Sac Fly: Atlanta Crackers

Tuesday night Frank Clark led a discussion on the Atlanta Crackers. He is the co-founder and curator of the Bell Research Center, located in the old pool hall building near the downtown square, between the old Sinclair filling station and the Dairy Queen (which I learned has also stood for decades).

Atlanta’s first baseball game was played in 1866, just one and a half years after General Sherman passed through on his march to Savannah. More of a northern pastime, Union soldiers played the game during breaks in the fighting. Atlanta was younger than Richmond, Charleston, and Savannah. A tarp would be thrown over a bombed out building and a business would open. Tom Burnett, the owner of an ice house in underground Atlanta financed the first team. They later disbanded after getting beat by a newer team, the Gate City Nine. Like Terminus, Gate City was another name for the young community.

In those days new teams would blossom, beat several other teams, then fall victim to newer, stronger teams – then disband. Teams drew players from the local colleges. In 1872 the new Atlanta Orioles did well then faded, losing to A team from Rome, financed by Henry W Grady. The newspaperman had recruited ringers from New York. After moving to Atlanta, Grady became instrumental in the development of baseball in the city. Using the telegraph and wire services, Grady was able to print the box scores from road games in the paper. Atlanta Constitution editor Evan P Howell balked at the high costs, but Grady’s road box scores remained in the paper.

The Southern League was formed in 1884, three years before the National League. Grady was named president. It was the first minor league to play a one hundred game season, but sometimes the owners weren’t able to pay the bills, and the teams would fold before the end of the season, sometimes disappearing for an entire season or more.

In 1904 the Crackers were formed. Back then newspapers called teams pretty much whatever they wanted, coining names that often stuck. Clark said that the colored team took on the name Crackers because of the team’s success. Paul Crater from the Atlanta History Center, author of the book Baseball in Atlanta, said it was a common practice throughout the south for negro teams to take on the name of the city’s white team. Later Clark added that the Boston Braves were not named for Indian warriors, but rather after the participants of the Boston Tea Party.

By 1906 the Georgia railroad had invested in the Crackers. The team bought land owned by the railroad. The plot included a man-made pond, which was filled in to make the field. The remaining bowl of the lake formed the hill in the outfield. Called Spillers Park, the stadium was built from wood, For opening day 1907 the new park drew eight thousand. The Crackers won two championships right out of the gate. The stadium burned down in 1923, and a new state of the art ballpark was built from steel and concrete.

Like many ballparks of the day, Spillers Park had unique dimensions to squeeze into the place it was built. The left field fence was a distant 365 feet from home plate, with bleachers that became the section for blacks. The rightfield fence was a cozier 321 feet from the plate, beyond which the train tracks ran. Sometimes trains would stop and the engineers would watch the game.

In centerfield stood the most distinctive feature: a magnolia tree on the hill, a distant 462 feet from the plate. The magnolia dated back to 1860, and still stands to this day, with a historic marker at its base. A ball that hit the tree was still in play. Kudzu grew on the hill, and it was a sight to see an outfielder rooting around trying to find the ball. Legend has it that only two players hit a ball into the magnolia: Babe Ruth and Eddie Mathews.

Hugh McMillen’s mother remembered seeing the barnstorming Babe Ruth coach first base at Ponce de Leon Park in 1944, when she was around six years old. She said the field wasn’t well groomed, like a cow pasture. Hugh’s uncle ran a car dealership just down the street from the park. McMillen attended UGA in 1974-1976. He’d eat at the Snelling Hall cafeteria and befriended the son of Eddie Mathews. Hugh loved young Mathews’ fancy bicycle.

For years gambling was a favorite pastime at games. The city had a law forbidding wagering under a roof, so the bets were placed down the left field baseline. In addition to betting on the game, for more action bets were placed on the outcome of an at bat, or whether the pitch would be a ball or strike. This went on into the 50’s and 60’s. Laws were changed to completely outlaw betting, so bets were places using a system of hand signals.

Former Georgia Bulldog All-American Charlie Trippi played for the Crackers in 1947, hitting .334 and helping draw large crowds. Trippi went on to lead the NFL in all-purpose yards in 1948 and 1949. Today he’s the oldest living hall of famer, still residing in Athens.

