North Capitol in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

The Sportswriters

Baseball

Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, May 22, 2021

1. The Sportswriters Marker

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The Sportswriters. Baseball. , Reporting on baseball became a major occupation of newspapers around the country from early on, including Nashville. Two sports writers in particular gained notoriety for their stories about the game and the players.

Grantland Rice , Grantland Rice was born in 1880 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. After attending Vanderbilt University, where he played both baseball and football, he began his lifelong and storied career as a sportwriter, first for the Nashville Daily News, then the Atlanta Journal, the New York Tribune, and finally the Nashville Tennessean. Rice was an avid baseball fan. He not only wrote about the game, elevating the players to almost demigod status through his prose, but also befriended many of its early stars, including Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby. He also served a brief stint as a radio broadcaster. In 1922, Rice announced the first World Series broadcast live from New York.

Grantland Rice impacted baseball in Nashville as well. In 1908, he shortened the name of the city's hallowed field at Athletic Park from Sulphur Spring Bottom to Sulphur Dell in his sports column in order to give the venue more flair. That same year, he asked Nashvillians to pick a new name for the local ball club. They chose Volunteers. Known as the "Dean of American Sportswriters" he died in 1954 in New York after finishing a story on baseball's latest phenom, Willie Mays.

Fred Russell , A native Nashvillian, Fred Russell was born in 1906 just a few miles from Sulphur Dell. Like his idol, Grantland Rice, he attended and played baseball at Vanderbilt University where he graduated in 1927. After a brief stint as a lawyer, he joined the Nashville Banner in 1929 as a police reporter. One year later, he was promoted to Sports Editor.

Russell covered sporting events for more than a half-century from his newspaper desk, writing thousands of stories about baseball and other activities for his famous "Sidelines” column. Like Rice, he befriended legendary sports figures, from baseball great Ty Cobb to golf legend Bobby Jones to heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali. He attended spring training in Florida almost every year even though Nashville fielded a minor league team. In 1957, Russell received the inaugural Grantland Rice Memorial Award, a fitting tribute that honored his mentor. He retired in 1998 when The Banner ceased publication, his 69th year with the paper. Russell was elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1998. He died in 2003 at the age of 97.

Reporting on baseball became a major occupation of newspapers around the country from early on, including Nashville. Two sports writers in particular gained notoriety for their stories about the game and the players.

Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was born in 1880 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. After attending Vanderbilt University, where he played both baseball and football, he began his lifelong and storied career as a sportwriter, first for the Nashville Daily News, then the Atlanta Journal, the New York Tribune, and finally the Nashville Tennessean. Rice was an avid baseball fan. He not only wrote about the game, elevating the players to almost demigod status through his prose, but also befriended many of its early stars, including Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby. He also served a brief stint as a radio broadcaster. In 1922, Rice announced the first World Series broadcast live from New York.

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a story on baseball's latest phenom, Willie Mays.

Fred Russell
A native Nashvillian, Fred Russell was born in 1906 just a few miles from Sulphur Dell. Like his idol, Grantland Rice, he attended and played baseball at Vanderbilt University where he graduated in 1927. After a brief stint as a lawyer, he joined the Nashville Banner in 1929 as a police reporter. One year later, he was promoted to Sports Editor.

Baseball Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, May 22, 2021

2. Baseball Markers

36° 10.288′ N, 86° 47.082′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in North Capitol. Marker can be reached from 5th Avenue North, 0.2 miles north of Harrison Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 815 5th Ave N, Nashville TN 37219, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Grandstands (here, next to this marker); Sulphur Dell (here, next to this marker); The Negro Leagues (here, next to this marker); Athletic Park (here, next to this marker); The Nashville Vols (here, next to this marker); Origins of Baseball in Nashville (here, next to this marker); Baseball Returns (a few steps from this marker); End of an Era (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 14, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 128 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 14, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.