Make your selection! Over the weeks ahead, your ballot will help determine the eight (8) position players, one (1) utility player, and three (3) pitchers for the period 1950-1961 & 1963 (the team did not exist in 1962). Position players who played in a minimum of 100 Nashville Vols games during these seasons are eligible. Today, make your selection in the category of first baseman. Only eight qualify; see the ballot options below (vote for one only):
Note: the bios for each player have been moved to the bottom of this page.
Fred Charles Richards (November 3, 1927 – March 18, 2016), nicknamed “Fuzzy”, was a first baseman who played eleven seasons of minor league baseball and appeared in ten games for the Chicago Cubs in the waning weeks of the 1951 season. Born in Warren, Ohio in 1927, he played in 143 games for Nashville in 1950:
1950: 144 hits, 17 HR, 95 RBI, .267 batting average / Fielding: 1,157 chances, 10 errors, .991 fielding %
John Elvin “Jack” Harshman (July 12, 1927 – August 17, 2013) pitched for the New York Giants, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians between 1948 and 1960. In 1951 Harshman got back on track with his slugging career; he led the league in walks (107) and strikeouts (108) but took the home run crown with 47. In 1951, Nashville general manager experimented with Harshman potentially being a pitcher, letting him take the field in 5 games:
1951: 136 hits, 47 HR, 141 RBI, .251 batting average / Fielding: 1,453 chances, 19 errors, .987 fielding %
Rufus James “Jim” Marshall (born May 25, 1931) is an American former professional baseball player, manager and coach. He spent five full years in Major League Baseball as a first baseman, outfielder and pinch hitter for five teams from 1958 through 1962. Born in Danville, Illinois, and raised in Long Beach, California, he attended Long Beach State University. He returned to Nashville in 1984 when he served as Nashville Sounds manager in 1984.
1952: 169 hits, 24 HR, 98 RBI, .296 batting average / Fielding: 1,395 chances, 18 errors, .987 fielding %
Boyd Gail Harris, Jr. (October 15, 1931 – November 14, 2012) played for the New York Giants and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball during all or part of six seasons between 1955 and 1960. In 1958, Harris hit a career high 20 home runs with the Tigers. He appeared in 150 games for Nashville in 1953:
1953: 159 hits, 25 HR, 86 RBI, .281 batting average / Fielding: 1,364 chances, 21 errors, .985 fielding %
Lawrence “Larry” F. DiPippo (May 24, 1930 – January 9, 2006) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and nine seasons in minor league baseball. A journeyman first baseman, he batted .291 for Birmingham in 1951, his second professional season, and returned to the Barons in 1960. He also played for Memphis and Chattanooga, but in two seasons with Nashville his best season was in 1954:
1954: 132 hits, 20 HR, 70 RBI, .298 batting average / Fielding: 1,081 chances, 11 errors, .990 fielding %
Charles Edward “Chuck” Coles (June 27, 1931 – January 25, 1996) career began in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ organization and was interrupted by military service in 1953–1954. He played two seasons in Nashville at first and in the outfield; in 1958 he led the Southern Association in runs batted in and was selected the circuit’s All-Star first baseman. He returned to Nashville in 1960:
1958: 176 hits, 29 HR, 107 RBI, .307 batting average / Fielding: 1,053 chances, 13 errors, .988 fielding %
Marvin Edward “Marv” Blaylock (September 30, 1929 – October 23, 1993) played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Giants, and between 1950 and 1957, he appeared in 287 big league games. Blaylock was out of baseball in 1958 but returned for a final pro season in 1959 with the Nashville Vols:
1959: 148 hits, 23 HR, 92 RBI, .300 batting average / Fielding: 1,254 chances, 17 errors, .986 fielding %
Leonard Melvin “Mel” Corbo (March 16, 1940 – March 19, 2012) was born in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1957. He went on to Baylor University on a baseball scholarship in the fall of 1957 before signing to play professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers in July 1959. The highlight of his baseball career was in 1964 when he won the Texas League batting championship with a .339 batting average, 98 RBIs and 23 HRs. In 1963 he joined Nashville when it was reorganized as a South Atlantic (SALLY) League franchise after being defunct in 1962:
1963: 115 hits, 11 HR, 56 RBI, .287 batting average / Fielding: 997 chances, 11 errors, .989 fielding %
Note: Charlie Williams (1956), Dick Sisler (1957), and Ray Looney (1961) do not qualify as each appeared in less than 100 games at this position.
You can still vote for the catcher position here: Catcher
© 2024 by Skip Nipper. All Rights Reserved.
Some good candidates for this position, but anyone who can put together a season like Harshman did with 47 HR and 141 RBI deserves my vote. Interesting to me that his MLB career was as a pitcher with over 130 career decisions, but he also managed to hit 21 career HR at the major league level.
Pingback: 2024 Nashville Vols Hall of Fame Ballot: Shortstop - Baseball in Nashville