From ballpark to truck dealership: A look at Tri-state Truck Center in Memphis

Recently, Mack Trucks took journalists on a three-day trip from Asheville, NC, to New Orleans in the company’s new Anthem models. The route included some stops at Tri-state Truck Center dealerships in Memphis, TN, and Jackson, MS. The Mack dealerships are part of the fourth-generation family’s chain of 11 locations across four states.

Founded in 1945 by F.A. Maddox Sr., the company is now run by Rod and Jim Maddox with Will, Jim and Paul Maddox involved in the operations as the fourth generation. The dealership group includes 9 full-service branches and 2 leasing locations and employs over 360 employees.

The Memphis location is a Mack Certified Uptime center and features some of the cleanest service bays you will find in any dealership. It features a store, parts department, a hallway of history that features plagues and newspaper articles about the company and some of its customers. The Maddox family had a history of big game hunting years ago and the main entrance features some of the earlier generations’ trophies.

Perhaps most interesting is the location of the Memphis dealership, which was built on the site of famous Martin Stadium at 494 E.H. Crump Blvd in Memphis. Martin’s Stadium was home to the Memphis Red Sox, a Negro League baseball team owned by brothers J.B. and B.B. Martin. It was the only Negro League team whose owners also owned the stadium. The Martins owned the team, which saw several famous players grace the field over the years, including Satchel Paige, James “Cool Papa” Bell, Willy Wells, and Turkey Stearns – all of whom ended up in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY – until 1960 when the team was disbanded. In 1961, the Maddox family acquired the stadium site (the stadium was torn down in 1961) for the new Tri-state Truck Center.