Atlanta Braves tickets

The Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953, then to Atlanta in 1966. Each move saw the team increase attendance at first, followed by a decline as the novelty wore off. By the late eighties, despite the broadcast of games on the WTBS Superstation, the Braves were drawing poorly at home, the result of consistently bad play over a very long period of time. Bad trades, worse free-agent signings, and an unproductive farm system resulted in last-place finishes and were reflected in a tattered ballpark. The hiring of Bobby Cox, first as GM, then as field manager, reversed the team's fortunes. As the Braves climbed in the standings, so did their atten¬dance. Ballparks come alive only when filled with happy, excited fans.

Before it was demolished in 1997, replaced by Turner Field across the street, this ballpark was lumped together with the other so-called cookie-cutter stadiums built in the sixties and seventies: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cincinnati all played in multipurpose plastic-and-concrete bowls. The dif¬ference was that the Atlanta Braves played on natural grass. While minorities of infielders enjoy playing on artificial turf because of the predictable bounce of ground balls, most players much prefer playing on real grass. The vast majority of fans also like to see the game played on natural grass. Fortunately, all stadi¬ums currently under construction or in the planning stages will feature grass.

From the outside, Fulton County Stadium did look similar to all the other cookie cutters. Situated adjacent to Route 75, a mile or two from downtown Atlanta, it continued the trend started by Milwaukee in the fifties of building ballparks with suburban commuters in mind. Unlike Milwaukee County Sta¬dium, however, it was also built with the NFL in mind, which accounted for its circular sameness, the symmetrical dimensions, and an overly large feel. 

The improvement of the infield surface here coincided with the 1991 signing of first baseman Sid Bream and third baseman Terry Pendleton, tightening the Braves' defense and boosting the young pitching staff led by Tom Glavine and Steve Avery. It was around this time that the country became aware of the fans' notorious tomahawk-chop chant, repeated often, loudly, and for the most part without prompting from the PA system. Political correctness aside, it got the crowd excited and helped revive a moribund ballpark. In fact, the fans were so involved that they forgot to do the wave.

CHIPPER JONES "I think the first time I saw [a major-league ballpark] I was thirteen, up here in Atlanta, Fulton County Stadium. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.... [At my first game in the majors] I couldn't feel my legs, couldn't feel my arms. When I got a pinch hit appearance against the Cincinnati Reds, I was so excited I think if the guy had thrown one off the backstop, I would have swung at it. But I made contact: It was a swing¬ing bunt down the third-base line. I beat it out for a base hit. The only reason I probably beat it out was 'cause my adrenaline was pumping so hard."

BUCK SHOWALTER "The first [ball-park] I ever saw . . . in the big leagues was in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Couldn't imagine any place like that."

JOHN FRANCO "My first was Atlanta Fulton Sta¬dium . . . Compared to the Little League fields I played on, it was a blessing. Used to playing with big rocks, big holes, stuff like that, so nice clean green grass and nice clean stadiums-it was a blessing."

BILLY TAYLOR "My first memory of a major-league game was ... I'd say I was probably about eleven years old up in Atlanta, watching the Braves play the Dodgers [at] Fulton County Stadium, and that's back when they had Chief Nokohoma, and I got an autograph from Tommy Lasorda. I still have that baseball . . . That's the first major-league game I ever went to."

TODD GREENE "The first time I saw a big-league stadium was when I was about ten years old, when I went to the Braves stadium. I said, 'Wow!'"