page_title: Nashville Blues
section_title: Under Bradley (April 16–May 17)
hierarchical_section_title: Nashville Blues / History / The season / Under Bradley (April 16–May 17)
caption_attribution_description: English: An illustration of professional baseball player Frank Nicholas
context_page_description: The Nashville Blues were a minor league baseball team that played in the Southern League in 1887. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell.
  Managed by George Bradley, the team attained first place on May 9, approximately three weeks into the season, in the midst of a 12-game winning streak. The Blues stayed atop the standings for over a month, but were weakened by the resignation of Bradley on May 17 and the sale of ace pitcher Al Maul on June 13. Though little else changed with the roster, the team was not the same after these losses. Under new manager Jim Clinton, the Blues fell to fourth place out of five teams on July 19, where they remained until disbanding on August 6.
  The Blues were operated by the Nashville Base Ball Association, which raised US$15,000 to fiance the team through the sale of stock. This capital and the revenue from paid attendance at Sulphur Spring Park was not sufficient to cover the $3,000 per month necessary to fund the team.
context_section_description: The Nashville Blues were slated to open the Southern League championship season of 1887 at Sulphur Spring Park on April 16. Their Opening Day roster consisted of pitchers Larry Corcoran and Al Maul; catchers Bud Manion and Frank Nicholas; first baseman Michael Firle; second baseman Steve Matthias; third baseman/manager George Bradley; shortstop Robert Burks; left fielder Jim Clinton; center fielder Icicle Reeder; and right fielder Jackie Hayes. An additional right fielder, Mortimer Hogan, began the season on the sick list.
  Playing against the Charleston Quakers in the season opener, the Blues got out to a promising start with two runs in the first inning, but both teams would go on to score often in the game in which they had 27 hits and 11 errors between them. It was an error that helped decide the game in the bottom of the tenth inning. Tied, 8–8, Clinton and Reeder collided in the outfield while giving chase to a fly ball for which neither called and neither caught. The error led to a Charleston batter reaching second base and later scoring, which resulted in an Opening Day loss for the Nashvilles, 9–8. The game was attended by about 1,000 people. Cold weather and muddy conditions at the ballpark prevented the playing of the next game on April 18. On the off-day, Bradley selected Matthias as team captain, and he chose Clinton as second captain. The Blues got their first win on April 19. Tied 9–9 in the ninth inning of another game featuring lots of offense, Maul prevented the visitors from scoring any additional runs with the catch of a sharply hit fly ball to right field. What made the otherwise routine play spectacular was that he had to back halfway up the embankment and then fell down but reached up just in time to catch the ball for the out. Nashville broke the tie in their half of the ninth, winning 10–9. The Nashvilles concluded the opening series with a 12–8 win on April 20.
  At the time, the state of Tennessee had a blue law which banned the playing of baseball on Sundays. However, with the encouragement of city, county, and state officials that the sport prevented crime and promoted good morals, the Nashville club endeavored to make up an April 22 rain-out with the Savannah club by playing on Sunday, April 24. The park was so crowded with patrons who were normally unable to attend games on working days that several hundred were allowed to view the game from the field. Nashville won, 15–12, without incident or police interference. A group of 35 ministers met two days later and resolved to circulate a petition among citizens demanding that the government enforce the law forbidding Sunday baseball. The Davidson County grand jury later indicted the involved players as well as the directors and officers of the Nashville Base Ball Association. Under examination, irregularities were found in the passage of the law's bill, leading lawyers in the service of the team to believe it to be unconstitutional. Judge Granville Ridley ruled to the contrary, finding the law was passed legally. Jackie Hayes was tried as a test case, convicted, and fined $25. The case was appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court after a retrial was denied. The higher court upheld the Sunday base ball law as being constitutional. The locals made no further attempt to play on Sundays.
  Nashville's first roster changes began after the controversial Sunday game. On April 25, amateur Robert Greene was given a trial at shortstop but was not retained by the team. That same day, Matthias was badly injured while sliding into home plate and had to be removed from the game. Knowing the importance of his position as captain and aware that he would miss several games, he chose to vacate his captaincy, and Clinton assumed the role. New pitcher Bill Mountjoy led the Nashvilles to a 7–5 victory over Memphis in his debut on April 29. Corcoran was scheduled to pitch on April 30 against Memphis, but was replaced by Bradley at the last moment. Before the game, Corcoran was found to be drunk. Memphis manager John Sneed and pitcher Bob Black allegedly got him intoxicate
caption: Catcher Frank Nicholas was one of nine men to play the entire season with Nashville.
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