford—Sulphur Dell1,50030–28W2 :

July (16–9)

#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak

59July 1Atlanta5–0Perdue (8–5)Schopp—Sulphur Dell1,60030–28W3

60July 3@ Birmingham5–2Kellum (7–4)—31–28W4

61July 4@ Birmingham5–2Duggan (11–6)—1,50032–28W5

62July 5@ New Orleans1–2ClarkPerdue (8–6)—Athletic Park32–29L1

63July 6@ New Orleans2–0Kellum (8–4)Breitenstein—Athletic Park33–29W1

64July 7@ New Orleans3–1Duggan (12–6)Bartley—Athletic Park34–29W2

July 9@ Mobile0–0—Monroe Park34–29W2

65July 10@ Mobile3–2Hunter (3–3)Gaskill—Monroe Park35–29W3

66July 11@ Mobile1–2HickmanKellum (8–5)—Monroe Park35–30L1

67July 12@ Mobile6–3Bernhard (2–2)Gaskill—Monroe Park36–30W1

July 13@ Little Rock3–3—36–30W1

68July 14@ Little Rock1–4HartHunter (4–3)—36–31L1

69July 15@ Little Rock1–2EastmanDuggan (12–7)—36–32L2

70July 15@ Little Rock5–4Kellum (9–5)Buchanan—37–32W1

71July 17@ Memphis3–2Perdue (9–6)Chappelle—Russwood Park38–32W2

72July 18@ Memphis6–1Bernhard (3–2)Shields—Russwood Park39–32W3

73July 20Little Rock2–1Duggan (13–7)Neuer—Sulphur Dell3,00040–32W4

74July 21Little Rock0–3BuchananPerdue (9–7)—Sulphur Dell40–33L1

75July 22Little Rock15–8Hunter (5–3)—Sulphur Dell41–33W1

76July 23Mobile0–2HickmanKellum (9–6)—Sulphur Dell41–34L1

77July 25Mobile4–2Perdue (10–7)Torrey—Sulphur Dell1,80042–35W1

78July 26@ Memphis2–1Bernhard (4–2)Garrity—43–35W2

79July 27New Orleans3–1Kellum (10–6)Bartley—Sulphur Dell3,00044–35W3

80July 28New Orleans5–7ClarkHunter (5–4)—Sulphur Dell3,50044–36L1

81July 29New Orleans2–0Bernhard (5–2)Fritz—Sulphur Dell2,50045–36W1

82July 30Memphis2–5Perdue (10–8)—Sulphur Dell2,00045–37L1

83July 31Memphis0–1SavidgeDuggan (13–8)—Sulphur Dell1,80045–38L2 :

August (17–12)

#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak

84August 1Memphis3–0Kellum (11–6)SchwenkSulphur Dell3,50046–38W1

85August 3Birmingham2–6BauerPerdue (10–9)Sulphur Dell1,40046–39L1

86August 4Birmingham15–2Hunter (6–4)RobitailleSulphur Dell2,00047–39W1

87August 5Birmingham13–1Kellum (12–6)FordSulphur Dell2,00048–39W2

88August 5Birmingham4–5TurnerDuggan (13–9)Sulphur Dell48–40L1

89August 6Atlanta6–0Bernhard (6–2)RadabaughSulphur Dell2,00049–40W1

90August 7Atlanta2–1Sitton (1–0)MaxwellSulphur Dell3,50050–40W2

91August 8Atlanta2–0Hunter (7–4)ViebahnSulphur Dell51–40W3

92August 10Montgomery6–1Duggan (14–9)BlissSulphur Dell2,40052–40W4

93August 11Montgomery1–3GueseKellum (12–7)Sulphur Dell52–41L1

94August 12Montgomery1–0Bernhard (7–2)ThomasSulphur Dell2,50053–41W1

95August 13@ Atlanta2–5ViebahnHunter (7–5)Ponce de Leon Park53–42L1

96August 14@ Atlanta5–1Sitton (2–0)FordPonce de Leon Park54–42W1

97August 14@ Atlanta2–3JohnsDuggan (14–10)Ponce de Leon Park54–43L1

98August 15@ Atlanta3–1Kellum (13–7)MaxwellPonce de Leon Park55–43W1

99August 17@ Montgomery3–8ThomasSitton (2–1)55–44L1

100August 18@ Montgomery11–6Perdue (11–9)Juul56–44W1

101August 19@ Montgomery6–3Bernhard (8–2)Guese57–44W2

August 20@ Birmingham1–157–44W2

102August 21@ Birmingham2–6FordKellum (13–8)57–45L1

103August 21@ Birmingham4–5ThomasSitton (2–1)57–46L2

104August 22@ Birmingham3–1Perdue (12–9)Robitaille58–46W1

105August 22@ Birmingham0–7FlehartyPerdue (12–10)58–47L1

106August 24@ Little Rock1–2EylerBernhard (8–3)58–48L2

107August 25@ Little Rock5–3Duggan (15–10)Eastman59–48W1

108August 26@ Little Rock4–0Perdue (13–10)Buchanan60–48W2

109August 26@ Little Rock3–2Kellum (14–8)Hart61–48W3

110August 28@ Memphis1–2SchwenkSitton (2–3)Russwood Park61–49L1

111August 29@ Memphis1–5SavidgeBernhard (8–4)Russwood Park61–50L2

August 30@ Memphis2–2Russwood Park5,00061–50L2

112August 31@ New Orleans2–0Kellum (15–8)Bartley—Athletic Park3,30062–50W1 :

