With spring training baseball in full swing, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library’s Special Collections has published a new digital collection documenting the early history of the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team.
Titled “Sandy Sandlin Chattanooga Lookouts Photographs,” the collection contains photographs, memorabilia, papers, newspaper clippings and other materials documenting the Lookouts from 1912 to 1987 – with the bulk dating from the 1930s to the 1960s.
The digitized black-and-white photographs are available through UTC Digital Collections, offering free access to researchers, baseball enthusiasts and the general public.
Materials within the collection were created or gathered by Davis “Sandy” Sandlin, who served as the athletic trainer for the University of Chattanooga and UTC for nearly 40 years before retiring in 1976. During the summer months from 1938 to 1965, he worked with the Lookouts as the team’s lead athletic trainer and traveling secretary.
According to UTC manuscripts archivist Molly Copeland, the photographs in the collection highlight both the professional and personal connections that Sandlin – who died in 1979 – developed during his time with the Lookouts.
“The collection includes a lot of minor league players who maybe played for only a couple of years or were with the Lookouts for only a season or two,” Copeland says. “It’s an intimate look at those players who otherwise aren’t historical figures.
“At the same time, the collection features notable names like Bobo Newsom and Rogers Hornsby, capturing a fascinating moment in minor league baseball.”
Newsom pitched professionally from 1929 to 1953 – including 20 seasons in the majors. Known for his eccentric personality, he spent the 1950 and 1951 seasons in Chattanooga trying to work his way back to the big leagues.
Hornsby was a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and served as a player and manager during his time with the Lookouts in 1938. Another Baseball Hall of Famer, Kiki Cuyler, managed the team in 1939.
Sandlin’s dual role with the Lookouts and the university adds another layer of historical connection. Among the photographs is a notable image featuring Scrappy Moore – the legendary Mocs football coach who also spent the 1944 season as the Lookouts’ manager.
“There’s a wonderful overlap between the university and the Lookouts captured in this collection,” Copeland says. “These connections deepen our understanding of how sports have shaped both Chattanooga and the university’s identity.”
Eleanor Sandlin donated the photographs to the Chattanooga History Center in 1987. UTC acquired the collection in 2017 following the closure of the center.
Copeland said the photographs offer more than a record of the Lookouts’ players and Engel Stadium, as “they provide insight into one of Chattanooga’s most iconic institutions and its role in the community.”
“For anyone interested in Chattanooga’s baseball history, there’s a lot to enjoy,” she says.