Looking Back: Remembering Greer Stadium

Next year the Nashville Sounds will be playing in a new ballpark (First Tennessee Park) in downtown Nashville leaving Herschel Greer Stadium after 37 years. This five part series on the baseball history made with the Sounds and Greer Stadium was published this spring and summer in the Sounds monthly programs (Inside Pitch).

The Early Years

Herschel Greer Stadium and the Sounds came into existence in 1978 with the vision and determination of Vanderbilt University's head baseball coach Larry Schmittou. He worked to bring professional baseball back to Nashville after a 15-year void. The ballpark namesake Herschel Greer (1906-76) was a longtime supporter to the city's amateur baseball tradition and also president of the old Nashville Vols, Inc.

Schmittou became president and part owner of the club alongside Conway Twitty, Jerry Reed, Walter Nipper, the Reese Smith family and several others. The Sounds were members of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The franchise previously located in Three Rivers, Quebec (Canada) was assigned to the Western Division.

The Sounds opened the season with a nine-game road trip before playing their first home game on April 26.The originally scheduled opening game foe April 25 was rained out. Also making their first appearance were the lovely Soundettes.

Chuck Goggin was the Sounds manager and his first lineup at Greer included: Steve Hughes, SS; Randy Davidson, 2B; Don Lyle, LF; Tim Doerr, 3B; George Weicker, 1B; Tony Moretto, RF; Mickey Duval, CF; Joe Griffin, C; and Bruce Berenyi, P.

It was considered a miracle that the field was ready for play. Even though the Sounds opened the season on the road, Greer Stadium was not ready. General manager Farrell Owens put out a call on the radio for fans to help with a "sod party." About 50 fans helped lay down the infield sod. On game day tractors and grading equipment were still at work

The crowd of 8, 156 fans on hand to witness the first Sounds game were not disappointed. Catcher Joe Griffin led a 16-hit Sounds outburst driving in five runs with four hits in a Sounds 12-4 victory. Bruce Berenyi picked up the win after pitching five innings and Doug Corbett came on to retire Braves in a row to record the save.

It was reported that the concession and souvenir stands were virtually sold out by the time the game was over at 11 p.m. William Lazenby and his 16-year-old son, Robert, were credited with being the first paying fans through the turnstile.

At the concession stands in Greer Stadium in 1978, a hamburger cost 75 cents, a slice of pizza (.65), French fries (.40), popcorn (.30 and .35), ice cream (.60), peanuts (.30), soft drinks (.25/. 35/. 60), a Big Red Smokey (.60), a hot dog (.55), a ¼ Pounder (.95) and a beer (.55).

The Sounds first radio broadcaster was Monte Hale with Jay Colley and Ty Coppinger providing the color commentary. Mike Morgan was Nashville's first PA announcer and is well-remembered by Sounds' fans as having a unique style of introducing players like Gene Menees, "now batting, No. 10, second baseman, Genoooooooooooo Meneeeeeeeeeeeeees."

The Nashville Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance in 1978 with 380, 159 fans and finished ninth-place with an inaugural record of 64-77 under the management of Chuck Goggin.

Don Lyle led the Sounds in batting for average (.287), games played (128), hits (124), doubles (28), triples (7), home runs (7) and RBIs (67). Geoff Combe was the mound leader in wins (12), games (66) and saves (9) while Berenyi led in ERA (2.47). Jay Howell was the leader in innings pitched (166) and strikeouts (173).

Veteran George Scherger replaced Goggin the next season. The Sounds did make it to the SL title series by winning the Western Division. They captured their first-ever championship by defeating Columbus, three games to one, with a final club record of 83-61.

Making his first appearance with the Sounds that season was all-time fan favorite Skeeter Barnes (1979, 1988-90). Barnes is one of three players to have the distinct honor of having their number retired by the Nashville Sounds.

Meanwhile, as the Sounds were seeing successes, so did Greer Stadium, which hosted the Southern League All-Star Game in 1979. The Southern League All-Stars played against the Atlanta Braves and Duane Walker of the Sounds was named the game's MVP as the All-Stars won the contest, 5-2.

That same year, the N.A.I.A.'s National Baseball Tournament was held at Greer with hometown favorite David Lipscomb College winning the national championship.

