East Tennessee boasts a rich baseball heritage, celebrated through Regional Baseball Stories, a collection of submitted tales from the community.
“When I was growing up in the 1950’s I had a Grand Uncle who would come visit my Grandfather (his brother) and he would take us to see baseball games at the old Smithson stadium. As a teenager my buddies and I would go to see some of the major leagues teams on their way back from Spring training in Florida. We got to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play the Milwaukee Braves, the New York Giants play the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees play the Cleveland Indians. This was in 1954 I think. I got a few autographs of some of the Dodgers and Braves. We got to see Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn, Early Wynn, Mickey Mantle, Pee Wee Reese, and many of the stars from the 50’s.
I also have some 5 x 7, and 8 x 10 pictures of some of the early Knoxville Smokies. However, I don’t have any names that identify them. I took my son’s Cub Scout den to see a Knoxville Sox baseball game in the 70’s and I have a set of the baseball cards from the time that Harold Baines played for the Sox. He went on to play for the Chicago White Sox. Lots of memories of the Smokies and Sox.”
A misfortune in infancy laid the path for a life-long love of baseball for Hubert Ellis Conner. Hugh was born at the end of the 19th century in the Sugarlands area of what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. An illness at 3 months left Hugh deaf and took the life of his twin brother. Valuing education, and wanting to give Hugh as normal a life as possible, his parents sent him to the Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville. There, Hugh took part in every sport available, often leading championship teams. His first love, however, was baseball.
After graduating from the Tennessee School for the Deaf, Hugh moved to Toledo, Ohio. The city was known at that time for its strong social programs for the deaf and hearing impaired, including several sports teams. Hugh was very active socially, recording much of his life through photography. He took part in swimming, rowing, softball, and bowling, but found his identity as a baseball player. Hugh played with the Toledo Silents baseball team for many years, often leading them to victory over their hearing opponents with his pitching. The loss of his hearing could have been a tragedy, but for Hugh, it opened the door to playing baseball, an opportunity he would not have had in the mountains.
→
As Tennessee marks the 230th anniversary of its admission to the Union, it is worth remembering that statehood was neither simple nor inevitable. From the failed State of Franklin to the creation of the Southwest Territory and eventual statehood in 1796, Tennessee’s story reflects the challenges and opportunities of building a new nation on the Appalachian frontier.
→
By Kristin Brig
published in the Journal of East Tennessee History, Vol 88, 2016
→
After the Revolution, East Tennessee remained a volatile frontier where the U.S., the Cherokee, and settlers all claimed authority. The 1791 Treaty of Holston tried to bring order, but its promises quickly unraveled—even as it marked the moment when the region’s political foundations began to take shape.