- Sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
Sports in Georgia include professional teams in all major sports,
Olympic Games contenders and medalists, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations, and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Georgia has a team in all four major professional leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL).Professional sports
Baseball
The
Atlanta Braves are aMajor League Baseball (MLB) team that moved to Atlanta in 1966 from Milwaukee where they were known as the Milwaukee Braves. [ [http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/history/timeline3.jsp Braves Time line] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ] The Braves have played their home games atTurner Field in Atlanta since 1997; prior to that they played atAtlanta-Fulton County Stadium . They won theWorld Series in 1914 (as the Boston Braves), 1957 (as the Milwaukee Braves), and 1995 (as the Atlanta Braves). Braves players in theBaseball Hall of Fame includeHank Aaron ,Warren Spahn ,Orlando Cepeda ,Eddie Matthews ,Phil Niekro ,Gaylord Perry ,Bruce Sutter andHoyt Wilhelm .The AAA minor league baseball Gwinnett Braves of the
International League will begin play north of Lawrenceville inGwinnett County Ballpark in 2009.The
Rome Braves , previously known as the Macon Braves are a Class-A minor league affiliate of theAtlanta Braves . In 2003, the team moved from Macon, Georgia toRome, Georgia . Their home games are played atState Mutual Stadium , which openedApril 11 ,2003 . The stadium seats 5,105 and features a lawn seating area known as "Applebee's Home Run Hill."Current Atlanta Braves include
Kyle Davies (traded to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Octavio Dotel),Jeff Francoeur , Brian McCann, andBlaine Boyer , who were all Rome Braves in 2003. The team recently announced the 2006 manager will beRandy Ingle , as former managerRocket Wheeler moves to the other Class-A farm team for the Atlanta Braves, theMyrtle Beach Pelicans .Basketball
The Atlanta Hawks are a
National Basketball Association (NBA) team founded in 1949 and play their home games atPhilips Arena in Atlanta. The Hawks have won one Championship, four Conference titles and fourteen Division titles. Notable current and former Hawks includeWalt Bellamy ,Cliff Hagan ,Connie Hawkins ,Bob Houbregs ,Moses Malone ,Pete Maravich ,Ed Macauley ,Bob Pettit ,Lenny Wilkins andDominique Wilkins . [ [http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/00400483.html Hawks History] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ]The American Basketball Association and the
World Basketball Association are also represented in Georgia. In the case of the former, Georgia has three teams: theAtlanta Vision [ [http://www.usbasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=USA&Team=6279 Atlanta Vision] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ] ,theRome Legions [ [http://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/?t_id=2017 Roman Legions] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ] , and theGeorgia Gwizzlies [ [http://www.usbasket.com/team.asp?Cntry=USA&Team=6903] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ] . The latter association teams are theGeorgia Warriors , theMarietta Storm and theRome Gladiators . [ [http://houstonsportsteams.com/spalm/wba.html WBA Team History] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ]Atlanta has been granted an expanion team by the
Women's National Basketball Association . The team is named theAtlanta Dream . They play their home games atPhilips Arena . The colors are white, sky blue, red. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=3066469 Report: WNBA awards Atlanta franchise for '08 season] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ]Football
The
Atlanta Falcons are aNational Football League (NFL) team founded as anexpansion team in 1966. [ [http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/atlanta/falcons.html Historical Moments] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ] They have played their home games at theGeorgia Dome in Atlanta since 1992; prior to playing at the Georgia Dome they played at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium from 1966-1991. The Falcons have won threeDivision Championship s in 1980, 1998 and 2004 and one Conference Championship in1998 . Notable current and former players includeEric Dickerson ,Tommy McDonald , William Andrews,Jeff Van Note ,Jessie Tuggle ,Mike Kenn ,Marion Campbell ,Dan Reeves ,Greg Brezina ,Ray Buchanan ,Buddy Curry ,T.J. Duckett ,Bill Fralic ,Wallace Francis and theBill Goldberg .Georgia is also home to several
arena football teams. TheGeorgia Force , founded in 2002, is anArena Football League (AFL) team based out ofDuluth, Georgia . [ [http://www.georgiaforce.com/ Georgia Force Football] , Accessed January , 2008 ] Two teams were founded in 2006. They are theAtlanta Thoroughbreds , aNational Indoor Football League (NIFL) team and theAugusta Colts , anAmerican Indoor Football League team (except for the 2007 season when they were part of theWorld Indoor Football League (WIFL). The last Georgia team to be founded was theColumbus Lions in 2007. The Lions were founded as a WIFL team, but have since joined theAmerican Indoor Football Association (AIFA). [ [http://columbuslions.net/ The Official Website of the Columbus Lions] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ]The
Atlanta Xplosion are aWomen's Professional Football League team. They have recently won the league's 2006 Championship. [ [http://www.pba.org/programming/programs/thisisatlanta/xplosion/ Atlanta Xplosion] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ]Hockey
Hockey's history in Georgia goes back to the 1970s with the
Atlanta Flames , who played in the state until 1980 when they were relocated to Calgary,Alberta . It was not until October 2, 1999 that hockey formally returned with theAtlanta Thrashers ' first game against New Jersey. [ [http://thrashers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=14045 History] , Accessed December 31, 2007 ] They play their home games at thePhilips Arena in Atlanta. The Thrashers have yet to appear in theStanley Cup Finals .The
ECHL currently has two teams located in Georgia. TheAugusta Lynx was the first to be founded in 1998 and play at theJames Brown Arena . The second team was theGwinnett Gladiators , founded in 2000; the Gladiators play at theArena at Gwinnett Center .The
