Dr. William E. Hardy (left) receives the McClung Award from Dr. Warren Dockter (right), East Tennessee Historical Society Pres. & CEO.
Recently, the A.L. Center's Executive Director, William E. Hardy, received the East Tennessee Historical Society's annual McClung Award, which is awarded annually by the prestigious regional historical institution to the author of the article judged by the Journal of East Tennessee History's (JETH) Editorial Advisory Board to be the best of those printed in each volume of the JETH. Dr. Hardy's article, "'A Perfect Mania': The Origins of Base Ball in Knoxville, Tennessee," reconstructs the details of the first 19th century amateur base ball clubs and games, the reasons for the growth of the sport, and how these amateur clubs quickly developed into professional leagues. To be eligible for the McClung Award, which are awarded in the memory of Calvin McClung and Barbara Adair McClung (deceased, founders of a notable collection of Tennessee and southern history held at the Lawson McGhee Library, Knoxville), the published article must relate to some phase of the history of Tennessee and must cite original, primary sources.