Nashville Vols seasons

The 1902 Southern Association champion Nashville Baseball Club

The Nashville Vols minor league baseball team played 62 seasons from its creation in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1901 through its final season of 1963. The club played in 9,019 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 4,571–4,448 (.507).^[1][2] They had a postseason record of 110–77–1 (.588).^[3][4]

The Nashville Baseball Club was formed as a charter member of the newly organized Class B Southern Association (SA) in 1901.^[5] The team did not receive their official moniker, the Nashville Volunteers, until 1908.^[6] However, the team was, and is, commonly referred to as the Vols. Their last season in the Southern Association was 1961. After sitting out the 1962 season, the Vols returned for a final season as a part of the South Atlantic League (SAL) in 1963.^[7] Over their 62-year existence, the Vols competed at four class levels: Class B (1901), Class A (1902–1935), Class A1 (1936–1945), and Double-A (1946–1961, 1963). They served as a farm club for eight major league teams.

The Vols won the Southern Association Pennant on eight occasions: 1901, 1902, 1908, 1916, 1940, 1943, 1948, and 1949. They won the Southern Association Championship as part of a two-to-four team playoff nine times: 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1949, 1950, and 1953. The Vols won the Dixie Series, a best-of-seven playoff series between the Southern Association and Texas League, in four seasons: 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1949.^[3][4]

The team's best season record occurred in 1940, when they finished 101–47 (.682). The 1940 team was ranked as the 47th best minor league of all time in a 2001 ranking by baseball historians.^[7] Their lowest season record was 45–92 (.328) in 1906. Of the eight major league affiliations in Nashville's history, the team recorded its best record from 1938 to 1940 as a Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate. The team had a regular season record of 270–181 (.599) during that time. They reached the postseason in all three seasons, winning one Southern Association Pennant, two Southern Association Championships, and one Dixie Series Championship. Their postseason record was 25–16–1 (.610). Conversely, the team's lowest record was as a Los Angeles Angels affiliate in 1963. The Vols compiled a 53–86 (.381) record and failed to reach the postseason in their only year with the Angles and their final year of existence.

Season-by-season records

Dixie Series champions (1920–1958) §

Playoff champions (1928–1960)

Pennant winners (1901–1961, 1963)

