Built in 1997, Hank Aaron Stadium brought Affiliated Minor League Baseball back to Mobile after a 27 year absence. Old Hartwell Field… one of the jewels of the old Southern Association, hosted professional baseball here for over 30 years. After the Southern Association folded in 1961, the old ballpark would only host 2 more seasons of pro ball… 1966 and 1970. Hartwell Field was left to decay until it was finally demolished in 1983.