The Sounds relationship with the Cincinnati Reds ended in 1980 when a dispute broke out between Schmittou and the Reds' front office. The Reds insisted the Sounds' pitchers bat in the lineup, since the Reds were in the National League and did not use the DH rule. However opposing teams would use the DH in their line-ups against the Sounds, which put Nashville at a disadvantage. Schmittou stood firm, revoked their agreement and struck a deal to become the Double-A squad of a DH friendly American League team, the New York Yankees.

The Yankees Era

Needing a new parent club to replace Cincinnati, the Sounds worked out an agreement with George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees, which involved moving the Yankees Double-A team from West Haven, Connecticut to 534 Chestnut St.

Steinbrenner had led a group of investors to purchase the Yankees on January 3, 1973 for a bargain $8.8 million and less than five years later New York had won a pair of World Series' titles.

The new Sounds squad was managed by Carl "Stump" Merrill and played their first game at Columbus. Georgia, which resulted in a 6-4 loss. On June 6, 1980, Mark Johnston recorded the Sounds' first pinch-hit home run.

At the end of the 1980 season, Sounds' slugger Steve Balboni named the Southern League MVP, having led the circuit in runs (101), home runs (34), RBIs (122) and total bases (288). Teammate Buck Showalter led the team with a .323 average and set a league record his178.

The Sounds made postseason runs in both the 1980 and 1981 seasons under Merrill, but lost to Memphis before the finals in '81 and ten to Orlando, three-games-to-one, in the 1981 Southern League Finals.

Prior to the 1981 season, Greer Stadium hosted an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and Nashville Sounds. An overflowing crowd of 17, 318 fans witnessed the Bronx Bombers defeat the Sounds, 10-1. The big gun for New York was Reggie Jackson, who drove in four runs with a double and single in five plate appearances.

Other prominent Yankees to appear in the game were Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Bucky Dent, Lou Piniella, Bobby Murcer and future Sounds' manager Johnny Oates. In the dugout, but not appearing in the game were Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Tommy John and Bob Watson. Hall of Famer and coach, Yogi Berra delighted fans by signing autographs. Gene Michael was manager of the Yankees at that time. By the end of the 1981 season, Don Mattingly led the Sounds in hits (173), RBIs (98) and doubles (35) while Nashville's Willie McGee led with a .322 batting average. Mattingly would win the American League MVP award in 1985 while the National League MVP went to McGee in the same year playing for St. Louis.

Led by manager Johnny Oates the Sounds went on to secure their second league championship by defeating Jacksonville three-games-to-one in the 1982 finals. Tied 3-3 with two outs in the 13th inning and Showalter (who again led the Southern League with 152 hits) on base, Brian Dayett smashed a home run over the left-center field double-wall to win the series three-games-to-one. Dayett registered 34 home runs that season to tie Balboni for the Sounds' single-season home run record.

Greer Stadium hosted its largest crowd ever on August 18, 1982 with 22, 315 in attendance to see the Sounds take on Columbus. Less than one year later on April 18, Greer hosted its smallest crowd ever with 419 Sounds' fans braving 36-degree weather.

On April 4, 1983 the Toronto Blue Jays played an exhibition game against the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals at Greer Stadium. That afternoon was declared "Willie McGee Day" as the former Sound manned the outfield for the Cards. A crowd of 13, 742 saw the Jays prevail, 7-6.

The Yankees made a return visit to Greer on April 28, 1983 and were upended by the Sounds, who scored all of their runs in the ninth inning to shock the Billy Martin's Pinstripers, 5-4 before 13, 641 fans. In the middle of the summer, Greer Stadium hosted a game between the 1983 Southern League All-Stars and the defending champion Nashville Sounds. The All-Stars defeated Nashville, 3-2 with 1,221 rain-soaked fans in attendance.

Following the 1984 season, Sounds management desired to take the club up one level and try their hand at Triple-A baseball. Since the Yankees were happy with their Triple-A city of Columbus, Ohio, the two parted ways.

By 1985, the Sounds had joined the American Association, struck a deal with the Detroit Tigers, and were about to give Greer Stadium and Nashville its first-ever taste of Triple-A baseball.

Triple-A Beginnings

With a desire to move up to Triple-A, the Sounds' ownership purchased the Evansville Triplets of the Triple-A American Association and transferred the franchise to Nashville in 1985. The Sounds existing Southern League club relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, and became the Huntsville Stars.

Before Nashville's first Triple-A season, Greer Stadium renovations that included adding 1, 200 box seats that replaced some of the reserved grandstand seating while additional seating was extended past the right-field foul pole. A new scoreboard replaced the one installed in 1978 that provided scores for the National and American Leagues, as well as the American Association.