Playoff berth (1928–1960) *

Year	Record[a]	Win %	Finish[b]	GB[c]	Postseason record[d]	Postseason win %	Result	MLB affiliate[e]
1901	78–45	.634	1st	—	—	—	Won SA Pennant	Unaffiliated
1902	82–42	.661	1st	—	—	—	Won SA Pennant	Unaffiliated
1903	60–62	.492	5th	1½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1904	72–67	.518	5th	11	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1905	47–88	.348	7th	40	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1906	45–92	.328	7th	43½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1907	59–78	.431	8th	21½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1908	75–56	.573	1st	—	—	—	Won SA Pennant	Cleveland Indians
1909	82–55	.599	2nd	5½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1910	64–76	.457	5th	23	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1911	69–64	.519	4th	9½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1912	67–70	.489	5th	18½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1913	62–76	.449	7th	19½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1914	77–72	.517	5th	10	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1915	75–78	.490	4th	15½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1916	84–54	.609	1st	—	—	—	Won SA Pennant	Unaffiliated
1917	77–73	.513	5th	19	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1918	30–40	.429	7th	19	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1919	55–83	.399	8th	30	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1920	65–89	.422	7th	26½	—	—	—	Chicago White Sox
1921	62–90	.408	6th	41½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1922	56–96	.368	7th	41	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1923	75–77	.493	6th	17	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1924	78–75	.510	4th	26	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1925	81–72	.529	3rd	5½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1926	83–68	.550	4th	16½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1927	84–69	.549	4th	12	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1928	59–94	.386	8th	40	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1929	90–63	.588	2nd	3	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1930	66–87	.431	7th	32	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1931	51–102	.333	8th	46½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1932 *	75–78	.490	4th	25	1–3	.250	Lost SA Championship vs New Orleans Pelicans, 3–1[4]	Unaffiliated
1933	77–69	.527	3rd	14½	—	—	—	Unaffiliated
1934 *	87–65	.572	2nd	6	2–3	.400	Lost SA Championship vs New Orleans Pelicans, 3–2	New York Giants
1935 *	82–69	.543	4th	9	0–3	.000	Lost SA semi-finals vs Atlanta Crackers, 3–0	New York Giants
1936 *	86–65	.570	2nd	7	2–3	.400	Lost SA semi-finals vs Birmingham Barons, 3–2	Cincinnati Reds
1937	80–73	.523	5th	17½	—	—	—	Cincinnati Reds
1938 *	84–66	.560	2nd	5½	4–6–1	.400	Won SA semi-finals vs New Orleans Pelicans, 3–2 Lost SA Championship vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–1–1	Brooklyn Dodgers
1939	85–68	.556	3rd	1½	10–7	.588	Won SA semi-finals vs Memphis Chicks, 3–0 Won SA Championship vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–3 Lost Dixie Series vs Fort Worth Cats, 4–3	Brooklyn Dodgers
1940 §	101–47	.682	1st	—	11–3	.786	Won SA Pennant Won SA semi-finals vs Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–0 Won SA Championship vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–2 Won Dixie Series vs Houston Buffaloes, 4–1	Brooklyn Dodgers
1941 §	83–70	.542	2nd	15½	11–4	.733	Won SA semi-finals vs New Orleans Pelicans, 3–1 Won SA Championship vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–3 Won Dixie Series vs Dallas Rebels, 4–0	Unaffiliated
1942 §	85–66	.563	2nd	4½	11–3	.786	Won SA semi-finals vs Birmingham Barons, 3–1 Won SA Championship vs Little Rock Travelers, 4–0 Won Dixie Series vs Shreveport Sports, 4–2	Unaffiliated
1943	83–55	.601	1st	—	4–1	.800	Won SA Pennant Won SA Championship vs New Orleans Pelicans, 4–1	Chicago Cubs
1944	79–61	.564	3rd	7½	4–3	.571	Won SA Championship vs Memphis Chicks, 4–3	Chicago Cubs
1945	55–84	.396	7th	38½	—	—	—	Chicago Cubs
1946	73–78	.483	6th	20½	—	—	—	Chicago Cubs
1947 *	80–73	.523	3rd	14	7–5	.583	Won SA semi-finals vs New Orleans Pelicans, 4–1 Lost SA Championship vs Mobile Bears, 4–3	Chicago Cubs
1948 *	94–58	.618	1st	—	6–7	.462	Won SA Pennant Won SA semi-finals vs Mobile Bears, 4–3 Lost SA Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 4–2	Chicago Cubs
1949 §	95–57	.625	1st	—	12–7	.632	Won SA Pennant Won SA semi-finals vs New Orleans Pelicans, 4–2 Won SA Championship vs Mobile Bears, 4–2 Won Dixie Series vs Tulsa Oilers, 4–3	Chicago Cubs
1950	86–64	.573	3rd	5½	11–6	.647	Won SA semi-finals vs Birmingham Barons, 4–1 Won SA Championship vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–1 Lost Dixie Series vs San Antonio Missions, 4–3	Chicago Cubs
1951	78–76	.506	5th	15½	—	—	—	Chicago Cubs
1952	73–79	.480	6th	13	—	—	—	New York Giants
1953	85–69	.552	2nd	2	10–7	.588	Won SA semi-finals vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–2 Won SA Championship vs Birmingham, 4–1 Lost Dixie Series vs Dallas Eagles, 4–2	New York Giants
1954	64–90	.416	6th (tie)	30	—	—	—	New York Giants
1955	77–74	.510	5th	12	—	—	—	Cincinnati Redlegs
1956	75–79	.487	7th	14	—	—	—	Cincinnati Redlegs
1957 *	86–69	.555	3rd	3	4–6	.400	Won SA semi-finals vs Memphis Chicks, 4–2 Lost SA Championship vs Atlanta Crackers, 4–0	Cincinnati Redlegs
1958	76–78	.494	5th	15½	—	—	—	Cincinnati Redlegs
1959	84–64	.568	3rd	5½	—	—	—	Cincinnati Redlegs
1960	71–82	.464	6th	15½	—	—	—	Cincinnati Reds
1961	69–83	.454	6th	21	—	—	—	Minnesota Twins
1963	53–86	.381	8th	27½	—	—	—	Los Angeles Angels
Totals	4,571–4,448	.507	—	—	110–77–1	.588	–	—

Franchise totals

Notes

• ^a The Record column indicates wins and losses during the regular season and excludes any postseason play.
• ^b The Finish column indicates position in the league standings.
• ^c The GB column indicates "Games Behind" the team that finished in first place in the division that season. It is determined by finding the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two.
• ^d The Record column indicates wins and losses during the postseason.
• ^e All minor league teams are affiliated with a Major League Baseball team. The purpose of a minor league club is to develop players for the major league team. For more information, see minor league baseball.

References

General

• "Timeline" (PDF). Southern Association Baseball. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
• "Nashville Vols Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2015 Nashville Sounds Media Guide. Nashville Sounds. 2015. pp. 200–201. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.

Specific