Looking Back: Roy Pardue was a Nashville Vol
On April 17, 2015, First Tennessee Park hosted its inaugural Sounds game near the former site of the old Sulphur Dell ballpark, the home of the Southern Association Nashville Vols. On that historic night a reunion was held between four former Vols players. Roy Pardue, Buddy Gilbert, Larry Taylor and Bobby Durnbaugh played for the Vols in the 1950s. Pardue was a pitcher for Nashville.
"We had a good old time," Pardue said about the reunion. "We brought up about how baseball had progressed from when we played until today. When we were playing it was a lot faster game and downtown Nashville was a lot different then. We ate dinner together at the ballpark and someone came up to me and said 'hey left-hander.'
"And if anyone had called me 'left-hander' they would have known me in the old days. This gentleman introduced himself to me and said he watched me pitched a number of times. I appreciated that."
Pardue was a star pitcher for Nashville's North High School, which he helped lead to the 1949 State Championship. The native Nashvillian was named the MVP in the Nashville Interscholastic League (NIL) in 1950-51. Upon graduating from high school, Pardue signed with the Vols in 1952.
"Several colleges offered me scholarships to play for them, but I was anxious to start playing professional baseball," Pardue said. "I didn't go to many Vols games growing up. We lived down there on Fifth Avenue just before you get to Jefferson Street. That was where I was raised. We lived only about three blocks from Sulphur Dell, but at the time money was hard to get a hold of."
The Vols at that time were the farm club of the New York Giants. Pardue was first assigned to Sioux City (Iowa), a Single-A club in the Western League. In Sioux City, Pardue appeared in 35 games with a 6-5 record in 115 innings pitched and a 3.68 ERA. Late in the season Pardue was called up to Double-A Nashville where pitched one inning in relief.
Pardue would spend the next two years in the U.S. Army mostly playing baseball on service teams with other professional ball players. Upon the completion of his required service to his country, Pardue was back in Nashville pitching for the Vols. The Cincinnati Reds were now the parent club of the Vols.
"At that time I was 23 years old and real strong," said Pardue. "Cincinnati wanted to make me a relief pitcher because I threw pretty hard. I did not like being a relief pitcher. A starting pitcher made more money.
"Back in those days a relief pitcher was not very popular and only threw an inning or two. It is a lot different today where the relief pitchers are specialist and counted on so much more in a game."
So what about pitching in the Sulphur Dell ballpark with its strange dimensions and the right field fence was only 262 feet in distance from home plate and on top of an embankment (the bottom of the fence was 22 feet above the playing field) with a 30-foot high screen?
"You never knew it was out there," Pardue said about the strange right field challenge. "You just didn't think about it. Anyone could hit a ball off that right field fence. I had guys ask me over the years if playing in Sulphur Dell bothered me and I told them it didn't. I could throw a fastball, curve ball, slider, sinkerball and a ball that would rise. I had all the pitches."
Pardue was the ace for the Vols in 1955 after his return from the Army. He was 17-10 appearing in 46 games (27 starts) in 222 innings pitched, 151 strikeouts and a 4.34 ERA. The next year, Pardue was 12-12 in 41 games (32 starts) with a 4.01 ERA in 229 innings pitched and 155 strikeouts. In 1957, Pardue began the season in Nashville before being promoted to Triple-A Havana (Cuba) in the International League. As a Vol, he was 8-8.
Pardue, 84, said it had been 59 years since he last played professional baseball and his memory of those days are not as sharp.
In his four years with the Vols, four different men - Hugh Poland, Joe Schultz, Ernie White and Dick Sisler managed Pardue. Pardue could not choose a favorite but disliked one in particular. Said Pardue, "We had Ernie White as our manager in 1956. I just didn't jive with him as the manager though I can't blame it all on him. A guy like him hurts a career when he picks the pitches for you."
While in Cuba, Pardue knew it was time to leave baseball as a player where he appeared in just one game.
"The baseball part of playing in Havana was good," said Pardue. "I was in Triple-A ball, which was the next step to the major leagues. We lived in a luxury, first class hotel for a month. Earlier in the season I was in Mexico. I developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder. We were down there on an exhibition tour playing those ball clubs. When we came back to Havana that's when I hurt my arm.
