The Knoxville Smokies will take to the diamond inside Covenant Health Park on April 15th, marking a new era of baseball in East Tennessee.
Covenant Health Park, a joint venture by the Smokies, City of Knoxville, and Knox County, was built with the intention to bring baseball back to Knoxville and connect East Knoxville to downtown.
Yesterday (Tuesday), a crowd gathered outside the third base gate, known as Giants Landing, and watched as seven statues were unveiled as part of a ceremony honoring Black baseball in Knoxville.
The spot along Jackson Avenue where the new ballpark sits was historically a Black neighborhood.
The statues, created by master sculptor Brian Hanlon, highlight the Knoxville Giants of the Negro Southern League, the Knoxville Smokies and the first Little League program offered to Black children in Knoxville before integration.
The seven statues honor the likes of builders and players both.
Jerry Benjamin – A three-time All-Star outfielder in the Negro Leagues. Benjamin played his first season with the Knoxville Giants.
William M. Brooks – A founding executive member of the Negro Southern League, Brooks was the first Manager of the Knoxville Giants in 1920. He also taught at Austin High School and Green School.
Claude “Steel Arm” Dickey – A pitcher for the Knoxville Giants during the inaugural year in 1920, Dickey was a native of East Tennessee and known as “Pride of the South.”
Forrest “One Wing” Maddox, – Maddox was a pitcher and outfielder for the Giants in 1920. Some say he was the league’s first batting champion, despite losing his left arm to amputation when he was 10.
William Nathaniel “Nat” Rogers – A veteran outfielder, Rogers joined the Knoxville Giants in 1946, making history as the oldest active player in organized baseball at age 52.
“Big Jim” Tugerson – Top pitcher, Tugerson, while fighting racial injustice in the Deep South, played in the Mountain States League, integrating the 1953 Knoxville Smokies with an unmatched record of 29 regular season wins and an additional four playoff wins for the league championship. His brother also pitched for the Smokies.
Payne Avenue Little League – In 1951, Knoxville established its first Little League baseball team of Black children at the Payne Avenue Recreation Center on the hill next to Green School. The center was named after Richard “Uncle Dick” Payne, Knoxville’s first Black businessman.
