By John Pierce
It was a Monday day game and I needed a break. So I arrived
early — because I like to arrive early for baseball games.
The stadium felt close to empty. There was no batting
practice.
Many of the players pulled their big trucks and luxury cars
into their designated lot well after I had arrived. They unloaded luggage for
what would be the team’s worst road trip in more than half a century.
There is something about a ballpark that brings peace and
allows my mind to rest — even if looking only at the well-manicured grass and
watching groundskeepers chalk the lines.
My easy stroll around the lower aisle soon led me to an
encounter with the legendary usher Walter Banks who mans the owner’s box. He
began working as an usher in April 1965 — a full year before the Braves
relocated from Milwaukee to old Atlanta Stadium.
The Detroit Tigers and the Atlanta Braves played an
exhibition game there after breaking spring training camp, Walter told me. Then,
for the rest of the 1965 season, the minor league Atlanta Crackers made use of
the newly-built stadium that now serves as a parking lot.
“Where you from?” Walter asked.
“I live in Macon now; spent a lot of years in Atlanta, but
grew up near Chattanooga,” I replied.
“Ringgold?” he asked.
I didn’t know if he was a mind reader or just taking a lucky
guess.
“Well, yes,” I said.
Then he talked about growing up in the neighborhood where we
stood — before there were stadiums and interstate highways.
“It was more integrated back then than most folks think,” he
said. Blacks, whites, Jews lived on different streets but knew each other, he
added.
Walter Banks, who has a suite named after him down in the
tunnel, is best known (other than for his longevity) for his trivia. He calls
these bits of baseball information “doo-dads.”
He started rolling off some of them — like the five players
in major league baseball with the number five retired. I’m not a big numbers
person, but he delighted in my quick and accurate responses to most of his
questions — especially the ones about the Braves franchise.
I was honored by his affirmation: “You’re a real fan. A lot
of people just go with whoever is winning.”
Our long and winding conversation soon led to passing along
the joy of baseball to future generations. I told him of a recent text message
I received from my daughter Meredith, a senior at the University of Georgia, when the Cubs
were in town.
“Did you know that’s Eric Hinske coaching first?” she asked.
I looked down the line to see the wide man in a Chicago uniform that I’d not
recognized as the former Brave.
Walter laughed and shook his head. We talked awhile more
and he asked me to jot down my seat number. I hope that means we’ll have the
chance to connect again.
As I left he asked me to do him a favor.
“When you see your daughters, give them a hug for me,” he
said. “And tell them I said they did a great job raising a good dad.”
Will do, Walter. And thanks for the best pregame experience
I’ve had all year.
Even better than catching BP homers — though that is quite good
too.
