LEGENDS CLASS OF 2022
BILL BARTHOLOMAY
As a young businessman, Bill Bartholomay and a group of investors purchased the Milwaukee Braves franchise. Four years later in 1966, Bill moved the team to Atlanta, making the Braves the first professional team in the Deep South. Bartholomay would sell the team in 1976 to businessman Ted Turner and even though he sold the team, Bill remained as Chairman of the Braves until his retirement in 2003. Bartholomay passed away in 2020 at the age of 91.
BOBBY DEWS
Bobby Dews is what you would call: a baseball “lifer.” He was born in Iowa but grew up in Calhoun County on his way to becoming a two-sport star in baseball and basketball at Georgia Tech. He signed a minor league baseball contract, and after bouncing around as a player, he moved into coaching. Dews managed several Minor League clubs before joining Atlanta’s big league team serving as a bullpen and third-base coach. He retired in 2012 concluding 37 seasons with the organization. Bobby was also an accomplished writer having published 4 books.
ROY HARTSFIELD
Roy Hartsfield was a three-sport standout at West Fulton High School in 1942 before signing a minor league baseball contract. After a brief stint in the Navy, the slick fielding Hartsfield would land a spot with the Boston Braves in 1950 where he hit .273 over the next three seasons. He was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers where he retired from playing to become a manager and coach. Roy managed several minor league clubs and in 1977 he was hired as the first Manager of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays. Hartsfield spent three years in Toronto and would manage two more Triple-A clubs before retiring in 1986.
PETE VAN WIEREN
Pete Van Wieren moved to Atlanta in 1975 to join the Atlanta Braves radio network. Along with partners Ernie Johnson and Skip Caray, the trio formed one of the best broadcasting teams in the business. That team would expand with the addition of Don Sutton. Van Wieren was dubbed “The Professor” because of his extensive knowledge and game preparation. After Skip Caray’s sudden death in 2008, Van Wieren surprisingly announced his retirement, thus ending 33 years of their broadcasting partnership. Van Wieren died in 2014 at the age of 69.