The following history was provided to me by Mark Welsh in 2008. Welsh, a coach and parent for Murphey Candler Little League, shared an archive of park records. The first baseball league at Murphey Candler Park was the Brookhaven Little League in 1958.
The Brookhaven Little League played their games at Murphey Candler Park and started out with four major teams and six minor teams. The President of the League in 1959 was Wilbur Sanders. For $.15 in 1961, you could get a hot dog at the park. The park started out with one field, but had three by 1969. Nearby Keswick park was used on occasion for a game as the number of children grew.
An opening day parade was held in the 1960s, which began at Cherokee Plaza on Peachtree Road in Brookhaven and proceeded down Peachtree Road to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and on to Murphey Candler Park. The parade included a queen and her court and was followed up with games and a family chicken barbeque. By 1966, the parade had grown so much that each team was limited to three cars.
According to an article in the 1963 North DeKalb Record, sixteen teams participated in opening day that year. Reverend Oscar Green, pastor of Brookhaven Methodist Church conducted a service to dedicate a field to the memory of Fay Willis, Jr., past league president. Fried chicken dinners in 1963 were $1.75 for adults and $.75 for children.
Records show that registration occurred at various local schools over the years. During the early years, it took place at Cross Keys High School on North Druid Hills Road. Registration also has taken place at Montgomery Ferry Elementary and Shallowford Elementary and Vanderlyn Elementary School.
Among the Murphey Candler Little League records are old rosters, minutes from meetings of coaches and ladies auxiliaries, and receipts for improvements to the park. The auxiliary played a very important role at Murphey Candler over the years by handling such activities as the yearbook, family day, opening day, directories and spirit wear.
Murphey Candler Park is named for Charles Murphey Candler, born to Eliza and Milton Candler in 1858. He was a lawyer, state representative, state senator and chairman of the state Public Service Commission. He wrote the legislation which ended the convict lease system, where convicts were leased out to work for private individuals. In 1922, Charles Murphey Candler delivered a historical address for the centennial of DeKalb County.
The land for Murphey Candler Park was donated in 1953 from the estates of Fred B. Wilson and M. A. Long, but it probably belonged to Salathel and Sarah Adams in the mid-1800s. Their family cemetery is on nearby Oconee Pass. This acquisition of 135 acres by DeKalb County followed the 1952 establishment of a Recreation Program and Park Department. The original park was built as a service project of the North DeKalb/Dunwoody Kiwanis Club, led by Dick Fraser.
Other sources cited include: The History of DeKalb County by Vivian Price, Atlanta and Environs by Franklin Garrett, and The Story of Dunwoody by Ethel M. Spruill and Elizabeth Davis