September (13–6)

#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak

113September 1@ New Orleans1–0Sitton (3–3)Fritz—Athletic Park3,50063–50W2

114September 2@ New Orleans0–3BreitensteinDuggan (15–11)—Athletic Park3,50063–51L1

September 2@ New Orleans0–0—Athletic Park63–51L1

115September 3@ Mobile0–1HickmanPerdue (13–11)—Monroe Park63–52L2

116September 3@ Mobile2–0Perdue (14–11)Hixon—Monroe Park64–52W1

117September 5@ Mobile1–4FisherKellum (15–9)—Monroe Park64–53L1

118September 5@ Mobile10–0Hunter (8–5)—Monroe Park65–53W1

119September 7Memphis1–4SchwenkSitton (3–4)Sulphur Dell3,50065–54L1

120September 7Memphis6–3Duggan (16–11)GarritySulphur Dell7,50066–54W1

121September 8Memphis10–0Perdue (15–11)SavidgeSulphur Dell67–54W2

122September 9Little Rock2–3HartKellum (15–10)Sulphur Dell67–55L1

123September 10Little Rock1–0Duggan (17–11)BuchananSulphur Dell68–55W1

124September 11Little Rock20–1Sitton (4–4)Sulphur Dell69–55W2

125September 12Little Rock11–1Perdue (16–11)HartSulphur Dell70–55W3

126September 14Mobile10–2Duggan (18–11)BeekerSulphur Dell71–55W4

127September 15Mobile8–2Sitton (5–4)FisherSulphur Dell72–55W5

128September 16Mobile10–1Perdue (17–11)Sulphur Dell73–55W6

129September 17New Orleans1–5BartleyBernhard (8–5)Sulphur Dell5,00073–56L1

130September 18New Orleans6–2Duggan (19–11)PhillipsSulphur Dell5,00074–56W1

131September 19New Orleans1–0Sitton (6–4)BreitensteinSulphur Dell10,70075–56W2 :

Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = No decision Bold = Vols team member Reference: :

### Game summaries

**April**

**Opening day**

Sportswriter and Vanderbilt baseball coach Grantland Rice accompanied the team to Atlanta. President Kuhn ordered a line score hung up on a slate board outside Sulphur Dell, for local fans to follow the game.

**June**

**Mike McCormick leaves**

On June 15, team captain Mike McCormick had a heated exchange with fans and ultimately abandoned the team.

Despite this, the Vols changed the team and went on a winning streak as a result. On June 20 in an 8–0 win over Montgomery, Butler hit a then-rare, outside-the-park home run.

**July**

**Seventeen inning contest**

The seventeen-inning game on July 9 against Mobile was declared a tie. Both pitchers received praise, and Hamilton Love wrote Perdue "has done more than any one man to hold up the team."

**August**

**Carl Sitton's debut**

On August 7, Southern Association rookie Sitton debuted against the Crackers, winning a close game 2–1 and striking out eight.

**September**

**Hub Perdue's doubleheader**

On September 3, Hub Perdue pitched a shutout until the final inning, when he let a run across. He then insisted on pitching the second game of a doubleheader, and pitched a shut-out win.

**September**

**John Duggan's no-hitter**

On September 10, Nashville's John Duggan pitched a no-hitter, the second in team history, against the Little Rock Travelers at Sulphur Dell. Only two Little Rock batters reached base, one via walk and another on a fielding error. Nashville's Pryor McElveen, who had earlier misplayed the ball at third, drove in Doc Wiseman in the sixth inning for the only run of the game, a 1–0 win.

**September**

**Last game vs. New Orleans**

According to one account, "By one run, by one point, Nashville has won the Southern League pennant, nosing New Orleans out literally by an eyelash. Saturday's game, which was the deciding one, between Nashville and New Orleans was the greatest exhibition of the national game ever seen in the south and the finish in the league race probably sets a record in baseball history".

Carl Sitton's spitball defeated Ted Breitenstein 1–0 in the "Greatest Game". Sitton pitched a complete-game, nine-strikeout, four-hit, shutout.

Nashville scored in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, catcher Ed Hurlburt hit a single. Then Sitton did too. Harry "Deerfoot" Bay bunted perfectly down the third base line to load the bases, Bay's fondest memory in his long baseball career. Doc Wiseman then drove in the winning run. Sitton was thrown out at home after Hurlburt scored. The time of the game was one hour and forty-two minutes.

