Upcoming Events - Hall-of-Fame Banquet November 9, 2026 at Lane Agri-Park (Events)
Rutherford County Baseball Organization Our History/Mission
Welcome to Rutherford County Baseball Organization!
The Rutherford Baseball Organization was founded in 1971. A group of 5 “Ole Timers” decided they would like to get a few of the ole ballplayers together and have a reunion. The first year they had 12 attendees, in 1972 they had over 20. The group became a Board, and the decision was made to name the Association “The Rutherford County Baseball Association”. Some of the first Board Members were Sam Lassiter, Homer Jones, and LD Agee.
Plans were made to start the “Ole Ball Players Reunion” to begin the “Hall of Fame” inductions. It was in 1973 that the Rutherford County Baseball Hall of Fame was established. In 1973 the first Ole Ball Players Reunion was held at the Sportsman’s Club in Murfreesboro with 62 registered in attendance and the first Class of The Hall of Fame Members were inducted. There were 5 members inducted in 1973 and continued until 2024 when the number was reduced to 3. The Association and Banquet continued every year with a very simple BBQ plate dinner with a modest $12 entry. That was just enough to break even at the time.
Throughout the years the Association continued with a hand full of Board Chairmen and a 10-person Board. Discussions were held for a few years on where the direction of the Association needed to grow. We needed to find ways to involve younger players and get them interested in what the Association was doing. The decision was made to revamp the Board by the Board members to allow newer bodies with newer ideas. In 2019 a new Board and Chairman took over the Association to continue the great work that the past Board’s and Chairman’s had done and to move the Association forward and make it even better than it had been.
In 2019 the decision was made to rename the Association and to pursue plans to become involved in programs to promote the game of Baseball and to provide opportunities to players that we have never done before. We began to make plans to offer Scholarships to Senior Baseball Players from each High School in the County that will not be receiving any type of Scholarship money to attend College. Also, the plans are to offer 1 or 2 training days to every young player participating in any of the local leagues in Rutherford County with local Trainers in the area for a few hours.
In 2021 the process began by renaming the Association to now be known as The Rutherford County Baseball Organization. Once we established our new name, we began the process of acquiring a 501c3 Non-Profit status to allow us to be able to receive donations, and Sponsors where we could provide a Tax Receipt to our Donors and Sponsors. In 2024 we received our final approval for our 501c3 Non-Profit, and we currently operate as such. Now established as a Non-Profit we can move forward with our plans to establish a Scholarship Program for Baseball Student Athletes. This also will allow us to partner with Sponsors and Donors for our Annual Hall of Fame Banquet Expenses.
Other changes we made in 2023, we have added a new Award called the Rutherford County Mr. Baseball Award. This award is basically a Lifetime Achievement Award. The first Recipient was Coach Jack Jolly for his many years dedicated to the game of baseball as a longtime Coach and as a Professional Baseball Scout. Upon receiving that award, it was renamed to The Jack Jolly Mr. Baseball Award. This is a very prestigious Award and has become the Highlight of the banquet. In 2024 we reduced the numbers of our Hall of Fame Induction Class from 5 down to 3. We wanted to make it more prestigious by being elected to the Hall of Fame and we also wanted to include some new awards for the year. We begin to recognize the Rutherford County Middle School Coach of The Year as well as The High School Coach of The Year. These awards are voted on by our Board. We also began to Honor all our All-State Players voted on by the TBCA (TN Baseball Coaches Association) along with any Tennessee Mr. Baseball Winner. Finally in 2024 we decided to expand our Board from 10 to 15 and hope to expand more in the future. Our Board is a Volunteer only and receive no compensation whatsoever. Board positions are 5-year terms with an opportunity to serve again at the end of their term. Our future and future opportunities for these well-deserving Ole Timers and Future Hall of Famers depends on Corporations, Businesses, and Individuals that can help financially. Rutherford County Baseball Organization is 1 of only 2 “Ole Timers” Organizations in Tennessee of only a handful in the Country. We would love you to be a part of us.