The Nashville Sounds, now the Triple-A affiliate of the American League Detroit Tigers, finished in fifth place with a 71-70 record under the guidance of three managers-Lee Walls, Leon Roberts and Gordon McKenzie.

Bryan Kelly completed the Sounds second no-hitter at Greer Stadium with a 6-0 win over Oklahoma City on July 17, 1985. The Sounds Scotti Madison led the American Association with a .341 batting average that season while Paul Voigt led the Sounds pitching with 11 wins and a 3.17 ERA.

The 1986 team finished in sixth place (68-74) and was led by Leon Roberts. That season, Bruce Fields of Nashville batted .368 to lead the American Association and pitcher John Pacella recorded the most saves in the league with 17.

After two seasons, Nashville dropped Detroit and entered into its second agreement with Cincinnati in 1987, and kicked off the partnership with Reds manager Pete Rose bringing his "Big Red Machine" to Greer Stadium on April 4-5, 1987, for a two-game exhibition series with the Montreal Expos, who were managed by Buck Rodgers.

The first game was halted after 11 innings with the contest knotted at 8-8 in front of 12,087 fans. Game two brought 11, 218 fans, resulted in the Reds defeating the Expos, 5-3. Future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, John Franco, Paul O'Neill, Terry Francona, Eric Davis, Kal Daniels and Dave Concepcion all appeared for the Reds during the two-day event.

Following the Sounds' 1987 Greer went through additional renovations. The number of box seats were increased, the dugouts rebuilt, the clubhouse and umpire facilities were improved. The stadium's main concourse entrance was redesigned and the expansion brought the seating capacity to 18, 000.

During a two-week period in 1988, Nashville went through five managers. Jack Lind, who managed in 1987, left due to health issues. Pitching coach Wayne Garland served as the club's interim manager until George Scherger was hired. Scherger retired after one game and was replaced by Jim Hoff who was soon promoted to the Reds front office. Frank Lucchesi finished out the season that resulted in a fourth-place finish with a 73-69 record.

The club was powered by Van Snider, who led the American Association with 23 home runs. Jack Armstrong pitched the Sounds' third no-hitter on August 7, 1988 against Indianapolis, 4-0. The night before, Indianapolis hurlers Randy Johnson (seven innings) and Pat Pacillo (one inning) combined to no-hit the Sounds, but lost the game, 1-0. These are the only back-to-back no-hitters at Greer Stadium and in the 85-year-old history of the American Association.

Armstrong tied three other pitchers for the league lead in wins with 12 in 1989. The Sounds concluded the 1989 season in third place with a 74-72 record.

The Sounds most productive season in the American Association arrived in 1990 with an 86-61 record with Pete Mackanin serving his first season as Sounds manager. They finished the regular season in a first-place tie with Buffalo, and won the Eastern Division title with a one-game playoff victory.

Chris Jones swatted a two-run home run in the top of the 18th inning to advance the Sounds to the American Association championship series where they lost to Omaha three games to two. The all-time attendance record at Greer was set in 1990 with 605,122 fans clicking the turnstiles over the course of the season.

In 1990, Chris Hammond led the American Association with 15 pitching victories, a 2.17 ERA and 149 K's. For that effort he was named the American Association's Pitcher-of-the-Year.

Skeeter Barnes led the American Association with 156 hits in 1990, his final season in Nashville. Barnes had rejoined the Sounds for his second tenure in 1988. He is currently the Sounds' career leader in hits (517), doubles (94), at-bats (1,898) and games played (514). Barnes jersey number (00) has been retired by the Sounds.

In 1991-92, the Sounds finished both seasons in sixth place. The 1991 club went 65-78, while the 1992 team went 65-77. In 1992, Sounds hurlers Keith Brown and Tim Pugh were tied with three other pitchers for the most wins in the league with 12.

The Cincinnati Reds era would end the next season with the Sounds taking a new American League affiliate in the Chicago White Sox.

Two Teams, One Guitar

The year 1993 was interesting for Greer Stadium, which underwent its most-significant addition: the Guitar Scoreboard. The iconic presence, standing tall behind the left-center field wall, was manufactured by Fairtron Corporation and installed prior to the season by Joslin Sign Company.

