Showing posts with label 1911. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1911. Show all posts

Thursday, December 4, 2014

UT's 1911 season brings a new coach

According to the University of Tennessee's Baseball Record Book the coach of the 1911 team was Z. G. Clevenger.
2014 University of Tennessee Record Book
There's even a nice narrative about him.

2014 University of Tennessee Record Book - page 98

But it isn't quite true.  Zora G. Clevenger came to UT from Nebraska Wesleyan University.   But he arrived in Knoxville after the 1911 baseball season.  I spoke with Alex Linden, Sports Information Director at Nebraska Wesleyan University, who confirmed that Clevenger was coaching the baseball team in Lincoln, Nebraska, during the 1911 season.

So, if not Clevenger, who was coaching the Volunteers?  It appears that it was Andrew Alexis Stone.

1911 Volunteer

So, the 1911 season results in the Record Book should look something like this:



Please note, this new info has not been verified or approved by the University of Tennessee, hence the overlay.

But, since I'm playing "let's rewrite the record book",  here's what Clevenger's new mini coaching bio would look like:

In addition to updating his stats I've used a more contemporary picture that I found at Wikipedia.org. They picked it up from the National Football Foundation website.

This post focuses on the coach of the 1911 team, not the games played.  But setting up for a future post, UT's first game was against Mooney.  That would be Mooney School.  Or Mooney's School.  We now call it Battle Ground Academy, based in Franklin, Tennessee.  It was a college prep school.  A high school.  Yes, it was an opponent, but should high school games be included in the official records? 

UT played Murphy College in 1908 and 1916.  In a post about the 1908 games I wrote:
...they [UT] should footnote the wins as being against a High School.
I supported it then and support it now.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Tommie Griffin, 1911 Mobile Dixie Star

Through the wonders of facebook I've been following Negro League author Phil S. Dixon's 90 city tour as he's been talking about the history of the Kansas City Monarchs around the country.

It made me wonder if the Monarchs had ever visited Knoxville.  Nothing turned up but I did find a bit of a connection.  In 1911 the Kansas City Royal Giants did play the Mobile Dixie Stars.

From this article in the Indianapolis based Freeman, it would appear that more than one player on the Dixie Stars team was from Knoxville.

The Freeman - March 25, 1911
On the same page of that paper another article lists the players.  Tommie Griffins, of Knoxville, Tenn., is listed as the shortstop.

The Freeman - March 25, 1911

Who was this Tommie Griffins?  The 1910 US Census shows a Thomas Griffin living in Knoxville.  His occupation is Ball player for a Professional Team.

Source Citation:
Year: 1910; Census Place: Knoxville Ward 7, Knox, Tennessee; Roll: T624_1507;
Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 0090; FHL microfilm: 1375520.
Source Information:

Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
The relevant part:


He was born in South Carolina (as were his parents), in about 1885.  I did not find him in earlier or later census records.

But I did find a Thomas Griffin in the City Directories of Knoxville. 

Source Citation:
Title : Knoxville, Tennessee, City Directory, 1909
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Source Citation:
Title : Knoxville, Tennessee, City Directory, 1910
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Source Citation:
Title : Knoxville, Tennessee, City Directory, 1911
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

So, who is this Tommie Griffin?  Where did he come from and where did he go?  Apparently he was a good enough ball player to catch the attention of William Benbow, leader of the Mobile Dixie Stars.  Could Griffin have been a member of the Coca Cola Stars?

newspaper articles from GenealogyBank.com
census and city directory images from Ancestry.com

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Saturday, October 16, 2010