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High school baseball field named for Brian Snitker

Braves manager Brian Snitker recently had his high school baseball field named in his honor. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
Braves manager Brian Snitker recently had his high school baseball field named in his honor. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com
By Chris Vivlamore
April 30, 2021

Welcome to Macon, Illinois: Home of Brian Snitker Field.

The Meridian High School baseball field recently was named for the Braves manager and also will honor the 1971 team that finished runner-up in the state.

“I’m honored,” Snitker said Thursday. “It’s pretty cool. … Hopefully I can get back there one day and see it in person.”

Known as the Macon High Ironmen then, Snitker attended the school and played right field for the team that almost won a state championship. The 50th anniversary of the accomplishment will be in June. The school and team are known as the Meridian High Hawks today.

“We were a ‘Hoosiers’ that lost,” Snitker said in reference to the movie based on the small-town basketball team that won the Indiana state championship.

The story gets better as Meridian’s Mitch Ripple threw a no-hitter on the first game played on the field after it was named for Snitker.

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About the Author

Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.

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