Nashville Sounds to Celebrate Late Negro Baseball League Star Henry Kimbro with Special Game Activities and Giveaways on Aug. 10 at First Horizon Park

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The contributions of the late Negro Baseball League star Henry Kimbro will be celebrated by the Nashville Sounds during special game activities and giveaways beginning at 6:35 p.m. Aug. 10 (Saturday) at First Horizon Park in Germantown. 

The Nashville baseball legend ranks highly for all-time statistics for the Elite Giants, a NBL team that started in Music City. He finished his 15-year career ranked first for hits in games (511), stolen bases (55), and runs batted in (264). As a center fielder, he led the league in games five times, putouts three times, and assists twice.

“I am very excited and humbled by it because my dad was a man who did not believe in tooting his own horn,” said Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton, a sports advocate, author, and former professor in sports administration at Tennessee State University. 

Highlights of the Henry Kimbro baseball night — featuring a game between the Sounds and Indianapolis Indians — will include

* A Henry Kimbro bobblehead giveaway to the first 1,000 fans who enter the stadium. Containers will include the star’s image and biography.

* The Screening of a trailer for Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton’s documentary, “A Tour of One City: The History of the Negro Leagues in Nashville and Beyond.”

* The first pitch by Henry Kimbro’s grandson (Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton’s son), Patrick G. Hamilton, a former baseball star at Glencliff High School. 

* An appreciation ceremony for the Fisk University 1975 SIAC Conference Championship team, which included the baseball star’s son Phillip Kimbro (also a center fielder).

Kimbro was documented as the best player in several categories in 1947 and 1948. He led all leagues in doubles, (OBP) on base percentage, (SLG) slugging percentage, (OPS) on base percentage, winning the batting title for 1947. He played in seven East-West All-Stars games. Before retiring, he served as manager for the Birmingham Black Barons from 1952-1953. 

“The way the Nashville Sounds Baseball organization will be honoring my dad reflects that they are a class act and have always been on the right side of history,” Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton added. “They have included the story of the Negro Leagues at First Horizon Park, celebrating the historic impact of numerous Black baseball pioneers.”

Henry Kimbro began his baseball career with the Cuban baseball leagues, helping the Almandares win the 1939 league championship. He won the batting title there during the 1947-1948 season. 

Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton has served as a historian and advocate for Black baseball leaguers, penning the books “Home Plate: Henry Kimbro and Other Negro Leaguers of Nashville, Tennessee” and “Daddy’s Scrapbook: Henry Kimbro of the Negro Baseball League, A Daughter’s Perspective.” She currently serves as a member of the Nine, a committee for the Sounds that has honored former Nashville Negro League players and provided resources to help improve baseball facilities for the Black community. 

“It is now important to educate the country about this phenomenal era to appreciate the courage, sacrifice and talent of these men,” Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton noted.

To buy tickets to the Aug. 10 game honoring Henry Kimbro, visit https://www.milb.com/nashville. 

Brandi Carlile and Tracy Gershon Rock City Winery

 Brandi Carlile and Tracy Gershon present Northern Lights Music

 City Winery, Thursday at 1p.m. (UPDATED)

     I arrived at City Winery 45 minutes early only to find the line extended to the back chain link fence behind the building. I doubted I would get in and pulled up the Americanafest App to see what other shows were at this time. The line started to move quickly and before I knew it, I was inside. I was alone, so I thought I might have a chance at finding a seat near the front. I did. Second seat in, front and center!

     Highlights of the two and a half hour show included Sean McConnell’s “Leave the Light On.”  This gospel drenched number was all the better for having Sista Strings and Brandi join on background vocals. The incredible Sista Strings, besides blowing us away with a classical, jazz, funk instrumental, sang a new song “The Reckoning.” This prayer-like number was written with McConnell.

     Brandi Carlile and the twins (Phil and Tim Hanseroth) started off acapella on “Right On Time,” the title cut on her latest album. Their harmonies make the hair on the back of my neck stand up! She also did an older song from 2007, the comforting, “Downpour.” 

     Newcomer Kish,who is 17 years old, performed “Michelle,” a ballad about a friend who keeps settling for the wrong kind of guy. She explained while driving after she got her driver’s license, she had a moment and had to pull over. She realized she was never going to be a young kid again. This prompted her to write the beautiful “Long Drive”.   

     Brandy Clark was up next. Carlile jokingly said that when she was producing Clark’s album, all of her songs were coming in at 3 ½ minutes. Carlile couldn’t understand how she did that. Clark said when she first came to town, it was drummed in her head that a song over 4 minutes would not get played on the radio. Carlile wasn’t too excited about Brandy’s “Tell Her You Don’t Love Her” until Kish, who was visiting the studio, said she loved the song. That made Carlile think she finally got it. “Tell her you don’t love her, because I do!”  Clark also sang the beautiful “Buried.”

     Last year’s special guest was Tanya Tucker. Carlile said she couldn’t be here this year because she was recovering from neck surgery, and asked us to pray for Tanya. This year’s special guests included Kate York, who sang the rebel rousing “Drive it Till the Wheels Fall Off” and Katie Pruitt, whose ballad “Blood Related” talked about choosing to love your family though the disagreements, something we all can relate to.  

     For the finale, Carlile and all of the songwriters joined in on Queen’s classic “Fat Bottom Girls.”  Way too much fun for one afternoon!