After a successful Week 1 campaign visit to the Atlanta, Georgia area for ABF Freight, this past week I was back for another campaign. After landing in Atlanta at roughly the same time as last Sunday, I had a pretty good gauge of how long it would take me to my hotel in Lawrenceville. So, I decided to stop along the way and check out a baseball field or two on my field radar, aka Google Maps. I got extremely lucky and found/located Oglethorpe University and Hermance Stadium.
Oglethorpe University is located in Brookhaven, Georgia and features one of the most spectacular bleacher sections I have ever seen at a baseball field. More on the bleachers later… When I pulled into the school driveway on Sunday, my first thought was ‘this school looks like it belongs in New England.’ Gorgeous buildings surrounding an amazing view of the field from the driveway in. I parked next to the baseball offices and found an open gate to walk onto the field. The sprinklers were on, I’m guessing I just missed a game or practice that late Sunday afternoon. There was a player in the dugout and I said ‘Hi’ and explained why I was there. Since the field was open, I took a stroll around to take in the stadium.
Weather in Atlanta is mostly summer like conditions, even though it is technically fall. Low 80s, low humidity, light breeze – ideal weather for outdoor recreation and yes, 100% awesome weather for baseball. As I walked from the opening in left field, past the dugout with the Oglethorpe player, and around home plate, those amazing structures in the background just looked incredible. I couldn’t wait to get up and into the bleachers to get a fan’s view of the field.
The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels Baseball team plays in the SAA, the Southern Athletic Association in the NCAA’s Division III. Hermance Stadium has a place in the National Registry of Historic Places and the baseball field is called Anderson Field, named after a famous Oglethorpe coach, Frank Anderson. It’s history is fascinated and I will paraphrase the facilities page description. The field and its glorious bleachers were part of a huge construction plan to build a giant 50,000 capacity stadium, in the 1920s. The stock market crashed and so did the plans to finish the stadium, thus the bleachers are only a portion completed. However, lucky for us, those bleachers remain in place and now serve as an awe inspiring spectacle at Anderson Field.
Wow, what a view on such a phenomenal weather day. Must be something on a busy Saturday afternoon, rivalry game, or playoff game, with those bleachers packed with fans.
At the top left section of the bleachers, say around the first base/short right field area, there was an exit ramp that led back out to the driveway I came in at. I took the walk under the bleachers, then proceeded back to my rental car in the parking lot, taking a few photos along the way.
Just for clarification, a stormy petrel is a bird. I had to look that one up. Also worth noting after some research, the Sunbelt Collegiate League (summer wooden bat league for collegiate baseball players) has a team who plays their home games at Anderson Field – The Brookhaven Bucks. The stadium, the grounds, the bleachers, the view – just incredible and a great way to start off my second week in Atlanta.
On the way out of Brookhaven, I stopped by Lucky’s to grab some lunch. If you are in town, definitely try out the wings – they were awesome. Dog friendly, dog inspired, and great food there at Lucky’s. Overall, an awesome Sunday afternoon in Brookhaven, Georgia. I was so psyched to visit Hermance Stadium, walk the grounds, head up into the historic bleacher section, and check out a very impressive Oglethorpe University. Highly recommended if you are in the area, baseball fan or not.
The Baseball Storyteller 