Nashville-born Bob Tillman was blessed with so much athletic ability; he wasn't sure which sport appealed to him the most. Tillman was born in Nashville on March 24, 1947 and graduated from Isaac Litton High School where he was a three-sport standout. Tillman was an all-state quarterback his senior year in 1955, as well as an all-region basketball player and two-time baseball MVP in the NIL.

In 1956, Tillman signed a basketball scholarship with Georgia Tech before transferring to MTSU to play football. Tillman signed with the Boston Red Sox and played in four minor league seasons before making it to "The Show." His first assignment, in 1958 on the professional level, was in Raleigh (Carolina League) where he appeared in 123 games, batted .282 (126-for-447), 18 home runs and 76 RBIs.

The catcher was playing in the Eastern League the next season in Allentown. His numbers include: 105 games, .272 average, and 25 home runs with 72 RBIs. Moving up the ladder Tillman spent his third season as a professional baseball player in Minneapolis of the American Association. There he batted .256 with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs.

Tillman was with his final minor league team in 1961 in Seattle, members of the Pacific Coast League. His average dipped to .215 in 127 games while clubbing 14 homers and driving in 67 runs.

A March 1962 newspaper article saw the potential of Tillman as the future Red Sox backstop, "Last year, the Boston Red Sox came up with an unusually fine group of rookies. In fact, they had the American League's Rookie of the Year in pitcher Don Schwall. They had young stars in Carl Yastrzemski and Chuck Schilling.

"Jim Pagliaroni began to come into his own and Tracy Stallard showed signs of becoming a winner. What have they this year? Well the Red Sox camp is fairly bulging with rookies. There are eight first-year men in camp, any of whom can develop into stardom. There are two, however, who seem to be ready for the big show-catcher Bob Tillman and Pitcher Dick Radatz.

"It is Tillman who is being watched closely here by Manager Mike Higgins and his coaches. The question is can he unseat Jim Pagliaroni or Russ Nixon from their claims on the first-string catching assignment? Tillman comes highly recommended as a catcher. In fact, there are some who say he was equal to any receiver in the minor leagues last year. His hitting is problematic, to be frank about it. The best way to evaluate him is to say he is dangerous. He might hit a ball into downtown Boston or he might not hit it at all.

"Tillman, at 24, possesses a rifle arm and many pitchers in the Red Sox camp claim he is the best receiver they have worked with. Rudy York, the hitting coach, says Tillman has one glaring fault-he is too nice a guy. 'He's too polite,' said Rudy. 'Just watch him. He apologizes in the clubhouse. He says 'too bad' when someone makes a bad play. You can carry this gentleman stuff too far. But we've got to get Tillman mean.'"

Tillman did stick with Boston in 1962 platooning behind the plate for a Red Sox team that finished in eighth place of the American League (ten teams). He hit a home run in his first major league at-bat on May 19, 1962 a rare feat. Tillman's most memorable quote came as a rookie, "I could not hit a curve ball with a paddle." He did appear in 81 games as a first-year player batting .229 (57-for-249), 14 home runs and 38 RBIs.

In Tillman's second season in Boston, he was still a part-time starter appearing in 96 games and batted .225 (69-for-307). Tillman banged out eight home runs and drove in 32 runs. Tillman's best major league season came in 1964. He played in most games (131), most hits (118), most home runs (17) and a career high .278 average. Tillman's improvement did not go unnoticed by the Boston media as reported in early September 1964. But his "paddle" comment nearly two years earlier would haunt him:

"Who's the most improved player in the American League? Ask that question around Boston's Fenway Park and the answer you will get is Bob Tillman, the handsome Tennessean who catches most games for the Red Sox. In the frankness that is his trademark, Red Sox publicist Bill Crowley described Tillman as follows in the Red Sox Guide:

"'Although he has great power, Tillman hasn't been able to hit major league pitching consistently and was one of the disappointments of the 1963 campaign.'" The description was accurate, but it will require some revision when Crowley writes next year's guide. Tillman is by far having the finest season of his career and was among the American League's top ten hitters when this was written.

"As far as hitting is concerned, Tillman's problem was simple; he couldn't hit a curve ball. Higgins, who was manager at the time, was a little annoyed. He knew Tillman's downfall was the curve ball, but he didn't think it was necessary for Tillman to broadcast it to the world on a pre-game radio show to which the opposition was probably listening in the other clubhouse. Later, Higgins would often say; 'Tillman CAN hit the curve ball if only he will learn to wait until the curve is over the plate.'

"Unquestionably, Tillman learned that lesson. He strikes out far less often now than he did the past two seasons and he is hitting some 60 points higher than his lifetime average. In fact, he has a chance to hit .300 this year. Few players in the league are as well liked as Tillman, hence his success has pleased the entire club. Tillman is handsome, neat, quiet and always the gentleman. His home town of Nashville could send few better advertisements to the majors."

Tillman caught no-hitters from Red Sox pitchers Earl Wilson and Dave Morehead. He played with Boston to the 1967 season where he was sold to the Yankees in midseason. In 1968, the Atlanta Braves acquired Tillman from the Yankees for Bobby Cox (current Braves manager). Tillman slugged three home runs in a single game against Montreal in 1969.

Tillman's final season was in Atlanta in 1970. His nine-year major league career totals include: 775 games, .232 BA (540-for-2, 329), 79 HR and 282 RBIs. Tillman died in Gallatin in 2000 at age 63.

Traughber's Tidbit: The lineup for the Nashville Sounds first game was on April 15, 1978 and include: Mickey DuVal, CF; Randy Davidson, 2B; Tony Moretto, RF; George Weicker, 1B; Tim Doerr, 3B; Don Lyle, DH; Duane Walker, LF; Steve Hughes, SS; Mark Miller, C and Bill Dawley, P.

Tidbit Two: This is an actual newspaper report (I'm not kidding) placed on a sports page in a March, 1919 edition of the Tennessean: SOME RULES, The following rules and regulations were adopted unanimously at the powder plant yesterday governing players in the Old Hickory baseball league: "No crap games will be allowed while the games are in action; no bracelet watches shall be worn by any of the players, and all players shall be required to take at least one bath at the beginning of the season and one at the close."

Tidbit Three: There have been three major league pitchers to toss a no-hitter in their first start though not their first game. They are: Theodore Breitenstein (St. Louis Browns) no-hit the Louisville Colonels 8-0 on October 4, 1891; Charley Jones (Cincinnati Reds) no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on October 15 1892 and Alva "Bobo" Holloman (St. Louis Browns) no-hit the Philadelphia A's 6-0 on May 6, 1953.

If you have any comments or suggestions you can contact Bill Traughber via email WLTraughber@aol.com. Pick up a 2010 Sounds program for a feature on Nashville's baseball champions from the 1895 Seraphs to the 2005 Sounds.