Luther Williams Field is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

stadium in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

. It was built in 1929 on the site of an earlier ball park, and is the centerpiece of Central City Park in Macon. It is the home of the Macon Bacon, a wood-bat

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team in the

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal Plain League which operated in the area f ...

. The original covered grandstand is still in place, though a new tin roof has replaced the former wooden one. A black iron gate surrounds the field, the front of which says "Macon Base Ball Park."

History

Luther Williams Field was home to the Macon Peaches (of the South Atlantic Association,

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, and Southern League) on and off from 1929 to the 1980s, and another team by the same name from the Southeastern League in 2003. The Macon Dodgers of the

played at the stadium from 1956 to 1960; the Macon Redbirds in 1983; the Macon Pirates from 1984 to 1987; and the Macon Braves from 1991 to 2002. In 2007, the new

South Coast League The South Coast League of Professional Baseball (SCL), based in Conyers, Georgia, was a professional, Independent league baseball, independent baseball organization located in the Southeastern United States. It operated in cities not served by ...

located its Macon Music franchise at Luther Williams. The team was managed by former major league player

Phil Plantier Phillip Alan Plantier (born January 27, 1969) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 1997. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. After his playing car ...

. The General Manager was Ric Sisler, grandson of

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

George Sisler George Harold Sisler (March 24, 1893 – March 26, 1973), nicknamed "Gorgeous George", was an American professional baseball first baseman and player-manager. From 1915 through 1930, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the History of t ...

. The venue hosted the 1980 and 1982 Atlantic Sun Conference baseball tournaments, won by Georgia Southern and Hardin–Simmons, respectively. Luther Williams Field was used for location shooting in the 1976 film ''

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings ''The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings'' is a 1976 American sports comedy film about a team of enterprising ex-Negro league baseball players in the era of racial segregation. Loosely based upon William Brashler's 1973 novel of the ...

'' in which it stood in for a fictional

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

ballpark in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. It was also used as a location in 2012 for two motion pictures, the Harrison Ford movie '' 42'', chronicling the baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and Clint Eastwood's ''

Trouble with the Curve ''Trouble with the Curve'' is a 2012 American sports drama film directed by Robert Lorenz and starring Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, Matthew Lillard, and John Goodman. The film revolves around an aging baseball scout whose daugh ...

''. It was also used to film baseball scenes in the television show ''

Brockmire ''Brockmire'' is an American sitcom that premiered on April 5, 2017, on IFC. The show stars Hank Azaria, Amanda Peet, and Tyrel Jackson Williams, with J. K. Simmons guest starring in the third season. Azaria plays a baseball play-by-play an ...

''. The stadium was named for Macon's mayor at the time of its opening, Luther Williams, whose family had migrated from South Wales, UK in the latter 1800s. Having an ardent love for athletics, he worked to bring baseball to Macon and helped get the stadium built. Originally unnamed and costing $60,000, the city council soon named the new park after Williams. The first game held there was on April 18, 1929.

Famous players

Numerous Major League stars have played at Luther Williams, whether on their way up the minor league system or as part of Major League teams' occasional stopovers to play their farm teams. Some notable players include: *

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of ...

(1962 Peaches), MLB all-time hit leader *

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member ...

(1963 Peaches), Baseball Hall of Famer * Vince Coleman (1983 Redbirds), set all-time professional baseball record of 145

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

(since surpassed by Billy Hamilton) *

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

(1991 Braves), Baseball Hall of Famer and 1999

National League Most Valuable Player National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

* Jermaine Dye (1994 Braves), 2005

World Series Most Valuable Player The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The a ...

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tex ...

, Sr. (1995 Braves), nine-time

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...

winner

References

External links

Luther Williams Field Views – ''Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues''
{{CPL Ballparks , state=collapsed Sports venues in Georgia (U.S. state) Minor league baseball venues Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball venues in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in Macon, Georgia Negro league baseball venues Tourist attractions in Macon, Georgia South Coast League venues National Register of Historic Places in Bibb County, Georgia