"Let Us Have Base Ball Clubs Organized": Uncovering the Founding Fathers of the National Pastime in Knoxville

Dr. Hardy will open the historian's toolbox and provide insight into the sources that he used to identify the founding fathers of baseball in Knoxville. He will also recount the first games played between intercity rivals, as well as those played against visiting clubs from Chattanooga and Atlanta, Georgia.

About the speaker: Dr. William E. Hardy is an Assistant Professor of History and the Lincoln Scholar at Lincoln Memorial University where he specializes in 19^th century American history. He has taught at Tennessee Tech, Chattanooga State Community College, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. From 2005 to 2013, he worked at the East Tennessee Historical Society in the Education Department on various programs such as the Teaching American History Grant and National History Day. 

About the East Tennessee History Center: At the East Tennessee History Center, Discover Your Story isn’t just a tagline—it’s an invitation. Whether your roots run deep in East Tennessee or you are exploring a newfound interest, the History Center offers a gateway to the people, places, and events that shaped the region. With a family friendly museum, governmental archives, and a heralded special collections and genealogical library under one roof, the History Center is where personal past meets regional history.

The East Tennessee History Center is a facility of Knox County Public Library (www.knoxcountylibrary.org) and is operated in programmatic partnership with the East Tennessee Historical Society (www.eastTNhistory.org). It is located at 601 S. Gay St. in the heart of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. For more information, please call 865-215-8899.