"I wasn't throwing the ball. I sat in the bullpen for several games. I was never the type to sit back. I was always wanted to be the front-runner. I had a hurt my arm and went up to the general manager's office. I told him that I was returning my equipment and I was retiring. I wasn't going to put up with that stuff of not playing and my arm wasn't at my best."
Pardue said his favorite times as a Vol was competing for a spot in the Nashville rotation, which was tough. He was a good base runner and usually the first off the bench as a pinch runner. Pardue was also the best bunting pitcher on the Vols, but didn't miss those long bus rides throughout the South.
Packing up and returning home after his retirement in Havana would not be Pardue's final connection to baseball. Starting in 1957, Pardue began work at Nashville's Ford Glass Plant that lasted 31 years. Then in 1969 an opportunity was available as a pitching coach for legendary Coach Ken Dugan of David Lipscomb College.
"I was at a baseball function when Bobby Reasonover, who was a chief scout for one of the big league ball clubs, began talking to me," said Pardue. "He said Ken Dugan was there and he wanted me to meet him. I had never met Dugan. We introduced ourselves and he told me Larry Taylor had talked to him about me. He knew I was a pitcher for the Vols and he needed someone to work with one of his right-handed pitchers.
"The next day Dugan called to ask when could I come over and work with the pitcher. He said the pitcher was wild and could not throw strikes, but had a good arm. I went over there the next day. That's how it started. I worked with the pitcher all during the spring and he improved his control. But the guy failed his subjects so Coach Dugan had to let him go. Coach Dugan asked me to help him some more and it turned into a job."
Pardue was the Bisons' pitching coach from 1969-80 and 1990-96. The gap between his stints as pitching coach was devoted to his work at Ford when he was unable to make all the Lipscomb road trips.
One of Pardue's prized Lipscomb pitching pupils was his son, Tim (1976-79). Tim was an outstanding pitcher leading the Bisons to three separate NAIA (National Association Intercollegiate Athletics) National Tournament appearances and winning National Championships in 1977 and 1979. Tim was the winning pitcher in each championship game. He still holds the Lipscomb won-loss record for his perfect 12-0 season in 1977.
"Coach Dugan and myself made a little deal," said Pardue. "If something bad happened to Tim's pitching he would take care of it. He wouldn't get on Tim like I would. It stayed that way until Dugan got sick and had to quit coaching. We had meetings and did what we had to do. Tim knew how to pitch and the Red Sox wanted him. Tim didn't want to play major league baseball and went into business himself."
Tim Pardue was selected to the David Lipscomb University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 as an athlete while Roy was inducted in 2007 as a coach.
"That's one of the biggest honors you can have," said Pardue. "He was selected first to the Hall of Fame and there haven't been too many fathers and sons in a Hall of Fame. He had made his own time and I made my time with the rest of the ball players.
"We had a lot of people pulling for us to make it. When Tim was coming along and might have slipped, I always told Coach Dugan go over there and tell him what you want done. He will listen to you as much or better than me. I was tickled to death that he made the Hall of Fame first and I made it second."
Traughber's Tidbit: On May 10, 1941 a wrestling event was held in Sulphur Dell and the guest referee was former great heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey.
The Tennessean wrote: "Sulphur Dell was cold but Louis Thesz and Dorv Roche were hot last night and with former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey taking charge of the referring, they tossed Cowboy Luttrell and Ray Eckert in two straight falls of their team wrestling event.
"Dempsey, as popular a figure as ever graced a sport's arena, controlled the tumblers throughout. They seemed to feel the presence of the old Manassa Mauler in the ring and although giving a good show, they did not care to go to extremes about the matter."
In his career, Dempsey totaled 83 fights, 65 wins (51 KO), 6 losses, 11 draws and one no contest. He was born on June 24, 1895 in Manassa, Colorado and died May 31, 1983 at age 87 in New York. Dempsey was heavyweight champion from 1919-1926 with a three-year gap of not defending his title.
If you have any comments or suggestions contact Bill Traughber via email [email protected].