Sportopia Local Organization of the Week: GoGirlGo!

Over the last five years, the Atlanta chapter of the Women’s Sports Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in grants, including a sizeable donation to 23 local charities last week. Operating in the state of Georgia, where research shows only about one quarter of female high school students attend physical education classes, the group encourages girls and young women to engage in physical activity and sports in order to lead active and healthier lives. One example is 2009 recipient Sporty Girls, which, because of  GoGirlGo! Atlanta, will be able to send 40 girls between the ages of 10 and 16 to Camp Elite for one-on-one training in golf, soccer, tennis and swimming. You go, girls!

By Hunt Archbold

A little buzzed and leaning up against a chain-link fence on a comfortable evening not too many Saturdays ago, I found myself transfixed by the beautiful and monstrous magnolia tree that was once the signature feature of famed Ponce de Leon Ballpark. Once home to the Atlanta Crackers, also known as the “Yankees of the Minors,” the stadium at 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue was the stage for a generation of sporting and musical events both small and historic.

And as our city changed in so many ways during the first half of the 20th century, this Southern magnolia grew and grew, upwards of 80 feet, with large, shiny green leaves and white, sweet-smelling flowers that seem to give off the aroma of countless stories waiting to be told, if only one would listen.

Waiting for more than an hour for a friend who would never show gave me plenty of time enjoy a moment of quiet and appreciate an Atlanta icon. And other folks must feel the same way about the tree because, well, it’s still here now, almost 45 years since the park (1907-66) was torn down.

It towers at the back of an outdoor shopping mall anchored by a Home Depot and Whole Foods, and there’s a plaque near the base that recognizes the efforts of those who brought the “tradition of baseball championship and athletic excellence” to the city of Atlanta. Make no mistake: Baseball has been big in Atlanta for a long time—since the late 19th century, in fact, with substantial local business money helping to keep it going through the Depression.

One wonders what happened to that title-winning tradition, as the Braves, with their $80 million payroll, sputter toward what looks to be a fourth consecutive playoff-free finish. Atlanta’s professional ball club could again be referred to as the “Yankees of the Minors,” although (to the relief of the marketing department), major-league sellouts are expected as the real Yankees come to town this week (June 23-25).

Local crowds packing the stands to catch a glimpse of the Yankees is nothing new. Ponce de Leon Ballpark was filled for a barnstorming New York team that reportedly featured Babe Ruth walloping a 450-foot home run that got stuck in the far-reaching branches of the magnolia tree.

How must have that felt, tree? They say you’ve been here since the beginning, when they filled in a lake to make a ball field. Seventeen league championships the Crackers won under your watch, more than any other team in organized baseball during their existence—save for the Yankees.

Hall of Fame inductees Luke Appling and Eddie Matthews began their careers here. And what about the Atlanta Black Crackers, who used the field when the white Crackers were out of town? Leroy “Satchel” Paige and the Kansas City Monarchs played here, didn’t they?

And do you remember when 23,000-plus packed the stands in 1949 to see the Brooklyn Dodgers, with Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella? That was the first time blacks and whites competed against each other in a professional sporting event in the city’s history. There were rumors the Ku Klux Klan would be out waiting by you, but they never materialized. Did you see anything?

The Atlanta extension of the Society for American Baseball Research, which meets the final Thursday of each month (including this week) at Manuel’s Tavern for some informal banter about the game they love, refers to itself at the Magnolia Chapter in your honor. And it’s said that the ashes of Earl Mann, “Mr. Atlanta Baseball”—who, after his long history with the Crackers, was instrumental in brining the Braves here from Milwaukee—were spread upon your roots. That’s quite a tribute.

Lots of folks dig baseball, although non-fans can make a convincing case that the game is boring. But you, o great tree, with your giant, baseball-white blooms dotting you from top to bottom—how could anyone see you as anything other than magnificent?

Happy times ... and what’s that? The collapsed drain a few feet away is endangering your roots, and no one is doing anything about it? SP