History
Georgia Railway and Electric, the park's owner, opened a wooden ballpark on Ponce de Leon Avenue in May 1907, and the Atlanta Crackers made it their home. Georgia Tech also played its home football games there from 1908 to 1911.
Fire destroyed the wooden stands in September 1923. Crackers owner Rell J. Spiller financed a concrete-and-steel replacement that opened in 1924 under his name, and the park reverted to the Ponce de Leon name after he sold the club.
The park's quirk was a magnolia tree deep in center field that stood in play until the outfield wall was moved in 1947; Babe Ruth and Eddie Mathews are credited with hitting balls into it. Seating was segregated for most of its life, and a 1962 exhibition game is recorded as drawing Atlanta's first integrated crowd at a professional sporting event.
When Atlanta Stadium opened, the Crackers left after 1965 and the park was demolished in 1966. Retail development followed, and the magnolia survives beside the BeltLine trail.
Why it matters: It hosted Atlanta professional baseball, white and Black, for most of the 20th century before the arrival of the major leagues.
Timeline
- May 23, 1907
The original wooden ballpark opened with a crowd of more than 8,000.
- September 8, 1923
The wooden ballpark burned; the Crackers finished the season at Grant Field.
- 1924
A concrete-and-steel park financed by owner Rell J. Spiller debuted under his name.
- April 7, 1946Record Yankees exhibition crowd[1]
21,006 fans watched the New York Yankees beat the Crackers, then Atlanta's largest baseball crowd.
- April 8, 1962First integrated pro crowd in Atlanta[1]
A Phillies-Cardinals exhibition drew the first integrated crowd at a professional sporting event in the city.
- 1965
The Crackers played their last season at the park before Atlanta Stadium opened.
- 1966
The ballpark was torn down and the site turned over to retail use.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Midtown Place shopping center[1] |
| Surviving remnants | The center-field magnolia tree still stands behind the shopping center beside the Atlanta BeltLine trail[1,2] |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Atlanta Crackers | International League · 1907–1959 |
|---|---|
| Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | College football · 1908–1911 |
| Atlanta Crackers | International League · 1962–1964 |
| Atlanta Black Crackers | Negro American League · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Other names | Spiller Park (1924–1932); R. J. Spiller Field (1924); Poncey |
|---|---|
| Location | 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta, Georgia[1] |
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball, Football |
| Level | Minor League, Negro Leagues, NCAA |
| Opened | May 23, 1907[1,2] |
| Last used for sports | 1965[1,2] |
| Demolished | 1966[1,2] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Final capacity | 20,000[1,2] |
| Capacity notes | Wikipedia's infobox lists 6,800 while its text says about 20,000. The New Georgia Encyclopedia gives a 9,800-seat grandstand plus segregated bleachers and standing room for a total near 20,000. |
| Construction cost | $60,000 (1907, per Wikipedia); $250,000 for the 1924 concrete-and-steel rebuild (New Georgia Encyclopedia)[1,2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Owner / operator | Georgia Railway and Electric (original); rebuilt 1924 by Crackers owner Rell J. Spiller |
| Closure | Replaced by the new Atlanta Stadium, built for major league baseball. |
Documented details
Sources
- Ponce de Leon Park, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, opened, remnants, teams
- Ponce de Leon Ballpark, New Georgia Encyclopedia (Georgia Humanities / University of Georgia Press). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, closed, construction cost, demolished, opened, remnants, teams
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (2)
- Capacity: Wikipedia infobox 6,800 vs about 20,000 in Wikipedia text and the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
- Wikipedia notes sources differ on whether the Spiller name ended in 1932 or 1933.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.