J.R. Heath DuPont High School sports scrapbooks, 1943-1965
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Arrangement: chronological

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Two scrapbooks compiled by sports fan J.R. Heath, featuring news clippings, some photographs, and a few programs or other ephemera related to boys high school football and basketball teams at DuPont High School. Materials are compiled in two volumes. Volume 1 spans the time frame of 1943-1953; volume 2 runs 1953-1965. Basketball games were of special interest to Heath, as he frequently compiled box scores for every season, showing number of points scored by each player during each game, something he did not do for most football games. The DuPont Bulldogs made frequent post-season appearances in various basketball tournaments, including winning the 1952 Nashville Interscholastic League championship, and taking the state championship in 1953. The football team played in the "Clinic Bowl" in 1953 at Thanksgiving, benefiting the Vanderbilt physical therapy clinic, and the basketball team played in the "Polio Game" of 1954, to benefit the March of Dimes. Frequent opponents of the Bulldogs are Montgomery Bell Academy; Isaac Litton High School; Hillsboro High School; and Donelson High School. Occasionally, the DuPont players' parents may be mentioned, including their work at one of the DuPont plants. A few items document football or basketball homecoming games, including such activities as selection of a homecoming queen. Girls sports are seldom mentioned, although they may appear occasionally in articles about the boys teams. Some of the coaches appearing in these pages are: Bob Rives; Doyle K. "Froggy" Smith; and Dave Adamson. Basketball standout Earl "Sonny" Russ Jr. is also well documented, among numerous other players. Articles from the Banner and Tennessean newspapers were written by reporters such as Red O'Donnell, Edgar Allen, and Tommy Thompson.

Cite as: J.R. Heath DuPont High School sports scrapbook, [volume number and year if applicable], Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to these materials.

No photocopies due to fragile nature of materials.

Old Hickory Branch library;,Transfer;,2018.,Acc. 2018.006

Related Materials: A number of other personal and club scrapbooks and DuPont corporate magazines were also transferred from the Old Hickory Branch to the Special Collections Division at the same time in 2018.

Jewel Raymond (Romelen) Heath, or J.R. as he was known, was born in 1931, the son of Hubert L. and Jeanie Heath. Many of his family worked at the DuPont rayon plant. Around 1952, he was credited as being DuPont High School's "Number One Fan," having attended from age 14 to age 21 all but three basketball games, and all but four football games. He enthusiastically documented these sports in his two scrapbooks which he proudly entitled: "DuPont's Cavalcade of Sports." He served in the Navy in the early 1970s, and died in 2003.

In English.

Transferred from Old Hickory Branch of the Nashville Public Library to Special Collections Division in fall 2018. Unknown provenance prior to custody of Old Hickory Branch.

catalog;,2024;,Linda Barnickel

No further accruals are expected