Site of early interracial games to be designated 'Home Run Alley'

John Shearer
·2 min read

After several years of trying to get some recognition for the old Pond Gap baseball field off Sutherland Avenue, David Williams has finally – to use baseball vernacular – been given a sign he likes.

The Knoxville City Council on March 21 voted to assign the honorary name of Home Run Alley to the section of Sutherland from Jade Road to Renford Road. As a result, signage will soon be placed on the street remembering the now-gone field on the south side of Sutherland, where lifelong Pond Gap resident Williams said early interracial baseball games were played.

“We won! No opposition!” Williams excitedly said in the spirit of a player or team manager after hearing the good news.

For Williams and his Pond Gap Area Neighborhood Association, the renaming is the first victory in efforts to get an outside entity to recognize the field and its history. He had earlier tried to get a simple plaza developed around the sidewalk near the field, which was where the Tennessee RecSports Complex is now. But that ran into easement issues with the University of Tennessee.

David Williams is shown on Jan. 25, 2022, at his Sutherland Avenue home next to one of the banners he erected to help local residents remember when the Pond Gap field was a place where Black players and white players competed.
David Williams is shown on Jan. 25, 2022, at his Sutherland Avenue home next to one of the banners he erected to help local residents remember when the Pond Gap field was a place where Black players and white players competed.

After those plans were dropped, he had some banners and markers hung by his house across the street and at a nearby business. Also, T-shirts were made, and some West High art students to date have created one mural remembering the field.

The current City of Knoxville approval came through a step-by-step process, like baseball runners being advanced base by base. Williams said paperwork was filed for the honorary name back in January, and the city’s Public Property Naming Committee approved it in February. It was then approved by Mayor Indya Kincannon and advanced to the City Council for its vote.

Williams said Tommy Smith, the councilman who works with the Naming Committee, called on him to say a few words at the council meeting, and he described among other anecdotes a home run hit into a woman’s laundry basket across Sutherland. He had also circulated before the meeting an old aerial photo of the field.

Some banners touting the old Pond Gap baseball field are displayed by Emma’s Kitchen off Sutherland Avenue on March 23, 2023. Some new signage honorarily renaming a section of the street here as Home Run Alley was recently approved by the Knoxville City Council.
Some banners touting the old Pond Gap baseball field are displayed by Emma’s Kitchen off Sutherland Avenue on March 23, 2023. Some new signage honorarily renaming a section of the street here as Home Run Alley was recently approved by the Knoxville City Council.

Williams added that he has received an email since the City Council meeting stating that Kyndra Brewer, the city’s director of special events, will coordinate the sign production and any event surrounding the unveling.

“I look forward to seeing the sign,” he said, adding that Councilman Janet Testerman had also during the council meeting praised their work.

“I believe this will call attention to the significance of the games,” Williams said.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Early interracial games Knoxville 'Home Run Alley'