The Braves will host an annual weekend series between two historically black colleges and universities baseball programs while honoring two Braves greats and HBCU graduates with the Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic. The inaugural series will be three games between Grambling State University against Florida A&M University, the alma maters of Garr and Lucas. The series take place March 12-14, at Coolray Field.
“We are excited to introduce this annual HBCU series to honor two great men while focusing a spotlight on HBCU baseball programs,” Derek Schiller, Atlanta Braves President and CEO, said in a statement. “HBCUs have been developing outstanding baseball talent and we are proud to facilitate the connection between college programs and the major leagues.”
Garr and Lucas both played pivotal roles within the Braves organization. Garr posted a career .317 batting average over eight seasons with the Braves. After his playing career, Garr joined the Braves scouting department in 1984 under the direction of Hank Aaron, and spent more than 25 years with the organization. He was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2006. Lucas spent over 20 years with the Braves and in 1976 he became the first African American to oversee a player personnel department in baseball and the highest-ranking African-American in baseball at the time. He helped draft key players such as Dale Murphy and Bob Horner and hired eventual Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox. Lucas was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2006.
Games on March 12 and 13 will begin at 7 p.m. and the game on March 14 will begin at 1 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and are available for purchase online at https://www.ticketmaster.com/coolray-field-tickets-lawrenceville/venue/115610 or at the Gwinnett Stripers Ticket Office the day of each game starting at 5 p.m. and at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Tickets are limited and will be socially distant.
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