The Real Story of How the Chop Started with the Braves
The tomahawk chop and chant has a long and complicated history with the Atlanta Braves. As a fan, I first saw and participated in the chop in June of 1991. That season means a lot to Braves fans who lucky enough to experience it, but I couldn’t remember how the chop started. Over the years, I had heard the common tale so I decided to do some research to discover the answer.
The most common theory centers on Deion Sanders. The two sport star arrived with the Braves in 1991. Sanders played his college ball at Florida State and the Seminoles had been doing the chop and chant for awhile. This natural connection is how many Braves fans remember the chop coming to Atlanta. The New York Times even gave Sanders the credit in October of 1991. The problem with this theory is there very little local reporting to support it.
The earliest mention of the chop in local reporting was in the Atlanta Constitution on July 17, 1991. By mid-July Braves fever was taking over the city and an article credited Braves organist Carolyn King for starting the chop. The Atlanta Constitution published another article on August 9, 1991 reporting that King started playing the chop music at Braves games in 1989. The team team lost 97 games in 1989 and 1990 and there weren’t many fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in those days. When the team started winning in 1991 the growing crowds responded immediately to King’s music.
While the tomahawk chop started at Florida State, the chop was popping up in different places all over the country. The Kansas City Chiefs started doing it in 1990 and it caught on with Braves fans in 1991. The Braves amazing worst to first season tied the team to chop and the team has made it a large part of the fan experience ever since. I’m sure there were some Braves fans who remember the chop being associated with Deion Sanders, but his arrival had very little to do with it. The chop was spreading, the Braves were winning, and King had been playing the music for years.
Carolyn King was the Braves organist for 17 seasons. When she stepped away in 2004, her part in the creation of the chop was already largely forgotten. The Braves organization has some difficult choices to make in regards to the three decades old tradition. In 1991, King didn’t understand the political ramifications of the phenomena she started. She approached one of the Native American chiefs who were protesting during the playoffs. The chief told her that leaving her job as an organist would not change anything and that if she left “they’ll find someone else to play.” He was right, it’s been sixteen years since King left as the Braves organist and the chop has kept on playing.
