List of Nashville Vols managers

Larry Gilbert managed the Vols from 1939 to 1948 and led the team to win four pennants, five play-off championships, and three Dixie Series titles.

John Dobbs, manager of the 1907 Nashville Baseball Club

Bill Bernhard, manager of the Vols from 1908 to 1910

Roy Ellam, manager of the Vols from 1916 to 1920

The Nashville Vols minor league baseball team employed 25 managers during its 62 seasons of play from its creation in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1901 through its final season of 1963.^[1] These managers led their team in 9,019 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 4,571–4,448 (.507).^[2] They had a post-season record of 110–77–1 (.588) in 188 games.^[3][4] Playing in an era when it was common to have player-managers, 16 men managed the team at the same time as they were playing on the field. Originally known as the Nashville Baseball Club, the team did not receive their official moniker, the Nashville Volunteers, until 1908.^[5] However, the team was, and is, commonly referred to as the Vols.

Seven managers guided the team to win the Southern Association pennant or win the league's post-season championship. Ike Fisher (1901 and 1902), Bill Bernhard (1908), Roy Ellam (1916), and Larry Gilbert (1940, 1943, 1948, and 1949) managed the Vols to win the pennant. Larry Gilbert (1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, and 1944), Rollie Hemsley (1949), Don Osborn (1950), and Hugh Poland (1953) led the team to win post-season Southern Association championship tournaments. Larry Gilbert (1940, 1941, and 1942) and Rollie Hemsley (1949) managed the Nashville team to win the Dixie Series, a best-of-seven playoff series between the Southern Association and Texas League.^[1][2]

Larry Gilbert won 818 games from 1939 to 1948, placing him first on the all-time wins list for Vols managers. Having managed the team for 1,478 games, 10 full seasons, he is also the longest-tenured manager in team history. The manager with the highest winning percentage over a full season or more is Rollie Hemsley, whose 1949 team had a .625 winning percentage. Conversely, the lowest winning percentage over a season or more is .338 by manager Mickey Finn from 1905 to 1906.

Table key

#	A running total of the number of Vols managers. Thus, any manager who had two or more separate terms is only counted once.
W%	Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed in the regular season
PA	Playoff appearances: number of seasons this manager led the franchise to the playoffs
PW	Playoff wins: number of wins this manager accrued in the playoffs
PL	Playoff losses: number of losses this manager accrued in the playoffs
PT	Playoff ties: number of ties this manager accrued in the playoffs
PW%	Playoff winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed in the playoffs
	Indicates a player-manager

Managers

#	Manager	Years	Games	Wins	Losses	W%	PA	PW	PL	PT	PW%	Ref
1	Ike Fisher	1901–04	508	292	216	.575	—	—	—	—	—	[6]
2	Mickey Finn	1905–06	272	92	180	.338	—	—	—	—	—	[7]
3	John Dobbs	1907	137	59	78	.431	—	—	—	—	—	[8]
4	Bill Bernhard	1908–10	408	221	187	.542	—	—	—	—	—	[9]
5	Bill Schwartz	1911–15	710	350	360	.493	—	—	—	—	—	[10]
6	Roy Ellam	1916–20	650	311	339	.478	—	—	—	—	—	[11]
7	Hub Perdue	1921	152	62	90	.408	—	—	—	—	—	[12]
8	Larry Doyle	1922	152	56	96	.368	—	—	—	—	—	[13]
9	Jimmy Hamilton	1923–27	762	401	361	.526	—	—	—	—	—	[14]
— 10	Jimmy Hamilton Pants Rowland	1928^[a]	153	59	94	.386	—	—	—	—	—	[14][15]
—	Pants Rowland	1929–30	306	156	150	.510	—	—	—	—	—	[15]
11	Joe Klugmann	1931–32	306	126	180	.412	1	1	3	0	.250	[16]
12	Chuck Dressen	1933	146	77	69	.527	—	—	—	—	—	[15][17]
— 13	Chuck Dressen Lance Richbourg	1934^[b]	152	87	65	.572	1	2	3	0	.400	[17] [2]
14 15 —	Frank Brazill Johnny Butler Lance Richbourg	1935^[c]	151	82	69	.543	1	0	3	0	.000	[18] [19] [2]
—	Lance Richbourg	1936–37	304	166	138	.546	1	2	3	0	.400	[15]
—	Chuck Dressen	1938	150	84	66	.560	1	4	6	1	.400	[17]
16	Larry Gilbert	1939–48	1,478	818	660	.553	8	64	33	0	.660	[20]
17	Rollie Hemsley	1949	152	95	57	.625	1	12	7	0	.632	[21]
18	Don Osborn	1950–51	304	164	140	.539	1	11	6	0	.647	[22]
19	Hugh Poland	1952–54	460	222	238	.483	1	10	7	0	.588	[23]
20	Joe Schultz	1955	151	77	74	.510	—	—	—	—	—	[24]
21	Ernie White	1956	154	75	79	.487	—	—	—	—	—	[25]
22	Dick Sisler	1957–59	457	246	211	.538	1	4	6	0	.400	[26]
23	Jim Turner	1960	153	71	82	.464	—	—	—	—	—	[27]
24	Red Robbins	1961	152	69	83	.454	—	—	—	—	—	[28]
25	John Fitzpatrick	1961	139	53	86	.381	—	—	—	—	—	[29]
Totals	25 managers	62 seasons	9,019	4,571	4,448	.507	17	110	77	1	.588	—

Notes

• ^a Jimmy Hamilton and Pants Rowland both managed the Vols in 1928. As no information is available as to each manager's individual records, their records for this season are combined.
• ^b On July 30, 1934, Chuck Dressen took over as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Outfielder Lance Richbourg was named as his replacement.^[2] As no information is available as to each manager's individual records, their records for this season are combined.
• ^c Frank Brazill, Johnny Butler, and Lance Richbourg all managed the Vols at some point in 1935. As no information is available as to each manager's individual records, their records for this season are combined.

References

General

• Nipper, Skip (December 30, 2013). "Managing the Nashville Baseball Club, 1901–1961". 262 Down Right. Retrieved September 18, 2015.

Specific

1. "Nashville Vols Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2015 Nashville Sounds Media Guide. Nashville Sounds. 2015. pp. 200–1. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
2. "Timeline" (PDF). Southern Association Baseball. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
3. O'Neal, Bill (1994), The Southern League: Baseball in Dixie, 1885–1994, Eakin Press, pp. 306–308, ISBN 0890159521
4. Nipper, Skip (2007), Baseball in Nashville, Arcadia Publishing, p. 25, ISBN 9780738543918
5. Nipper, Skip (October 1, 2013). "Name That Team". 262 Down Right. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
6. "Ike Fisher Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
7. "Mickey Finn Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
8. "John Dobbs Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
9. "Bill Bernhard Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
10. "Bill Schwartz Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
11. "Roy Ellam Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
12. "Hub Perdue Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
13. "Larry Doyle Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
14. "Jimmy Hamilton Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
15. Nipper, Skip (December 30, 2013). "Managing the Nashville Baseball Club, 1901–1961". 262 Down Right. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
16. "Joe Klugmann Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
17. "Chuck Dressen Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
18. "Frank Brazill Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
19. "Johnny Butler Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
20. "Larry Gilbert Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
21. "Rollie Hemsley Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
22. "Don Osborn Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
23. "Hugh Poland Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
24. "Joe Schultz Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
25. "Ernie White Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
26. "Dick Sisler Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
27. "Jim Turner Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
28. "Red Robbins Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
29. "John Fitzpatrick Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.