The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. They were established as charter members of the Southern Association in 1901. Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers (regularly shortened to Vols) in 1908. Nashville remained in the Southern Association until it disbanded after the 1961 season. The team sat out the 1962 campaign but returned for a final season in the South Atlantic League in 1963 before ceasing operations altogether. Over 62 seasons, the team was led by 28 managers. Managers are responsible for team strategy and leadership on and off the field, including determining the batting order, arranging defensive positioning, and making tactical decisions regarding pitching changes, pinch-hitting, pinch-running, and defensive replacements.[1] Competing in an era when it was common to have player-managers,[2] 19 men played on teams that they managed.
Nashville's managers led the club for 9,015 regular-season games in which they compiled a win–loss record of 4,569–4,446 (.507). In 16 postseason appearances, their teams had a record of 108–74–1 (.593). They won eight regular-season pennants, nine playoff championships, and four Dixie Series, a best-of-seven playoff series between the champions of the Southern Association and Texas League. Newt Fisher (1901 and 1902), Bill Bernhard (1908), Roy Ellam (1916), and Larry Gilbert (1940, 1943, 1948, and 1949) managed the Vols to win the Southern Association pennant. Gilbert (1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944), Rollie Hemsley (1949), Don Osborn (1950), and Hugh Poland (1953) led the team to win Southern Association playoff championships. Gilbert (1940, 1941, and 1942) and Hemsley (1949) managed Nashville to win the Dixie Series. Combining all 9,198 regular-season and postseason games, Nashville's all-time record was 4,677–4,520–1 (.509).
Larry Gilbert won 821 games from 1939 to 1948, placing him first on the all-time wins list for Vols managers. Having managed the team for 1,481 games, 10 full seasons, he was also the longest-tenured manager in team history. The manager with the highest winning percentage over a full season or more was Rollie Hemsley (1949) at .625. Conversely, the lowest winning percentage over a season or more was .342 by manager Mickey Finn (1905–1906).
- ^ "What is a Manager?". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
- ^ Gonzalez, Alden (November 10, 2011). "Will There Ever Be Another Player-Manager?". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2020.