Macon the Best of an Old Ballpark

Main entry to Luther Williams Field, Jun-2022.

The seating bowl, as seen from down the first-base line.

A batter steps in against the Macon Bacon to start an inning.

Chronological Tour: Stop 105

• Location: Central City Park, Riverside Drive (off I-16 exit 2), Macon, Ga. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1929 as Macon Base Ball Park
• Home team: Macon Peaches, South Atlantic Association (1929-30), Southeastern League (1932), South Atlantic League/Southern League (1936-42, 1946-55, 1962-67), Southern Association (1961), South Atlantic League (1980-83), Southeastern League (2003); Macon Dodgers, South Atlantic League (1956-60); Macon Pirates (1984-91), Braves (1992-2002), South Atlantic League; Macon Music, South Coast League (2007)
• Capacity: 4,000

Rating: 3 baseballs

Inside, there’s a completely covered grandstand with wooden seating, giving the park a real old-time feeling. My only complaint about that was how dim it is under there, making it tough to keep score of the game. Upgrades have occurred in recent years, including plastic seats and a new roof. Social areas have also been expanded, and the old electric scoreboard has been replaced by a manual model with electric dots for the count and outs. On my 2022 visit, there was lighting under the roof, and the ceiling fans had also been replaced, creating a wind chill factor on a calm early summer evening.

The Macon Braves moved to Rome, Ga., for the 2003 season, but the independent Southeastern League announced plans for a new team, called the Peaches, to utilize Luther Williams Field for that season. Another independent loop, the South Coast League, put a team called the Macon Music into the park in 2007. Most recently, the park has hosted college summer ball in the form of the Macon Bacon, who became a rival of the similarly rhyming Savannah Bananas.