List of Nashville Vols seasons

The team sat out the 1962 campaign but returned for a final season in the South Atlantic League (SAL) in 1963 before ceasing operations altogether.

In others, the loop used the Shaughnessy playoff system in which the top four teams at the end of the season participated in a tournament to determine a champion.

Of the six Major League Baseball teams with which Nashville was affiliated, the Vols experienced their best record with the Dodgers from 1938 to 1940.

They had a composite season record of 270–181 (.599) and reached the postseason in all three years, winning one pennant, two playoff championships, and one Dixie Series.

Over the 35 seasons in which they had no major league affiliation, Nashville went 2,428–2,534 (.489) in the regular-season and won four pennants, two playoff titles, and two Dixie Series.

[4] Nashville won the first Southern Association pennant in 1901 by finishing one game ahead of the second-place Little Rock Travelers with a league-best 78–45 (.634) win–loss record.

[7] The Vols entered into their first working agreement with a Major League Baseball team in 1934 when they became the Class A farm club of the New York Giants.

[4][11] Nashville first qualified for the postseason by winning the first-half of the 1934 season, but they lost the Southern Association playoff championship in a series versus New Orleans, winners of the second-half.

[11] In 1935, the circuit adopted the Shaughnessy playoff system in which the top four teams at the end of the season participated in a tournament to determine a champion.

[10] Nashville began an affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds in 1936 at the same time that the Southern Association was elevated to Class A1 status.

[15] As the league runner-up, the 1938 team advanced past New Orleans in the semifinals but was defeated by Atlanta in the championship round.

[16] The next season marked the beginning of one of the most successful periods, in terms of winning percentage and championships,[4][7] in team history under manager Larry Gilbert, who led the Vols from 1939 to 1948.

[29] With a split-season schedule in place, they won the first-half of the season and later clinched their sixth regular-season pennant with a league-best 83–55 (.601) record, four games ahead of New Orleans.

[4] The 1944 Vols won the second-half title on way to capturing their sixth consecutive playoff championship by defeating first-half pennant winners Memphis.

[3] Nashville next qualified for the playoffs in 1947 with a third-place finish and moved past the semifinals versus New Orleans but were defeated for the league title by the Mobile Bears.

[33] Similar to the previous campaign, they reached the finals with a semifinal win over Mobile but lost the championship to Birmingham.

[35] Placing third in 1950, the Vols won their semifinal bout over Birmingham and then beat Atlanta to win an eighth playoff title.

[10] While the 1952 and 1954 teams posted losing records,[7] the 1953 club finished second, defeated Atlanta in the semifinals, and won Nashville's ninth and final Southern Association championship over Birmingham.

[42] Following the campaign, the Southern Association disbanding after 61 seasons due to the loss of some of its teams and the inability of others to secure major league working agreements for 1962.

[7] Poor attendance and financial problems resulted in the team's board of directors voting unanimously to surrender the franchise to the league following the season.

Fourteen portraits of men arranged in front of an illustration of a baseball diamond and two crossed bats
The 1902 Nashville Baseball Club , champions of the Southern Association
A black and white photograph of seventeen men sitting in three rows on the ground. Most are wearing dark coats with high white socks, but two are wearing dark baseball uniforms with a white "N" on the chests; some are wearing fielding gloves, and one is petting a dog.
The 1901 Nashville Baseball Club won the first Southern Association pennant .
A man win a light baseball uniform with a dark "B" on the chest.
Larry Gilbert led the Vols to win four Southern Association pennants , six playoff championships , and three Dixie Series from 1939 to 1948.
A green baseball field with a sloping right field wall surrounded by colorful billboard advertisements.
A game at Sulphur Dell , Nashville's home ballpark ( c. 1950s–1960s )