11. Columbus at Play

11. Columbus at Play

From the Creek game of stickball ( from which the game of lacrosse developed) in the nineteenth century along the banks of the river, to the twenty-first century whitewater rafting, Columbus’ recreation history is rich and colorful. Recreation occurred at South Commons, just outside the historic downtown. 1834 saw the city host horse races at the Chattahoochee Course and remained there into the twentieth century. By 1887, this racetrack housed a grandstand holding 5000 people. The city’s professional baseball team arrived in 1884, and its baseball stadium, Golden Park was built in 1926. Today, South Commons is home to the A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium (1916), which hosted several annual collegiate football games including the Georgia-Auburn game until 1958. It currently hosts the annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic. In 1996 the city built a softball complex and welcomed to the Atlanta Olympic softball events. That year also saw construction of the Columbus Civic Center, which is home to the Columbus Cottonmouths hockey team.
Sports-Reference, "Softball at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Women's Softball," http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1996/SOF/women-softball.html (accessed January 26th, 2014).

GeorgiaRacingHistory.com, “Columbus Speedway Site of Triumph and Tragedy In 1948,” http://georgiaracinghistory.com/2010/04/09/columbus-speedway-site-of-triumph-and-tragedy-in-1948/ (accessed March 7th, 2014).