On the field, Greer received another addition to attract Nashville baseball fans to the ballpark. It was a second team called the Nashville Xpress. The park found itself with two home teams when Charlotte, N.C. acquired a Triple-A franchise, leaving the Charlotte Knights (Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) without a home. Sounds ownership offered Greer Stadium as a temporary solution that lasted two seasons, as the new teams played its home games when the Sounds were on the road. Baseball America ranked the pair of Nashville clubs No. 1 on its list of "Top 10 Happenings in Minor League Baseball" that year.

The Sounds, in their first of five seasons as the White Sox Triple-A affiliate, were managed by Rick Renick, who led the team to the American Association Championship series in 1993 with an 81-62 record. Nashville lost to Iowa in seven games. Renick was named the league's Manager of the Year and Sounds catcher Matt Merullo led the American Association with a .332 batting average.

The Xpress went 40-31 to win the first half Western Division title in their inaugural season, but dropped to 32-39 in the second portion. Managed by Phil Roof, the Xpress were swept in the first round playoffs by Birmingham in the best-of-five series. Rich Becker was the Xpress only All-Star member and Marty Cordova slammed 19 home runs to lead the club. Oscar Munoz won the Southern League Most Valuable Pitcher honor with an 11-4 record.

The 1994 season was again a busy one for Greer Stadium, finding itself as a stage for one of the biggest stories in baseball that season. The Birmingham Barons were in Nashville playing the Xpress, and playing right field for the Barons was five-time NBA MVP Michael Jordan. In the two-game series, Jordan went 2-for-8 with an RBI. Over 16,000 visited Greer for the two games.

Jordan returned the next month for a three-game series with the Barons, but it would be his last appearance in Nashville as he gave up on playing professional baseball at the end of the season.

Greer Stadium also hosted the 1994 Triple-A All-Star game. All-Star players within the American Association, International and Pacific Coast Leagues were divided between their National and American League affiliates. The National League prospects defeated the American League, 8-5, before 11, 601 fans. The Sounds had three representatives at the game: Ray Durham, Drew Denson and Steve Schrenk. Durham was named "Star of Stars" of the American Association after going 3-for-3 with a run scored in the game.

The Sounds earned an 83-61 record and made it to the league championship after sweeping New Orleans in three games in the first playoff round. Indianapolis then defeated the Sounds three games to one in the best-of-five championship series. Sounds pitcher Scott Ruffcorn led the American Association in victories (15) and was named the American Association's Pitcher of the Year.

The Xpress could not claim a title in either half of their final season in 1994. The Xpress relocated to Wilmington, N.C. after the season and became the Port City Roosters.

Prior to the 1995 season, over $200,000 was spent on Greer renovations. The entire playing field was re-sodded for the first time since 1978 and a drainage system was added. The home clubhouse and weight room were remodeled.

The Sounds stumbled to a 68-76 record in 1995, but improved the next season (77-67), and couldn't earn a playoff berth. For the second time, Scott Ruffcorn led the American Association in wins (13) and Renick was named the Manager of the Year.

The following year, Nashville failed to reach the playoffs under new manager Tom Spencer, who led the team to a 74-69 record. Sounds outfielder Magglio Ordonez had a big year, winning every American Association award that he was eligible for: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and All-Star MVP.

The American Association disbanded following the 1997 season, and its teams were divided between the two remaining Triple-A leagues. The Sounds joined the Pacific Coast League with a new affiliate, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Good-Bye Old Friend

The Sounds entered the 1998 season with a new affiliation as the Triple-A team of the Pittsburgh Pirates. While they finished the year in last place, they rebounded the following season with an 80-60 record, but did not qualify for the playoffs. In that season, the Sounds had the longest winning streak in team history, winning 15 straight games from June 2 to June 20.

In 2000, the Sounds were at the bottom of the standings with a 63-79 record while manager Trent Jewett was replaced during the season by Ritchie Hebner. Former Sound Marty Brown (1988-89) began the 2001 season as the team's new skipper.

Brown's first club finished the season 64-67 and out of the playoffs, but there were still exciting moments, like when Tike Redman became the first Sound to ever hit for the cycle, a feat he accomplished on June 30 in Tucson.

Jewett returned to Nashville as manager in 2003, and led the team to an 81-62 record to clinch Nashville's first playoff appearances since 1994. The Sounds defeated Albuquerque in the first round, three-games-to-one, but then lost three straight t games to Sacramento in the PCL Championship Series.

Sounds pitcher John Wasdin tossed a perfect game earlier in the season on April 7 at Greer Stadium. The gem was completed with just 100 pitches in a 4-0 victory over Albuquerque. It was only the second perfect game thrown in the then 100-plus year history of the PCL.

The Sounds found themselves returning to the cellar in 2004, but on May 21, J. R. House became the second Sound to hit for the cycle in an 8-7 win over Sacramento. In 2005, a new era of Sounds baseball began when the team switched affiliations and partnered with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Move paid off immediately, as the Sounds won the PCL title that season under manager Frank Kremblas. Nashville swept Tacoma in the Championship Series for the city's third and most recent title.

Between May 5 and 6, 2006, Greer Stadium hosted one of the longest games in PCL history, as New Orleans bested Nashville, 5-4, in a 24-inning game that took eight hours and seven minutes to complete. The game is tied for the longest (by innings) in the history of the PCL.

Nashville pitchers turned in another strong performance on July 15, 2006, when Carlos Villanueva, Mike Myers and Alec Zumwalt combined for a 2-0 no-hitter at Greer Stadium against Memphis. The Sounds concluded the season in fifth place with a 76-68 record.

The 2007 season saw many notable performances, beginning with Nashville hurler Manny Parra's perfect game on June 25 in Round Rock, Texas. Parra registered 107 pitches while recording 11 strikeouts in the 3-0 victory. Nashville native R. A. Dickey led the Sounds and all PCL pitchers with 13 victories that season and was named the Pacific Coast League's Pitcher-of-the-Year.

Infielder Ryan Braun graced Greer Stadium's diamond at the beginning of the 2007 season, but was quickly promoted to Milwaukee after 34 games. He became the third former Sound to be honored as the National League Rookie-of-the-Year. Nashville finished with minor league's best record that season at 89-55, but were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by New Orleans three-games-to-one following several September call-ups.

On October 30, 2008, AmeriSports sold their ownership to MFP Baseball, a New York based group of investors consisting of Frank Ward, Masahiro Honzawa and Steve Posner. Greer Stadium saw $2.5 million in renovations, including new color schemes, better field lighting, and improvements to seating restrooms, walkways and interior spaces.

On the field, the Sounds achieved their second worst record in team-history record at 59-81, but rebounded the next season under new manager Don Money's leadership for a 75-69 mark.

In 2010, the Sounds earned a winning record at 77-67, but it was only good enough for fourth place in the division. Closer Chris Smith led the Pacific Coast League that season in saves with 26. The following year in 2011, Nashville's record dipped under .500 for a third-place finish in the division.

On July 10, Caleb Gindl became the third Sounds player to hit for the cycle in a 9-5 victory over Albuquerque. He tripled in the second inning, homered in the third, doubled in the eighth and singled in the ninth.

New manager Mike Guerrero took over in 2012 and finished 71-73, but followed that with a rough 57-87 campaign in 2013. Still, right-handed pitcher Johnny Hellweg was named the PCL's Pitcher-of-the-Year after recording a 12-5 record with a 3.15 ERA in 23 starts.

Rick Sweet became the Sounds 25th manager when he opened the 2017 season at the helm on Nashville's baseball club.

Looking into the future, on November 8, 2013, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced that an agreement had been reached between the Sounds, the State of Tennessee and a developer in a private/public partnership that would allow Metro to build a new minor league ballpark at the old Sulphur Dell site.

Last December, the Metro Council approved the project, and on January 27, 2014 a groundbreaking ceremony was held on the construction site. First Tennessee Park is scheduled for an April 2015 opening. At the end of this month, the Sounds will play their final game in Greer Stadium after 37 years with "One Last Cheer for Greer."

Good-bye old friend!

Traughber's Tidbit: If the Sounds make the playoffs in September, at least one more game will be played at Greer Stadium. Tidbit Two: This will be the final "Looking Back" story for this year. Next year my new book tentatively titled "Nashville Baseball History, Tales From the Diamond" should be published before the first pitch at First Tennessee Park. Included will be approximately 66 photos and memorabilia of which many that have never published before and trace Nashville's first known reference to baseball to 1857. Stories will include 19th century baseball in Nashville, the Nashville Vols and the Nashville Sounds. Farrell Owens who was a David Lipscomb baseball player, the Sounds first general manager and a 30-year officer of the Nashville Old Timers Association wrote the "Forward" to the book.

If you have any comments or suggestions, click here to contact Bill Traughber via email.