Thomaston native lives his sports dream

sports columnist

How many people have a dream that they never attempt to achieve? Well, Chris Daniel had a dream, and he is in the process of realizing that dream and maybe even more. To say it simply, Chris is on the move!

Chris Daniel grew up in Upson County on Salbar Street, graduated from R.E. Lee Institute, and along the way developed a deep love for sports. As he grew older, he began to recognize that there were many special places, venues, and events that he would like to visit and experience. Thus the dream began to unfold that would take him across the United States in search of historic sports places and events.

His first passion was to attend a game at every major league baseball stadium, and even though there are still a few that he hasn't visited, he is closing in on that goal. To date he has attended a game at 27 different major league parks which include a few duplicates such as both the old and new Comiskey Park in Chicago and both of Atlanta's ballparks. At this point he still has six stadiums to go to make the entire circuit of major league parks. Those six places are the homes of the Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, and Seattle Mariners.

Chris says that the biggest thrills he got were at Boston's Fenway Park, Detroit's Tiger Stadium, and Chicago's Wrigley Field. His biggest disappointment was Oakland Stadium, and he thinks the best new ball park is Baltimore's Camden Yards.

Along the way Chris has expanded his dream to include many other places and events. He has also attended the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Masters, the NCAA basketball finals, the baseball World Series, the 1996 Olympics, the Little League World Series (3 times), the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the professional football Hall of Fame, and a football game at historic Notre Dame Stadium. Throw in numerous minor league baseball parks and college football stadiums and you can see that Chris has been quite a busy guy. He says that his favorite non-baseball event has been the Kentucky Derby.

Over the recent holiday season Chris and his wife Carol took a trip to New York to add to their experiences. They took a tour of historic Yankee Stadium, visited Mickey Mantle's Restaurant, toured the Downtown Athletic Club (site of the Heisman Trophy presentation), attended the New York Giants/New England Patriots' football game where the Patriots finished off a perfect 16-0 season, and had a great view as the giant ball dropped at Times Square to welcome in 2008. I received a call from Chris during his visit, and he said, "Just thought that you would like to know that I am standing on the field at Yankee Stadium."

Chris keeps a list of the places that he still hopes to visit, and at the top of that list are the College Baseball World Series in Omaha. Nebraska, the Super Bowl, and a basketball game at Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Chris has had some very memorable experiences in his travels, such as driving to French Lick, Ind., with traveling pal Buddy Peyton. For those who don't know, French Lick is the very small hometown of basketball legend Larry Bird. While driving down a narrow country road they stopped a fellow on a bike to ask for directions to Bird's house. Well, the guy on the bike was Larry Bird himself! Bird was very cordial and after a short conversation and a few autographs he pedaled on down the road.

On his visit to the Ballpark at Arlington to see the Texas Rangers play, he was seated behind one of the owners of the Rangers' team. That owner was George W. Bush who graciously signed Chris' game program which is now framed and prominently displayed in Chris' office.

One of the most prized souvenirs of his journeys is a red kimono/jacket that was given to him by some parents of the Japanese Little League All-Star team. The jacket is autographed by some of the parents and fits him perfectly.

On most of his excursions he is accompanied by Carol and his children. His oldest child Kyle, 14, has reached the age where he can enjoy and remember the experiences, so he is normally Chris' main companion. An outgoing and excited fan, Chris has no problem making new friends, and through the years this talent has allowed him to meet many great people and find some great seats at games. Just listening to him tell of his experiences is a thrill.

Along the way he has taken numerous pictures to help catalog his experiences. To record his fun times he has taken these pictures along with event tickets and placed them in matted frames to give an immediate remembrance of the visit. He also has framed some vintage Sports Illustrated'magazines with cover pictures of stars like Joe Namath, Hank Aaron, Steve Spurrier (as a San Francisco 49'er), Pete Maravich, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Torre, and Howard Cosell.

These framed memories are on display in his off ice at Erwin, Knight and Cook, L.L.C. in Griffin, where Chris is a Certified Public Accountant. One could spend considerable time perusing these items which are neatly arranged in a colorful, orderly and uncluttered manner. Chris' dream is cataloged on these office walls.

As new ballparks are built (the Yankees and Mets are both constructing new venues), Chris seemingly will have new places to visit for many years. He began his adventure in 1990 and is still going strong as his dream expands and evolves each year.

It is great to see Chris continue to enjoy his passion. I'm looking forward to more stories from his adventures as he stays "on the move."

Pictured: Chris Daniel stands in his Griffin office where he proudly displays his memories.

and wearing one of his most prized souvenirs, a red kimono/jacket given to him by some parents of the Japanese Little League All-Star team. The jacket is autographed by some of the parents and fits him perfectly.