It was 1969 and slow pitch softball was starting to get a foothold in the American summer sports scene. Whether or not slow pitch would become popular was dependent among many people doing everything they could to boost slow pitch. Frank Bradley more than did his part to help slow pitch become popular, at least in Blount County Tennessee. As the parks and recreation director, Bradley decided to hold a men’s tournament in Maryville, TN and call it the Smoky Mountain Classic.

Originally, it was regional in scope. The first Smoky was held in 1969 and Knoxville teams won the first couple of years. But in 1974, Howard’s Furniture of Denver, NC, one of the most successful men’s teams in slow pitch history, entered the Classic. “After they (Howard’s) entered, it (the Smoky) took off,” said Joe Huff, the Blount County –Maryville – Alcoa Parks and Recreation director and the tourney director of the Smoky for more than two decades.

Howard’s won the Classic four times (1974, 1976, 1977 and 1981) and each year more and more of the top teams penciled the Smoky in on their schedule. Besides getting the best men’s Super and Major slow pitch teams, the Smoky got the support of the local community and the financial backing of major sporting goods manufacturers, including Bike, Worth, Louisville Slugger, plus the local newspaper, The Knoxville NEWS-SENTINEL, helps sponsor the event and does an outstanding job in covering the Smoky.

Although there isn’t a lot of bleacher seating, the natural setting and the down-home atmosphere that has been created through the years makes this event the premier slow pitch invitational in the U.S.

“People enjoy coming to the Smoky,” said Huff. “They bring their blankets and lawn chairs. We’ve had as many as seven or eight thousand. (24,500 people in 1991). We even have face painting for the kids. It’s a country fair atmosphere.”

Source: The Inside Pitch - Vol. 7, No. 6 June 2004 www.ASAsoftball.com

Comparable to football’s Super Bowl, basketball’s Final Four, and baseball’s World Series, the Smoky Mountain Classic is the premiere event of its sport…slow pitch softball. Sponsored by Louisville Slugger and the Knoxville News Sentinel, the 40th Annual Smoky Mountain Classic promises to be the best ever.

The Smoky Mountain Classic combines the elements of the finest quality competition with the support of large enthusiastic crowds. It is played in a friendly, hospitable, down-home country fair atmosphere at the doorstep of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The nation’s top teams are showcased at their best as they play for some of the most prestigious awards in the game.

Maryville, Alcoa, Blount County Tennessee
Parks & Recreation Commission