History
Shaw Park History
by Tom West
In 1965, two major events took place which impacted baseball fans in northern Cobb County. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta and, on a rainy July 28th, voters approved a $900,000 recreation bond fund which was the 1st step in creating Shaw Park.
With funds now in hand, Cobb County commissioners created the Cobb Co. Parks & Recreation Dept. in 1966, giving young Jim Oates (age 29) the directorship (his 2 sons would participate at Shaw Park). On September 2nd, Oates and others handed a check for $26,650 to Mr. T.P. Shaw for purchase of 23 acres just east of Canton Road. (unfortunately, little has been learned about Mr. Shaw or the land’s history)
It would take almost another 4 years, but Shaw Park would become the 1st county park built solely by the Cobb Parks & Recreation Dept. The older ones were developed privately or by communities before the county gained control.
The original plan was to open Shaw Park in June 1968 but matching federal funds were scarce. It wasn’t until September 27, 1968 that county commissioner Ernest Barrett finally received a government telegram confirming federal funds. By November 1968 construction was underway. But in the first 7 months, rainy weather limited crews to only 50 working days. Walking on the moon would happen sooner than opening Shaw Park!
On Saturday May 2, 1970, the Shaw Park Recreation Club (forerunner to the current Shaw Park Baseball organization) proudly hosted 3 games to open the Shaw Park Midget League, and one of the county’s largest athletic programs during the 1970’s was off and running. But it wasn’t just athletics that made the park a popular venue, in the early years, it hosted everything from pet shows to Easter egg hunts.
Cobb Co. officially dedicated Shaw Park on July 11, 1970. It was a showcase for recreation-minded people in the northern part of the county with 2 athletic fields, 2 tennis courts, a paved multi-purpose court, restrooms, playground equipment, picnic pavilion and a half-mile of nature trails. Underground electric wiring was a new feature compared to most other community parks in existence.
That first summer Shaw Park was already called overcrowded with 500 kids playing on about 35 baseball and girls softball teams. In the fall, flag football got the fields along with the newly created Blackwell Bears youth football association which by the late 70’s was the largest of 18 such groups in Cobb Co. With the use of nearby J.J. Daniell Middle School, the Shaw Park Recreation Club also organized basketball, volleyball and track teams so the Shaw name was constantly in the news
In 1971, Shaw Park expanded the baseball age groups to include 7 to 17 year olds instead of just 9 to 15. And those “hefty” fees to join in the 2nd season?…. how about $2.50 for 7-8 year olds, $5 for 9 and up, and $3.50 for girls softball. In fact, it was Shaw Park’s powerful girls softball program that often drew mention in the Marietta Daily Journal. The first major honors for Shaw teams may have been the State Junior Girls Softball championships won in 1971 & 1973. At the same time, Shaw teams also won 3 of the first 4 Cobb Co. Pigtail Invitational titles. The girls softball program eventually re-located to Bells Ferry Park later in the 1980’s.
The annual fund raising event that was quite memorable in the 1970’s was a summer celebration called “Super Saturday” which involved a big parade from J.J. Daniell to Shaw Park right down Canton Road (only 2-lanes back then) and culminated with carnival-type activities and a fireworks display at the park.
Another revenue raiser began in July 1975 and continues today. The Charlie Brown Classic baseball tournament is probably one of the oldest continuous youth tournaments in the Atlanta area. In 2002, it was re-named the Larry Hutson Tournament to honor the man who organizes it and has been involved with Shaw Park since 1979. In November 2002, Cobb Co. recognized Larry’s contributions to Shaw Park by giving him the Jack Demarest Award for lifetime achievement, a major acknowledgment for both Larry and the park – he’s only the 3rd person to ever receive this honor from the county.
As the focus at Shaw Park continued towards baseball, the current Shetland (ages 5-6) and Pinto (7-8) fields were added in 1984. Fall baseball began around 1991 but shared the fields with the Blackwell Bears until 1998 when youth football moved to Noonday Park.
While the lack of available land keeps Shaw Park from adding to its total of 5 fields, major improvements are always in the planning to maintain a first-class facility. Heading into the 2003 season, these included the complete re-building and expansion of the Bronco field (ages 11-12), expanding the Mustang field (9-10), adding 2 more permanent restroom buildings along with 2 more concession buildings, a central pavillion and covering the Shetland field with a state-of-the-art artificial grass surface, a first of its kind for a Cobb County youth baseball field!
Future history is still waiting to be made!
