Joel and Debbie Huffstetler look out over the field at Engel Stadium during the first annual reunion of the Knothole Gang.Known as the “Barnum of the Bushes” for his popular promotions and outlandish stunts,
Joe Engel gave a lot to fans and baseball.
But his greatest gift to Chattanooga may have been his Knothole Gang.
The Gang actually started before Engel’s arrival as president of the Chattanooga Lookouts in 1930, but he expanded the number of participants to the extent that most boys growing up in Chattanooga in the ’40s and ’50s still cherish fond memories of playing Knothole baseball.
If, like me, you are male and grew up in Hamilton County 50 years ago, you spent many afternoons after school participating in a YMCA-sponsored activity, then devoted your lazy summer afternoons to playing or practicing Knothole baseball.