Columbus Cottonmouths is currently the only team in Georgia that is part of theSouthern Professional Hockey League . The team was founded in 1996. [ [http://www.cottonmouths.com/ Columbus Cottonmouths Official Website] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ]occer
The
Atlanta Silverbacks are anUSL First Division team founded in 1999. TheAtlanta Silverbacks U23's are part of theUSL Premier Development League associated with the Atlanta Silverbacks and the Atlanta Silverbacks Women are the Silverback'sW-League team. the Silverbacks play at theRE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium . [ [http://www.atlantasilverbacks.com/ Atlanta Silverbacks Official Site] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ]Augusta FireBall United, also known as
Augusta FireBall , were an American soccer team that was founded in 2005. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of theAmerican Soccer Pyramid , until 2006, when the team left the league and the franchise was terminated. They played their home games at at Patriots Park inAugusta, Georgia .Golf
The
Masters Tournament , played inAugusta, Georgia atAugusta National Golf Club in April is one of four major golf tournaments played in the United States. The tournament was created in 1931 by Bobby Jones andClifford Roberts , a financier fromNew York . The course was designed by golf course architectAlister MacKenzie . [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-740 Masters Tournament] , Accessed January 2, 2008 ] Notable golfers from Georgia include Atlantan Bobby Jones, noted as the greatest amateur golfer ever, [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-468 Bobby Jones] , Accessed January 2, 2008 ]Davis Love III ofSea Island [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2789 Davis Love III] , Accessed January 2, 2008 ] andTommy Aaron ofGainesville, Georgia . [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2020 Tommy Aaron] , Accessed January 2, 2008]Table of professional teams
Motorsports
Georgia is home to approximately twenty-two race tracks divided into racing speedways and drag strips. Some of the twenty-two tracks in Georgia are the
Atlanta Motor Speedway ,Atlanta Dragway ,Dixie Speedway andRoebling Road Raceway . [ [http://www.mphmotorsports.com/state%20ga.htm Race Tracks in Georgia] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ] One of the most famous racers to come from Georgia isBill Elliott [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2055 Bill Elliott] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ] .NASCAR
Many observers consider Dawsonville one of the birthplaces of NASCAR because so many individuals involved in the sport were from that city. Notable racers from Dawsonville include,
Bill Elliott , Roy Hall andLloyd Seay . [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2054&hl=y NASCAR] , Accessed January 2, 2008 ] . Since 1951 Georgia tracks have hosted two to eight races in NASCAR's elite division. Dawsonville is home to theGeorgia Racing Hall of Fame .College
The state of Georgia has twenty-eight schools competing in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and ten schools in the NAIA.Division I
The Univerisity of Georgia's
Georgia Bulldogs compete inNCAA Division I as members of theSoutheastern Conference . The Bulldogs have won 31 total national collegiate championships over the years. [ [http://www.ticketnest.com/sports-tickets/Georgia-Bulldogs/index.php Georgia Bulldogs TicketNest] , Accessed January 1, 2008 ] . They have also won 127 Southeastern Conference Championships. There are seven other Division I institutions besides the University of Georgia. They are:*
Georgia Southern University
*Georgia State University
*Georgia Institute of Technology
*Kennesaw State University
*Mercer University
*Savannah State University Division II
Valdosta State University's Blazers compete in NCAA Division II as members of the
Gulf South Conference . [ [http://www.vstateblazers.com/ Valdosta Blazers Official Website] , Accessed January 4, 2008 ] The Blazers have won four total national collegiate championships, two in football in 2004 and 2007, one in baseball in 1979 and one in tennis in 2006. There are thirteen other Division II institutions besides the University of Valdosta. They are:*
Albany State University
*Armstrong Atlantic State University
*Augusta State University
*Clark Atlanta University
*Clayton State University
*Columbus State University
*Fort Valley State University
*Georgia College and State University
*Georgia Southwestern State University
*Morehouse College
*North Georgia College and State University
*Paine College
*University of West Georgia Division III
LaGrange College is in the NCAA Division III with 14 sports, and competes as a member of the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference . The school's most successful athletic program is its men's golf team, which is perennially among the nation's best.Georgia has seven other institutions in Division III. They are:
*
Agnes Scott College
*Emory University
*LaGrange College
*Oglethorpe University
*Piedmont College
*Spelman College
*Wesleyan College 1996 Summer Olympics
Atlanta was the site of the
1996 Summer Olympics and the1996 Summer Paralympics . The Olympics were held from July 19 until August 4, 1996. [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2042 Olympic Games in 1996] , Accessed January 5, 2008 ] It was during this time, on July 27, 1996, that a bombing took place in Centennial Park killing two and injuring 111 people. [ [http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM24K3 Centennial Olympic Park Bombing - Atlanta, Georgia] , Accessed January 5, 2008 ] The Paralympics were held from August 15 to August 29, 2006.Olympians from Georgia
Several people from Georgia, or from Georgia schools, have received gold medals at the Olympics over the years. Some of those gold medalists are:
*
Brent B. Abernathy
*Alice Marie Coachman
*Teresa Edwards
*Debbie Ferguson
*Vern Fleming
*Katrina McClain
*Courtney Shealy
*Sheila Taormina
*Forrest Towns [ [http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&KEY=&ATCLID=324025 Georgia Olympians] , Accessed January 5, 2008 ] [ [http://gagames.kennesaw.edu/olympians_from_ga.htm Olympians from GA] , Accessed January 5, 2008 ]References
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