A look back as Historic Grayson Stadium reaches its 100-year anniversary

Historic Grayson Stadium has become a destination spot for fans of the Savannah Bananas who flock to the Hostess City from all over the country to see one of the most popular baseball franchises in the world. In March, the Bananas reached a milestone by selling out their 500th straight game.

The old ballpark reached a milestone of its own as Grayson Stadium celebrated its 100th anniversary as a focal point in the history of Savannah sports in April.

In 1925, the city of Savannah started construction of Municipal Stadium in Daffin Park with a $100,000 project that was finished in 1926. The facility became the home of the Savannah Indians, who has previously played at the Savannah Athletic Field at Henry Street and Waters and at Bolton Street Park, according to the book "Baseball in Savannah" by Brian Harold Lee.

The Boston Red Sox held their spring training at Municipal Stadium in 1932, and it was frequently visited by Major League squads playing exhibition games. After losing the 1926 World Series to the Cardinals, the Yankees came to Savannah after spring training in Florida and played an exhibition game in front of a crowd estimated at 15,000 against the Cardinals, who won it 20-10, in 1927.

That game featured Hall of Famers in Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, whose appearances at the stadium are remembered today with posters on the concourse in the Grayson Stadium Walk of Fame.

Included in the Walk of Fame is one of baseball's all-time greats in Jackie Robinson, who became the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, 10 years after he made an appearance at Grayson Stadium in an exhibition game with the Dodgers.

New York Yankee Hall of Fame center fielder Mickey Mantle had three hits, including a towering home run, when the Yankees played an exhibition game against the Savannah Redlegs at Grayson Stadium in 1957.

As a 19-year old second baseman with the Class A Jacksonville Braves, Hank Aaron played a game at Grayson in 1953, a year where he hit .362 with 22 homers and 125 RBIs in his final Minor League season before joining the Milwaukee Braves.

In more recent history, Hall of Famer John Smoltz is recognized for his rehab appearance with the Macon Braves in 2001, while Brave great Dale Murphy also is in the Walk of Fame having played a season as a catcher with the Savannah Braves in 1974.

Ret Weeks is the Bananas Director of Capital Projects. The Calvary Day grad grew up in Savannah and attended his first of many baseball games at Grayson watching the Mets Class A affiliate the Savannah Sand Gnats as a youngster. The Sand Gnats were the last in a long line of minor league franchises that called Historic Grayson Stadium their home.

Weeks is a history buff who minored in the subject at Georgia Southern while majoring in business. So working at Grayson Stadium for the Bananas as been a perfect fit.

Weeks notes that FDR spoke at the stadium in 1933 and can rattle off all the players that graced the field. In 1940, a summer hurricane wiped the stadium out, and the rebuilding process was led by General William L. Grayson, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, who helped raised the $150,000 to get reconstruction started. When World War II began in December of 1941, the construction stopped, leaving just 5,000 seats instead of the 8,800 that were in the plans, he said.

"We're one of the oldest active stadiums in the country, and to have guys like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron and Jackie Robinson to have played here is so cool," said Weeks, 27. "When you come into Grayson Stadium, there's just not many places where you get an experience like this anymore. In the age of new, flashy, multi-billion dollar stadiums ― you come here and walk through the same archways that baseball fans have come through for the last 100 years and you feel like you're stepping back in time. It feels like home."

Weeks noted multi-million dollar projects the Bananas have implemented to modernized Grayson Stadium as they have added outfield bleachers with 1,000 seats to increase the seating capacity to 5,000 along with a brand new turf field, and a top-of-the-line Jumbotron. New fold down seats have replaced most of the old school benches, although some of the benches remain to remember the rich history of the park. There is also a state-of-the-art locker room and weight lifting facility for the Banana League players just beyond the centerfield wall. He said Bananas owner Jesse Cole wanted to combine the old and the new with his approach to the work at Grayson Stadium.

"I love that here in this spot that's so rich in Savannah history and sports history, that Banana Ball was born," Weeks said. "The goal was to never take away what this is, and that's a piece of history. So you have to balance the history and the modern amenities ― things like redoing the lights, the field, the bathrooms and concession stands. That all enhances the fan experience here, but you're still sitting under a 100-year old roof in the main grandstand."

Weeks has that personal connection to the ballpark, having been to Grayson so many times growing up. He appreciates the history of Grayson, while looking toward its future, with all the memories it will create for today's fans.

"There's been 100 years of sports history here," he said. "But you also have 100 years and family and friends coming here for celebrations ― so you have 100 years of memories in the concrete here at Grayson Stadium, and you just can't find that in many other places."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: A look back as Historic Grayson Stadium reaches its 100-year anniversary