## Standings

### Season standings

| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Nashville Vols | 75 | 56 | .573 | — |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 76 | 57 | .571 | — |
| Memphis Egyptians | 73 | 62 | .541 | 4 |
| Montgomery Senators | 68 | 65 | .511 | 8 |
| Mobile Sea Gulls | 67 | 67 | .500 | 91⁄2 |
| Atlanta Crackers | 63 | 72 | .467 | 14 |
| Little Rock Travelers | 62 | 76 | .449 | 161⁄2 |
| Birmingham Barons | 53 | 82 | .393 | 24 |

    Source:

### Record vs. opponents

| Team | ATL | BIR | LR | MEM | MOB | MTG | NAS | NO |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Atlanta | — | 11–8 | 12–8 | 9–10 | 7–12 | 10–10 | 6–13 | 8–11 |
| Birmingham | 9–11 | — | 11–9 | 7–13 | 10–9 | 6–12 | 9–10 | 2–18 |
| Little Rock | 8–12 | 9–11 | — | 10–9 | 11–9 | 8–12 | 9–10 | 7–13 |
| Memphis | 10–9 | 3–7 | 9–10 | — | 12–9 | 10–9 | 8–11 | 11–7 |
| Mobile | 12–7 | 9–10 | 9–11 | 9–12 | — | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–8 |
| Montgomery | 10–10 | 12–6 | 12–8 | 9–10 | 7–11 | — | 10–9 | 8–11 |
| Nashville | 13–6 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 11–8 | 12–6 | 9–10 | — | 10–8 |
| New Orleans | 11–8 | 18–2 | 13–7 | 7–11 | 8–11 | 11–8 | 8–10 | — |

    Source:

## Roster

Twenty-four players competed for the Vols over the course of the season. Of these, Daubert, Butler, Wiseman, Perdue, and Sitton were named by Nashville Banner sportswriters Fred Russell and George Leonard to an all-time team consisting of top Nashville players from 1901 to 1919.

## Player stats

### Batting

**Starters**

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging percentage; SB = Stolen bases

| Batting order | Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | AVG | SLG | SB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | LF | Harry Bay | 103 | 415 | 45 | 112 | .270 | .289 | 19 |
| 7 | SS | Kid Butler | 136 | 480 | 36 | 127 | .265 | .321 | 13 |
| 6 | 1B | Jake Daubert | 138 | 473 | 49 | 124 | .262 | .368 | 13 |
| 3 | 2B | Walter East | | | | | | | |
| 4 | 3B | Pryor McElveen | 138 | 514 | 66 | 146 | .284 | .372 | 15 |
| 5 | CF | Johnny Siegle | 122 | 428 | 52 | 114 | .266 | .339 | 16 |
| 2 | RF | Doc Wiseman | 138 | 525 | 77 | 132 | .251 | .301 | 30 |

**Others**

| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | AVG | SLG | SB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CF | Al Decker | | | | | | | |
| C | Jack Hardy | 60 | 194 | 22 | 40 | .206 | .289 | 12 |
| C | Ed Hurlburt | | | | | | | |
| 3B | Henry Jansing | | | | | | | |
| SS | Mike McCormick | 48 | 173 | 16 | 45 | .260 | .283 | 12 |
| C | Warren Seabough | 96 | 334 | 16 | 90 | .269 | .290 | 5 |

**Pitchers**

| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | AVG | SLG | SB |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P | Bill Bernhard | 15 | 51 | 2 | 10 | .196 | .216 | 0 |
| P | John Duggan | 33 | 97 | 6 | 17 | .175 | .186 | 0 |
| P/IF | John Hess | 7 | 19 | 0 | 4 | .211 | .211 | 1 |
| P/OF | George Hunter | 60 | 201 | 33 | 53 | .264 | .333 | 18 |
| P | Win Kellum | 26 | 78 | 10 | 14 | .179 | .218 | 0 |
| P | Hub Perdue | 34 | 101 | 8 | 16 | .158 | .168 | 0 |
| P | Carl Sitton | 10 | 33 | 2 | 6 | .182 | .182 | 0 |
| P | Stan Yerkes | 6 | 12 | 0 | 3 | .250 | .250 | 0 |

    Source:

### Pitching

**Starting pitchers**

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; W% = Winning percentage

| Player | G | W | L | W% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| John Duggan | 34 | 19 | 12 | .613 |
| Win Kellum | 24 | 15 | 9 | .625 |
| Hub Perdue | 32 | 16 | 12 | .571 |

**Other pitchers**

| Player | G | W | L | W% |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Bill Bernhard | 14 | 7 | 6 | .538 |
| Jake Daubert | — | — | — | — |
| John Hess | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 |
| George Hunter | 14 | 8 | 5 | .615 |
| Carl Sitton | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 |
| Bill Sorrells | — | — | — | — |
| Stan Yerkes | 6 | — | — | — |

    Source:
