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BL.ACKIE SHERROD

They're Right Off the Bat A'l'LANTA-The visitor realizes he's in the South's most progressive spot when old friends m~et him at the airport with jack daniels and grits and hustle him through a maze of freeways to where major league baseballers will soon live. This is the sleek new stadium being built almost in the heart of Atlanta. Bulldozers are shoving deep into the 11Jsty Georgia clay and concrete tiers are thrusting up amid the everchanging skyline of the oldtime city. " We're going to play an exhibition \vith the Yankees in this stadium on April 9," says Bob Richardson, a top governor's aide and one of the forces behind the new sports ambition. " And we'll open the season in it on April 15." By "we", the Atlanta citizenry means the Atlanta Braves, who will make the jump from Milwaukee in a matter of days. There is much official hush-hush about it, lest an earthquake or the Supreme Court or some other act of nature spoil the pudding at the last second. And it's typical of baseball's pussyfooting a ttitude that the Milwaukee-to-Atlanta move hasn't been openly declared before now. The Milwaukee directors are meeting today in Chicago. And they'll vote to approve the shift. The Nationaj League officials meet in New York later this week and will doubtless okay the franchise transfer. The stadium is a rush act. When the Atlanta leaders suddenly decided they wanted in the Big Swim, they didn't waste time with flim and fadclle and political strings and twiddle dees and twiddle dums. A couple rich johns said they'd underwrite the thing, so start digging and all the details would be worked out later, like dividing the stadium cost between the city, county and state and retirin it with revenue bonds. So the dirt comTllenced flying. The contractors ,vill have to forfeit $2,000 every day past April 15 it takes to complete it. T On the Way HIS CITY desires very m uch to be the sports center below the Mason-Dixon and it dang shore will be. It's jus( a question of time until a pro football team locates there. Atlanta had the St. Louls football Cal'dinals, for a couple days anyway. The Bidwell brothers wanted to move their NFL franchise to that city. And the bustling Atlantans offered them a rockbottom rental deal. But when the Bidwells returned to St. Louis to talk things over, they were offered a better deal by a citizen of that city, one who owned a small chunk of the stock. So they bad to pull out of their Atla nta commitments. F or the time being, anyways. There have been reports that the Steelers might consider moving here. Owner Art Rooney bas been seen lunching here with Ar thur Montgomery, a wealthy soft drink distributor and one of the go-gettum powers around town. But the feeling now is that Rooney will nc;it leave Pittsburgh. The Ameii can Football League, it's believed, would move a club there at the drop of an invitation. Commissioner Joe Foss, on a recent visit, warned the Atlantans " not to let too many trains pass by". Meaning an AFL franchise in the hand is worth two NF L d ubs in the bush. �11ym . me contractors will have to forfeit $2,000 every day past April 15 it takes to complete it. T On the Way HIS CITY desires very much to be the sports center below the Mason-Dix.on and it dang .shore will be. It's just- a question of time until a 'pro football team locates there. Atlanta bad the St. Louis football Cardinals, for couple days anyway. The Bidwell brothers wanted to move their NFL fran- · chise to that city. And the bustling Atlantans offered them a rockbottom rental deal. But when the Bidwells returned to St. Louis to talk things over, they wei-e offered a better deal by a citizen of that city, one who owned a small chunk of the stock. So they had to pull out of their Atlanta commitments. For the time being, anyways. There have been reports that the Steelers might consider moving here. Owner Art Rooney has been seen lunching here with Arthur Montgomery, a wealthy soft drink distributor and one of the go-gettum powers around town. But the feeling now is . that Rooney will ngt leave Pittsburgh. The American Football League, it's believed, would move a club there at the drop of an invitation. Commissioner Joe Foss, on a recent visit, warned the Atlantans " not to let too many trains pass by" . Meaning an AFL franchise in the hand is worth two NFL clubs in the bush. lie baseball people are ~oun-o-Imffi ffiis sp enclid radiotelevision market. At Milwaukee, tlie Braves are sandwiched between. Chicago and Minneapolis. At Atlanta, the nearest major league franchise will be Cincinnati. a A · Familiar Faces ND THE BRAVES should fit right in like homefolks. A couple of the Negro players, Hank Aaron and Lee Maye, say they are muchly agin moving to Atlanta because of the segregation business. But they'll play where they're told, or else get another ~b. ' Ed Mathews, the Braves third baseman, was a minor league star here in 1950. Coaches Whitlow Wyatt and Dixie Walker both managed minor league teams here. Coach J o J o White is a qeorgia native and Manager Bobby Bragan is from nearby Birmingham. Lloyd's of London once made a study and predicted that Atlanta would be the largest city in. the world a t the tum of the next centw-y. At least that's what some local citizens claim. And it's believeable because the impressive notion _a bout this city is its drive its scorn of redtape and meaningless hours around conference tables. There is more a ction than talk. Atlanta wanted to be bigtime in sports, so some of the riches underwrote the project and they went out and got results. 1t was as simple s that. �