After spring training in 1949 the Brooklyn Dodgers stopped in Atlanta for a three game exhibition series with the Crackers. Roy Campanella and especially Jackie Robinson helped draw sellout crowds. Poncey held 14000 fans with standing room for five thousand more. Attendance for the third game was 25000.

In 1951 eighteen year-old Eddie Mathews hit 38 home runs for the Crackers. Clark told the story of how a Crackers pitcher was thrown out of a game after hitting an opposing batter. Two thugs followed the pitcher into the dugout. Mathews called time and raced to his teammate’s defense. “Can I help you guys?” raged Eddie. After diffusing the situation Mathews trotted back to his position and called time in. Eddie went on to team with Hank Aaron for 1267 home runs, the most ever for teammates – sixty more than Ruth and Gehrig.

Tim Valentine shared his father’s memorabilia. Corky Valentine had been a pitcher for the Reds and Crackers. After baseball he became an Atlanta policeman. His wife’s family helped found the city of Roswell.

Tim passed around Corky’s 1956 Southern Association championship ring, along with cufflinks given by the Braves at the 1969 Old Timer’s Game.

Documents included a Puerto Rican ID card from 1953, his Reds baseball card, a pay stub from 1959, his release in 1960, and the 1969 invitation to the old-timers game.

Hank Aaron claimed Valentine was one of the meanest pitcher’s he’d ever faced. After spending the 1953 season in Jacksonville, Aaron would have become the first black player in the Southern Association as a Cracker in 1954. But when Bobby Thompson broke his ankle, Milwaukee called Hank up to the majors. Instead former Kansas City Monarch catcher Nat Peeples became that groundbreaker. In KC Peoples was Satchel Paige’s catcher. Later Tommie Aaron joined the Crackers.

Earl Mann once traded Crackers announcer Ernie Harwell to the Detroit Tigers. Harwell would go on to have a Hall of Fame career calling games in Tiger Stadium. When Mann passed away in 1990 his ashes were sprinkled at the base of the old magnolia tree.

In 1962 the Crackers were the Cardinals AAA affiliate. Tim McCarver and Mike Shannon were on the team. Other former Crackers included Leo Durocher, Chuck Tanner, Frank Torre. Ralph Country Brown was from Summerville Georgia. Bob Montag set the Southern Association career home run record (113). His inability to catch fly balls kept Montag out of the major leagues.

Hot Stove founder Johnny Tallant brought along a bunch of his Atlanta Crackers memorabilia from his basement museum. These included Crackers team photos, a 1965 game program, an old metal Crackers license plate, and a team autographed bat from a 2004 Crackers reunion. I spied Frank Torre’s signature.

Johnny had photos and the program from the Braves 1969 Old Timers Game, which pitted the Crackers versus a who’s who of former major league players.

Crackers: Paul Richards, Whitlow Wyatt, Dixie Walker, Frank Torre, Poochie Hartsfield, Eddie Mathews, Buck Riddle, Trippi, Country Brown, and Montag.

Major Leaguers: Bill Terry, Luke Appling, Spud Chandler, Bob Turley, Ernie Johnson, Hugh Radcliff, Joe Black, Ernie Shore, Harry Walker, Jim Greengrass, Chico Renfro, and Joe Engle.

At another old timers game Luke Appling hit a home run off Warren Spahn. The pitcher held it against him the rest of their lives. Appling lived off Pilgrim Mill Road on Lake Lanier, next door to Phil Niekro. Luke McMillen said he ate lunch several days a week with Appling at the Mill House Restaurant. The former Cracker told McMillen he ought to come by the house sometime. Later McMillen looked up Appling’s number in the phone book and called him up, asking if he could come over. Appling said to come on over right then. After he passed away Appling was buried in Forsyth County. Ernie Johnson Sr, another former Cracker, also lived in Forsyth County in the Polo Fields. Ernie attended the funeral of Appling’s wife.

As a youngster born in 1959, I don’t remember attending a game at Ponce de Leon Park, so this was quite an educational experience for me. My dad took me to Peaches games in my hometown of Macon, and later Braves games in Atlanta. As my habit, I took notes and cobbled together this recap.

The next night I would attend a similar Q&A on Atlanta and the Negro Leagues in downtown Atlanta. Click here to read that recap.