Jim Frost, knife magnate, travel ball organization founder, and longtime benefactor of the sport of softball in the state of Tennessee, passed away on Thursday.
Frost had recently endured a lengthy hospital stay, and passed away due to complications of COVID-19.
The home ballpark of the Chattanooga Mocs softball program bears Frost’s name, thanks to his support in the construction of the facility in the late 1990s. Chattanooga’s team website includes this note about Frost himself: “Frost has been involved with softball and baseball since his children began playing the sports and has coached in over 1,500 youth sporting events in his lifetime. When traveling with his teams and coaching around the country, Frost saw beautiful stadiums that benefited other communities, and he wanted the same for Chattanooga and the for the UTC softball program.”
Tennessee co-head coach Ralph Weekly released a statement on Twitter following the news of Frost’s death: “Karen and I are deeply saddened by the loss of our very close friend and a man universally recognized as ‘The Godfather of Fastpitch Softball in Tennessee.’ Jim was the founder of the highly successful Frost Falcons fastpitch organization. Through the Falcons he provided thousands of girls in Chattanooga the opportunity to play softball. He built Frost Stadium during our tenure at UTC to give the Lady Mocs a beautiful home, and he called it the ‘Stadium of 1000 Dreams’ for the many college scholarship opportunities it would provide the girls who played in his stadium. His passion and enthusiasm for helping people through softball were infectious. Because of Jim, Chattanooga became known throughout the nation as a softball hotbed. Jim has also been a strong supporter of Tennessee Softball during our 20-year tenure leading the Lady Vols, attending numerous games and helping build our indoor hitting facility. My heart hurts primarily, though, because Jim was my friend. A man I trusted and loved, a man I knew would drop everything to help me at anytime. I will miss you Jim, Rest in Peace.”
In addition to his support of and given to the sport of softball, Frost founded the Frost Cutlery company, and turned the business into a multi-million dollar empire that remains headquartered in Tennessee in the present day.
