Rain douses fireworks in Atlanta

Fans at the Turner Field Tuesday night not only had to suffer through a nearly three-hour rain delay, but also had their Fourth of July fireworks canceled. Rain forced game stoppage as the Braves and Cardinals played with one out in the top of the sixth inning. Approximately 10,000 of the 47,524 sellout crowd stayed through the rain delay for the postgame fireworks. However, just before the rain stopped and the game resumed, fans were informed that the fireworks show would be postponed until Wednesday night because the Braves’ fireworks permit ran out at midnight and the team could not obtain a new permit, according to the Associated Press. I’m not sure how fireworks permits work, but could the Braves not get a permit to cover the 4th and the 5th just in case there was a delay, such as rain or even extra innings? I’ll need to do some research on this, but it seems I remember a Braves/Mets game back in the late 80s when the game went about 18 innings, lasted until about four in the morning, and featured fireworks at the end, on the 5th of July. I think Braves pitcher Rick Camp hit a home run in that game, but again, I’ll need to do some research.

UPDATE: Ok, I was close about the 80s July 4th game between the Mets and Braves. Here’s a brief recollection of the game from Wednesday’s Atlanta Journal Constitution:

On July 4, 1985, the Mets and Braves played a 19-inning game at old Fulton County Stadium that included two rain delays and ended just before 4 a.m. About 1,000 fans stuck around that night for a fireworks show that began at 4:01 a.m., waking many Atlantans who feared the city was under attack.