The Macon Peaches was the predominant name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of G ...

, during the 20th century. Although Macon did not field teams during and immediately after World War I, the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and World War II, the name ''Peaches'' was used continuously between and , except for 1916–1917. The Peaches nickname was also used from 1961–1964, 1966–1967, and 1980–1982. Much of that time, the Peaches played in the original South Atlantic "Sally" League, although they made brief appearances in the Southeastern League and the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

. During the 1980s, the Peaches were members of the modern

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. After 1929, the team played at Luther Williams Field. Macon was represented by

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

teams in the 19th century and joined the Sally League in 1904 as the ''Highlanders.'' From 1956–1960, Macon's team was known as the

Macon Dodgers Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon **Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia *Macon, Illinois *Macon, M ...

, adopting the name of their parent club. In 1980, a new Macon Peaches team formed and after 1982, this franchise adopted the name Redbirds and then Pirates. This team relocated to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Geor ...

and became the

Augusta Pirates Augusta may refer to: Places Australia * Augusta, Western Australia Brasil * Rua Augusta (São Paulo) Canada * Augusta, Ontario * North Augusta, Ontario * Augusta Street (Hamilton, Ontario) France * Augusta Suessionum ("Augusta of the Sues ...

and were renamed again to

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

. After the 1990 season, the South Atlantic League returned to Macon with the relocation of the

Sumter Braves The Sumter Braves were a minor league baseball team located in Sumter, South Carolina. The team played in the South Atlantic League, and were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. Their home stadium was Riley Park. History In 1984, the Anderson ...

and the Sumter Braves became the Macon Braves, Macon's last affiliated team and last South Atlantic League team. The Macon Braves relocated to

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all ...

and were renamed

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team serve ...

Reds' farm team produced Rose, Pérez, May and Helms

From 1962–1964, the Peaches were an important upper-level affiliate ( Double-A after 1962) of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, producing

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

, Lee May and Tommy Helms. All four were members of Cincinnati's first "

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

" team, the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

champions. Rose and Pérez would be cornerstones of the dynasty, while May and Helms would be traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

after 1971 to obtain

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

second baseman

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

, who would help lead the Reds to the NL pennant in and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

titles in and . Macon was Rose's last minor league address before he launched his Major League career as the

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

. He had batted .330 for the 1962 Peaches.

Macon Braves

The Macon Braves were a class-A

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

baseball team associated with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

and was the transplanted

. The team was known as the Macon Braves from 1991 to 2002. In 2003, the Macon Braves were moved to

. The team is now known as the

. Luther Williams Field was the home stadium for the Macon Braves. After losing the Macon Braves, Macon was home to an Independent professional team, the Macon Music in the

South Coast League The South Coast League of Professional Baseball (SCL), based in Conyers, Georgia, was a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Southeastern United States. It operated in cities not served by Major or Minor League Basebal ...

, for one season (2007) as well as a different independent league baseball team known as the Macon Pinetoppers (2010) that called Luther Williams Field "home". Many well known major league players came from the Macon Braves, such as

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the List of first ov ...

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodg ...

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, he ...

Tony Graffanino Anthony Joseph Graffanino (; born Graffagnino, June 6, 1972) is a former American Major League Baseball second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop. Career Graffanino was primarily a contact hitter (just 481 strikeouts in 2787 big-league at-b ...

John Rocker John Loy Rocker (born October 17, 1974) is a former American relief pitcher who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves. Making his major league debut in 1998 as a member of the Braves, with whom he p ...

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time A ...

, and Marcus Giles.''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', April 14, 2002 Sunday,, Home Edition, Sports;, Pg. 6D, 751 words, CARLOS FRIAS An independent league baseball team called the Macon Peaches played in the 21st century Southeastern League in 2003.

Notable players

alumni * Al Lopez Inducted, 1997 *

(1963) Inducted, 2000 *

(1998, 2001) Inducted, 2015 *

(1991) Inducted, 2018 Notable Macon Alumni * Moises Alou (1987) 6 x MLB All-Star * Steve Avery (2000) MLB All-Star * Stan Belinda (1987) * Matt Belisle (2000) * Rube Benton (1910) *

Jim Brosnan James Patrick Brosnan (October 24, 1929 – June 28, 2014) was an American baseball player and author who played in Major League Baseball in 1954 and from 1956 through 1963. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 385 games, largely in relie ...

(1966) *

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel '' Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Jac ...

