Ponce de Leon Ballpark, Home to the Atlanta Crackers
Introduction
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Images
Ponce de Leon Ballpark Before Fire
Ponce de Leon Ballpark After Fire
Backstory and Context
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Ponce de Leon Ballpark, originally named Spiller Park until 1932, in Atlanta, Georgia became the home of the minor league Atlanta Crackers starting on May 23, 1907. Considered one of the best minor league ballparks in the nation, Ponce de Leon Ballpark was created entirely of wood using $60,000. Unfortunately, the park was burned down in 1923, and the Crackers were forced to finish out the remainder of the season at Grant Field. With $250,000 provided by Rell Jackson Spiller, Ponce de Leon Ballpark was rebuilt using concrete and steel rather than wood. After its renovations, Ponce de Leon Ballpark was able to seat 20,000 fans and considered to be the best baseball field in the minor leagues. The ballpark remained the home of the Atlanta Crackers until 1965, and was torn down shortly after in 1966.
In addition to housing the Atlanta Crackers for over 50 years, Ponce de Leon Ballpark was also home to the Atlanta Black Crackers. From 1920 to 1937 and 1940 to 1952, the Atlanta Black Crackers used the field as they played in the Negro Southern League. Despite all the grandeur of the ballpark, made Ponce de Leon Ballpark standout was the fact that it had a magnolia tree standing in the outfield. Of all the baseball fields in history, Ponce de Leon Ballpark is the only one that had ground rules allowing a tree to be present in the outfield. In all its years, the only two people two ever hit a homerun into the tree were Babe Ruth and Eddie Matthews of the New York Yankees who were visiting on a barnstorm tour during the preseason.
Around Ponce de Leon Ballpark, a great deal of entertainment was available for the fans. Examples of this entertainment included a next door swimming pool, horse stables across the street. A restaurant that’s premier attraction was alligator wrestling, and gambling, which was legal so long as it was not under a roof. During games, gamblers would bet on a variety of things as they watch the game with local bookies. Once gambling during games became prohibited, gamblers began using finger signals to communicate as police actively searched for violators during games.
After the Crackers moved in 1965, Ponce de Leon Ballpark was torn down in 1966. However, the magnolia tree that made the ballpark unique was left standing and remains standing. Today, the area is now home to a shopping center.
