Redbirds–Sounds rivalry

Previous teams (1885–1984)

Separated by an approximately 200-mile (320 km) stretch of Interstate 40, Memphis and Nashville have fielded several teams which have competed in the same leagues since the late 19th century. The first meeting between Nashville and Memphis teams occurred in 1885 when the Memphis Reds, the city's second professional team, played in the original Southern League against the Nashville Americans, the city's first professional team.^[3] In 1886, the Americans competed against the Memphis Grays.^[4] The Memphis Browns played against the Nashville Blues in 1887.^[5] The Nashville Tigers competed with the Memphis Fever Germs in 1893 and the Memphis Giants/Lambs in 1894.^[6][7] In 1895, the Giants/Lambs opposed the Nashville Seraphs.^[8] From 1901 to 1960, the Nashville Vols, originally known as the Nashville Baseball Club from 1901 to 1907,^[9] faced competition in the Memphis Egyptians (1901–08),^[10] Memphis Turtles (1909–11),^[11] and Memphis Chickasaws (1912–60).^[12]

In 1887, Nashville Blues pitcher Larry Corcoran was scheduled to pitch at Nashville's Athletic Park against the Memphis Browns. Before the game, Corcoran was found to be drunk. Memphis' Bob Black allegedly got Corcoran intoxicated so Memphis would win, thus aiding individuals from Memphis who had wagered large amounts of money against Nashville. Blues manager George Bradley learned of the plan, removed Corcoran from the game, and pitched Nashville to a win himself.^[13]

On September 8, 1906, George Suggs of the visiting Memphis Egyptians pitched an 11-inning no-hitter against the Nashville Baseball Club at Athletic Park. Suggs struck out six batters in the first game of a doubleheader, a 1–0 win.^[14] Memphis' George Granger tossed a perfect game against the Vols at Russwood Park on August 25, 1932, in the second game of a doubleheader. He struck out two Vols batters over the course of the seven-inning contest which the Chickasaws won, 1–0.^[14]

The 1939 Volunteers defeated the Chickasaws in the playoff semi-finals, 3–0, before going on to win the Southern Association Championship. In 1944, they defeated the Chickasaws to win the championship, 4–3. The 1948 Vols won the Southern Association pennant by three games over the second-place Chickasaws. Roles were reversed in 1953 when Memphis won the pennant by two games over the Vols. Nashville defeated Memphis in the 1957 championship semi-finals, but was defeated in the finals.^[15][16]

During this period, several Negro league teams from the two cities competed in the Negro Southern League. The Memphis Red Sox competed against the Nashville White Sox from 1920 to 1922.^[17] In 1926 and from 1930 to 1932 and 1935 to 1936, the Red Sox faced off against the Nashville Elite Giants.^[17] The Nashville Cubs opposed the Memphis Blues in 1947 and the Red Sox in 1950.^[17]

After 60 continuous years of Minor League Baseball games being played between Memphis and Nashville, a lapse occurred in the rivalry from 1961 to 1977. Competition resumed when the Nashville Sounds became a part of the Double-A Southern League in 1978.^[18] The Sounds played in the West Division against the Memphis Chicks. In 1979, the Chicks won the first half of the season and the Sounds won the second half. In the best-of-three division finals, the Sounds defeated the Chicks in two out of three games before going on to win the Southern League Championship.^[19] Memphis and Nashville each won the first and second halves, respectively, of the 1980 season. This time, however, Memphis won the Western Division title, defeating Nashville in three out of four games.^[19] The teams met again under the same circumstances in 1981. The Sounds swept the Chicks in three straight games to win the Western Division finals.^[19] The intrastate rivalry was interrupted again when the Sounds moved to the Triple-A American Association in 1985. Briefly, from 1993 to 1994, the Chicks competed against the Nashville Xpress, a displaced Southern League team who shared a ballpark with the Sounds.^[20]

Redbirds vs. Sounds (1998–present)

The rivalry was renewed in 1998 when the Sounds joined the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and the Memphis Redbirds were created as a PCL expansion team.^[21] The teams played their first game against one another, a 5–3 Nashville win, on May 17, 1998, at Tim McCarver Stadium in Memphis.^[22] The Sounds and Redbirds were division rivals in the American Conference East Division from 1998 to 2004 and the American Conference North Division from 2005 to 2013.^[21][23] Since 2014, they have both been members of the American Conference Southern Division.^[24]

On April 4, 2001, the Redbirds and Sounds participated in the Minor League Baseball Centennial Game, which served as the official opening day game for the season.^[25] Memphis defeated Nashville, 3–2, at AutoZone Park in Memphis.^[26] On July 15, 2006, Sounds pitchers Carlos Villanueva (6 IP), Mike Meyers (2 IP), and Alec Zumwalt (1 IP) combined to no-hit the Redbirds, 2–0, at Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville.^[27] In 2009, Memphis clinched the American Conference Northern Division title, finishing the season just two games ahead of Nashville which had spent the majority of the season in first place.^[28] Similarly, Memphis won the 2014 American Conference Southern Division title by two-and-a-half games over Nashville who had led the division for most of the season.^[24] In 2015, the Sounds clinched the division title in Memphis.^[29] Roles were reversed in 2016 as the Redbirds clinched the division in Nashville.^[30] The Redbirds defeated the Sounds in Memphis to win the 2018 division title.^[31]

In 2012, the rivalry was incorporated into a promotion between the teams dubbed the I-40 Cup Series. The name referred to Interstate 40 which connects the cities. Whichever of the two teams won the most games played between them was declared the winner and received a trophy cup to keep until the next season. The losing team donated game tickets to a charity selected by the winner. In the event of a season-series tie, the previous season's winner remained champion. The Sounds won the first I-40 Cup by a score of 9 games to 7. Memphis won the 2013 cup, 9 games to 7, and retained the two subsequent cups by virtue of the teams tying with 8 wins apiece each season. The trophy cup, friendly wager, and promotional references to the series were discontinued after the 2015 season.^[32]

The longest Redbirds winning streak occurred from August 13 to September 1, 2005, when the team won six games in a row against the Sounds.^[33] Nashville's longest winning streak lasted for nine games from July 4 to August 24, 2006.^[34] The most lopsided game was an 18–1 Redbirds win on July 30, 2000, at Nashville's Greer Stadium.^[35]

Teams timeline

Team records

Over 21 years of competition in the Pacific Coast League, the Redbirds have had more success during both the regular season and postseason.

All-time series results

As of the completion of the 2018 series, Memphis leads the all-time series against Nashville with a record of 920–895 (.507).^[36] This record encompasses all 94 years of competition in the original Southern League, Southern Association, Southern League, and Pacific Coast League. Nashville, however, leads the 21-year PCL series with a record of 177–156 (.532).^[37]

I-40 Cup Series results

The Sounds won the inaugural 2012 I-40 Cup Series. Memphis won all three subsequent series from 2013 to 2015.^[32] Across all four seasons of contention, the teams tied with a 32–32 game record.^[32]