* Smoky Burgess (1947) 9 x MLB All-Star *

Al Campanis Alexander Sebastian Campanis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Σεβαστιανός Καμπάνης; November 2, 1916 – June 21, 1998) was an American executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He had a brief major league playing career, as a ...

(1940) *

Bruce Chen Bruce Kastulo Chen (born June 19, 1977), is a Panamanian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astr ...

(1997) * Vince Coleman (1983) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1985 NL Rookie of the Year *

Bruce Dal Canton John Bruce Dal Canton (June 15, 1941 – October 7, 2008) was a major league pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967–70), Kansas City Royals (1971–75), Atlanta Braves (1975–76), and Chicago White Sox (1977). Career Dal Canton's career pa ...

(1967) *

Abner Dalrymple Abner Frank Dalrymple (September 9, 1857 – January 25, 1939) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who hit 43 home runs (including 22 in 1884, the second-highest total to that date) and batted .288 with 407 RBI during his 12-s ...

(1893) 1885 NL Home Run Leader *

Dock Ellis Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

(1967) MLB All-Star * Raymond Doster (1967-1968) * Phil Douglas (1911) *

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

(1994) 2 x MLB All-Star *

(1999) 3 x MLB All-Star; 2000 NL Rookie of the Year *

Chick Fullis Charles Philip "Chick" Fullis (February 27, 1904 – March 28, 1946) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants (1928–32), Philadelphia Phillies (1933–34) and ...

(1927) * Marcus Giles (1998) MLB All-Star *

(1992) * Tommy Helms (1962) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1966 NL Rookie of the Year *

Wes Helms Wesley Ray Helms (born May 12, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. During his 13-year playing career, Helms played for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies. He played primarily as ...

(1995) * Bobo Holloman (1947–1948) * Kelly Johnson (2001) *

(1996) 10 x Gold Glove; 5 x MLB All-Star *

David Justice David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1989–1996), Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), New York Yanke ...

(1991) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1990 NL Rookie of the Year * Ray King (1996) *

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Ariz ...

(1997) MLB All-Star *

Gordon Maltzberger Gordon Ralph Maltzberger (September 4, 1912 – December 11, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. The native of Utopia, Texas, was a right-handed relief pitcher over parts of four seasons (1943–1944 and 1946–47) with the Chicag ...

* Lee May (1963) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1976 AL RBI Leader *

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in ...

(1981) 2 x MLB Manager of the Year *

Orlando Merced Orlando Luis Merced Villanueva (born November 2, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in the majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990–1996), Toronto Blue Jays (1997), Minnesota ...

(1986-1987) *

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

(1955, MGR) 4 x MLB All-Star * Kevin Millwood (1994-1995, 2001) MLB All-Star; 2005 NL ERA Leader *

Bob Moose Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 – October 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . Moose was a mem ...

(1963) *

Billy Muffett Billy Arnold Muffett (September 21, 1930 – June 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He pitched in the Major Leagues for all or parts of six seasons (1957–1962) for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giant ...

(1955) *

Bobo Newsom Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all o ...

(1930) 4 x MLB All-Star * Al Oliver (1967) 7 x MLB All-Star; 1982 AL Batting Champion * Bob Oliver (1967) * Andy Pafko (1942) 5 x MLB All-Star * Tom Pagnozzi (1983) MLB All-Star * Odalis Perez (1997) MLB All-Star * Mel Queen (1962) * Paul Richards (1929-1930) *

(1962) 17 x MLB All-Star; 1963 NL Rookie of the Year; All-Time MLB Hits Leader *

Johnny Rucker John Joel Rucker (January 15, 1917 – August 7, 1985), nicknamed "The Crabapple Comet," was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in 705 Major League Baseball games played, 607 as a center fielder, over six seaso ...

* Barney Schultz (1950) * Art Shamsky (1962) * John Smiley (1984-1985) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston B ...

(1939, 1941) 3 x MLB All-Star * Carl Taylor *

Hippo Vaughn James Leslie "Hippo" Vaughn (April 9, 1888 – May 29, 1966) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. In a career that spanned thirteen seasons, he played for the New York Highlanders (1908, 1910–1912), the Washington Senat ...

(1909) 1918 NL ERA, Wins, Strikeout Leader *

Adam Wainwright Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981), nicknamed "Waino" and "Uncle Charlie", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected him 29th overall in the ...

(2001) 3 x MLB All-Star

References

Reds' farm team produced Rose, Pérez, May and Helms

Macon Braves

Notable players

See also

References