Ponce de Leon Park

Ponce de Leon Park

Ponce de Leon Park, also known as Spiller Park or Spiller Field during 1924-1932, was the primary home field for the minor league baseball team called the Atlanta Crackers for nearly six decades. The Crackers played here in the Southern Association (1907-1959) and the International League (1962-64).

The ballpark was at 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue, which was to the park's north along its first base side. To the west behind third base was North Avenue. Up the slope to the east and northeast behind the outfield was a set of railroad tracks once belonging to the Southern Railway.

The original ballpark on the site opened in 1907. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1923. It was rebuilt in 1924 and was named for club owner Tell J. Spiller. It reverted to its original name in 1933. The seating capacity of the park was about 20,000.

The park was known for a magnolia tree in deep centerfield. Balls landing in the tree remained in play, until Earl Mann took over the team in 1947 and had the outfield wall moved in about fifty feet [ [http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/0403/25tree.html Tree stands as link to city's baseball roots] , an April 25, 2003 article from "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"] . During exhibition games, Babe Ruth and Eddie Mathews both hit home runs that became stuck in the distant tree.

After the Crackers moved to Atlanta Stadium in 1965, Ponce de Leon Park was demolished in favor of a shopping center. The famous magnolia tree is still standing at the edge of the shopping center.

The ballpark's name, like the street that ran beside it, is pronounced the anglicized way, "Pahns duh LEE-ahn", by native Atlantans, instead of the Spanish pronunciation, "Pahn-say day lay-OHN".

References


*"Ballparks of North America", by Michael Benson, McFarland Press, 1989.
*"Ernie Harwell's Audio Scrapbook", by Ernie Harwell and Bob Harris, AudioBook Publications, 2006.

External links

* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/SportsRecreation/IndividualandTeamSports/Baseball&id=h-2475 Georgia Encyclopedia]
*Sarah Toton, " [http://www.southernspaces.org/contents/2008/toton/1a.htm Vale of Amusements: Modernity, Technology, and Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Park, 1870-1920] " "Southern Spaces", 15 January 2008.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ponce de Leon Inlet Light — The Mosquito Inlet Light, later known as the Ponce De Leon Inlet Light Location 4931 South Peninsula Dr Ponce de Leon Inlet Ponce Inlet, Florida South of Daytona Year first constructed 1835 Year first lit 1887 (current structure) …   Wikipedia

  • Ponce De Leon Cup — Copa Ponce de León City or region Florida Puerto Rico First contested 2006 Teams involved Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Puerto Rico Islanders, FC Tampa Bay Most wins …   Wikipedia

  • Ponce de Leon Heights (Decatur) — Ponce de Leon Heights is a historic neighborhood in the west section of the Atlanta, Georgia suburb of Decatur. It includes single family residences and a church, primarily built in the early 1900’s. The neighborhood is located between Scott Blvd …   Wikipedia

  • Ponce de Leon Bay — is a bay on the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern Florida in the United States. The bay is located in Monroe County at the northwestern end of Cape Sable in the Everglades National Park. Ponce de Leon Bay leads into Oyster Bay to the east, then into …   Wikipedia

  • Ponce de Leon Springs State Park — Parc d État de Ponce de Leon Springs Ponce de Leon Springs État  Floride …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ponce de Leon Inlet Light — 29° 04′ 49″ N 80° 55′ 41″ W / 29.08027778, 80.92805556 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ponce de Leon Springs State Park — Infobox protected area | name =  Ponce de Leon Springs State Park iucn category = V caption = locator x = 200 locator y = 138 location = Holmes County, Florida, USA nearest city = DeFuniak Springs, Florida lat degrees = 30 lat minutes = 42 lat… …   Wikipedia

  • Ponce de León Hotel — Infobox nrhp name = Ponce de León Hotel nrhp type = nhl fl caption = Flagler College, formerly the Ponce de León Hotel location = St. Augustine, Florida, USA lat degrees = lat minutes = lat seconds = lat direction = N long degrees = long minutes …   Wikipedia

  • Ponce de León Hotel — 29° 53′ 32″ N 81° 18′ 54″ W / 29.89222222, 81.315 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ponce City Market — is a historic building in Atlanta, located where the BeltLine crosses Ponce de Leon Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward where that neighborhood touches the Virginia Highland, Poncey Highland and Midtown neighborhoods. The 2,100,000 square foot (200,000 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”