Luther Williams Field


Luther Williams Field is a baseball stadium in Macon, Georgia. It was built in 1929, and is the centerpiece of Central City Park in Macon. It is the home of the Macon Bacon, a wood-bat collegiate summer league team in the Coastal Plain League. 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 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 South Atlantic League 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 located its Macon Music franchise at Luther Williams. The team was managed by former major league player Phil Plantier. The General Manager was Ric Sisler, grandson of Baseball Hall of Famer George Sisler.
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. Luther Williams Field stood in for a fictional Negro League ballpark in St. Louis, Missouri. 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. It was also used to film baseball scenes in the television show Brockmire.

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: