In the late hours of Oct. 26, 1970, and into the early morning hours of Oct. 27, the most famous armed robbery in Atlanta history happened. And it was right after the city's most famous sports event in its history, up until that time: Muhammad Ali's return to professional boxing in a sanctioned fight at Atlanta Municipal Auditorium against Jerry Quarry.

Jeff Keating is president of Doghouse Pictures, and hosted a podcast entitled "Fight Night and the Million Dollar Heist."

The return of the champion ended with Atlanta’s most famous armed robbery in history.
On Oct. 26, 1970, Muhammad Ali returned to the right for the first time since his three-year suspension from boxing for refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

The fight was being held in Atlanta at the Municipal Auditorium - site of Friday night wrestling, all-night gospel singing and President William Howard Taft’s 1909 pre-inaugural possum dinner - and what happened in its aftermath will live forever in Atlanta lore.

Over a long, distinguished career as an American sports journalist, Terence Moore likely interviewed Hank Aaron more than anyone. In fact, Moore said he was the last media professional to interview Aaron before his death on Jan. 22, 2021.

“Hank once said to me, ‘Of all the books that’ve been written about me, and of the documentaries produced about me, no one truly knows the real Hank Aaron,” Moore said, recalling a conversation with baseball’s true home run king. “And I said, ‘Well, we need to do a book.’ And Hank says, ‘Yes, we do.’ ”

Moore is sharing more than three decades of interviews and conversations with Aaron in “The Real Hank Aaron: An Intimate Look at the Life and Legacy of the Home Run King.”

Aaron gained his hard-earned immortality in American sports history 50 years ago over the course of four days in April 1974.

The two political candidates couldn’t have been more different. One man, descending from a family line of Baptist ministers and championing the values of temperance and chastity, promised law and order. The other belonged to a political party thriving on social disorder and looser interpretations of the laws regarding recreational pursuits.

Such a scenario could be easily imagined in any modern election, but it was exactly the case in 1848, when the newly renamed and incorporated city of Atlanta held its first mayoral election.

Sixty years ago today, Mary Shotwell Little left her job at C&S Bank, where she worked as a secretary. That evening, she met a coworker for dinner and shopping at Lenox Square, and parted ways about 8 p.m.

She never showed up for work the next day, thus beginning one of metro Atlanta’s most infamous missing persons cases of the 20th century.

On Nov. 12, 2025, “The Vanishing: The 60-Year Unsolved Disappearance of Mary Shotwell Little” is premiering at the SCADshow Theater on Spring Street in midtown. The film was produced by Monument Motion Picture LLC, a company headed by founder/CEO/producer Steve Kendrick; producer Bill Vanderkloot; executive producer W. John Fedack; and associate producer Pamela Pennamen.

In this episode of ATL Vault, Fedack talks with Atlanta News First about his involvement in the case; what he believes happened to Little; and why her case matters so much today.

Early city officials purchased six acres in 1850 to be a public burial ground for a young-but-fast-growing town of Atlanta.

Originally called Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, this was the beginning of Oakland Cemetery.

It was officially renamed in 1872. By then it had expanded to 48 acres, mainly due to pressures of the Civil War. In the late 19th century, families tended the plots of loved ones, creating an assortment of lovely gardens. Oakland became a popular destination for Sunday carriage rides and picnics.

As the 20th century unfolded, Oakland increasingly was surrounded by residential and industrial development. With the passage of time, many graves went unattended as descendants moved away or lost touch with their antecedents. After years of deferred maintenance and budgetary shortfalls, Oakland became a deteriorating landscape of weed-choked lots and neglected monuments.

In 1976, Oakland Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and experienced a renewal of interest and attention from “friends” that would eventually take over much of the restoration and maintenance of the cemetery and become the Historic Oakland Foundation.

Through restoration projects, fundraising, willpower, and imagination, Oakland Cemetery and its stories have been saved from obscurity. Today, the cemetery welcomes 105,000 visitors a year who stroll the grounds, attend a tour or special event, and come to learn about Atlanta’s rich history.

The product that has become the world's most iconic consumer brand was first served in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886. Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola, and carried a jug of the new product down the street to Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where it was sampled, pronounced “excellent” and placed on sale for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink. Carbonated water was teamed with the new syrup to produce a drink that has become a symbol of American capitalism all over the world.

ATLVault's Tim Darnell speaks with Bob Hope, himself a legendary public relations executive who once worked for Coke, about the product's history, legacy and its future. Welcome to ATLVault on Atlanta News First.

Its streets were traveled by some of the nation’s principled and most courageous. Its buildings were brick-laid by people who endured and persevered to leave behind a better city than they discovered.

Atlanta and the nation have taken a lot from Auburn Avenue. Now, the time may have finally arrived to give something back.

ATLVault talks with David Yoakley Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, about the legacy of Sweet Auburn.