ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
It is with irony that Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium's life ended Thursday night with a World Series game.
In its three decades, most of what happened there wasn't quite so upscale. Hey, Bob Uecker played there.
Like its shape, however, the stadium has come full-circle. The man who managed in the visitors' dugout Thursday night, Joe Torre, hit the first home run there - for the home team on April 12, 1966.
Like most old ballparks, the home of the Braves - and Falcons before they flew indoors - reeks of the smell of beers sold and spilled long ago. For years, that wasn't all that stunk at the intersection of three interstates in Georgia's capital city. However, it also was the place that brought big-league sports to the Deep South.
Although the Braves have played in four of the past five World Series, it took them a long time to get there after fleeing Milwaukee following the 1965 season. For most of their 30-year NFL existence, the Falcons have been mediocre at best.
Frank Sinatra never played Atlanta-Fulton County. Matt Sinatro did. However, thanks to cable TV, the circular stadium has become one of the national pastime's best-known ballparks. It was known as ``The Launching Pad'' because the ball left the yard like a Fido chasing a feline. The Braves' mostly woeful pitching may also have contributed.
Atlanta-Fulton County has had its moments, however, like the night of April 8, 1974, when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record with No.715. It was the home of a should-be Hall of Fame pitcher, 300-game winner Phil Niekro. It was where Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak was stopped in 1978.
It was where Fred McGriff homered in his first game with the Braves, the same night the pressbox caught fire. It was the home of two of the worst mascots in sports history, Chief Noc-A-Homa and Homer the Braves. Noc-A-Homa, by the way, was seen on the Metro during the Summer Olympics signing autographs.
Bad tradition dies hard.
Atlanta-Fulton County was a more friendly place than the other cookie-cutter stadiums of its era, perhaps because it never had artificial turf, one of this great nation's more insidious inventions. Of course, the field was also one of the most-ripped by those who played there, possibly because besides baseball and football, it was home to tractor pulls.
It was a place encircled several times by pitcher Pascual Perez, because he couldn't find the right interstate exit. It was a place where even Rafael Ramirez and Rufino Linares were cheered. It was a place where Ted Turner recently did the Macarena.
The Hokies and Wahoos should have fond memories of the stadium, too. Until last year's Sugar Bowl, Virginia Tech's most memorable football moment was Chris Kinzer's game-winning field goal that ended the 1986 Peach Bowl. Until Dec.31, 1984, Virginia never had played in a bowl game. That night, the Cavaliers beat Purdue in the Peach, previewing the success to come in the George Welsh years.
I liked Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. For years, it was a great place for real baseball fans, because there weren't many of those in Atlanta. You could buy good tickets. There were no concession lines. The parking was adequate enough. The place had a certain character, if not many characters. And once the Falcons and Peach Bowl moved into the Georgia Dome, it became more of a baseball park.
I was there the autumn 1992 night Francisco Cabrera became perhaps the most famous third-string catcher in baseball history, when his two-out, ninth-inning single brought Atlanta the National League pennant over Pittsburgh. I can still see Sid Bream sliding past Mike Lavalliere, and umpire Randy Marsh quickly waving his arms, palms down.
I saw Jimmy Carter high-fiving Turner. I saw Jane Fonda doing her latest exercise, the Tomahawk Chop. I saw a Summer Olympics there, and Cuba's Orestes Kindelan using his aluminum bat as a rocket launcher.
The Braves will move across the street to Ted Turner Field, nee the Olympic stadium of this summer, downsized for baseball. Sure, it should be named for Aaron, but maybe we shouldn't quibble. The Braves owner and broadcasting mogul could have named it something like CNNSI Park.
As for Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, they'll pave what wasn't a paradise, and put up a parking lot. Good or bad, there will be a lot of memories under that asphalt.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines KEYWORDS: BASEBALLby CNB