page_title: Nashville Americans
section_title: The 1885 season
hierarchical_section_title: Nashville Americans / History / The 1885 season
caption_attribution_description: English: An illustration of professional baseball player Alex Voss
context_page_description: The Nashville Americans were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League from 1885 to 1886. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell.
  The team was formed on October 6, 1884, as Nashville's first professional baseball team. They played several exhibition games against major league teams that fall at the Nashville Fairgrounds as the they sought admission to the Union Association, one of three major leagues at the time. Instead, they were selected as charter members of the Southern League for the next season.
  The 1885 Americans were managed at different times by local player Will Bryan, second baseman Nate Kellogg, and local businessman John R. Mayberry. They played well throughout the season and compiled a 62–39 record, placing third. They spent the majority of the season in either second or third place. Led by left fielder Walt Goldsby, the 1886 team played well but finished in a distant third place with a record of 46–38.
context_section_description: The Nashville Americans were scheduled to begin the Southern League championship season of 1885 with a road trip beginning on April 15 at Columbus. Though several players were not placed at their regular positions, the Opening Day roster consisted of pitcher Billy Crowell; catcher James Hillery; first baseman Len Sowders; second baseman Ed McKean; third baseman Joseph Deistel; shortstop Joe Werrick; left fielder George Rhue; center fielders Will Bryan and Tony Hellman; and right fielder Alex Voss.
  Sowders led off the season opener against the Columbus Stars with a double and came home to score on Hillery's base hit and a wild throw to first. Hillery scored later in the first inning, putting Nashville up 2–0. The Americans proceeded to hold the lead for the entire game, with the decisive run being scored by Deistel in the seventh. Nashville won its inaugural regular season game, 11–9. They continued their opening road trip with two more games against Columbus before going on to Birmingham, Macon, and Augusta. In an early move to strengthen the roster, they added outfielder John Cullen to the roster on April 21. The Americans returned home in third place with a record of 7–4 (.636).
  The Sulphur Spring Park home opener took place on May 4 against Columbus. In the top of the first, Werrick hit a two-RBI triple scoring Hillery and Cullen, but these were to be Nashville's only runs of the game. Tied 2–2 in the fifth, a bad throw allowed Columbus to score the winning run. Voss pitched well in the 3–2 Nashville loss, allowing only three runs on five hits and striking out four, but opposing pitcher Doc Landis held the Americans to just two runs on five hits. Errors, five by Nashville and four by Columbus, hampered both teams as none of the game's five runs were earned. Down by a significant score in the next day's game, Nate Kellogg, a newly acquired second baseman, moved over to pitch in relief in the 10–2 loss. After a third defeat by Columbus, the Americans got their first home win against the Birmingham Coal Barons, 12–5, on May 9. Hillery led Nashville's offence that day with a single, a double, two triples, and three runs scored. Outfielders Ollie Beard and Lefty Marr, formerly on Chicago's spring training roster, were acquired and made their Americans debut on May 11. Crowell pitched a near no-hitter against Birmingham on May 12, with Al McCauley recording the only hit against him in the 10–0 shutout.
  The stockholders of the club made several changes beginning on May 19 in response dissension among the team in the form of negligent play and possible thrown games. Manager Bryan was released before that afternoon's game. Kellogg was selected as manager and team captain on May 20. Beard and Deistel were named first and second assistant captains.  McKean and Rhue were also released. The club, at the request of other Southern League teams, which were all named for their respective cities, changed the name of the club to the Nashville Base Ball Association. From that point onward, the local press dropped all references to the "Americans", and the team was usually referred to as simply Nashville or the Nashvilles. On May 30, Toad Ramsey of the visiting Chattanooga Lookouts pitched a no-hitter against Nashville in a game where only three locals reached base, two via walks and one on an error. At the end of the first full month of play, Nashville stood in second place with a 14–11 (.560) record behind Atlanta.
  Beginning with the June 3 game at Memphis, telegraph operators began to report in detail the team's road games at the Masonic Theater. They utilized a blackboard bearing the image of a diamond with holes around the edges through which flags would be inserted to indicate each player's performance play-by-play. The presentations were attended by enthusiastic, cheering audiences.
  At the end of the short cross-state trip, Kellogg resigned as manager, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility in addition to playing and being team captain. John R. Mayberry, a stockholder and businessman in the field of insurance, took control on Ju
caption: Pitcher Alex Voss had the most major league experience on the Opening Day roster.
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