On Thursday night, Black baseball history will be highlighted in primetime when Fox Sports airs the St. Louis Cardinals vs San Francisco Giants game from legendary Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
At one time, Birmingham was the most segregated city in the country and one of the most violent toward Black people.
In 1963, Birmingham police viciously beat peaceful protesters while firemen used water canons on others who were taking part in the nonviolent Civil Rights protests; this included high school and elementary school students. During that tumultuous time, Martin Luther King was jailed in the city for “parading without a permit.” While jailed he penned the famous “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.”
Birmingham is also the city where, on September 15th, 1963, four Black schoolgirls were murdered in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, hence the city being known in that era as “Bombingham.”
These actions spurred the Civil Rights Movement and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
But the city’s history is not rooted simply in violence and hate. It’s also home to the legendary baseball park Rickwood Field. Opened on August 18th, 1910, it’s the nation’s oldest professional ballpark.
The venue was home to the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association but also hosted baseball legends such as the NY Yankees, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. It was also used as the home field for the University of Alabama and Auburn University football teams until 1927 and home of the Vulcan Bowl, an HBCU football game, from 1941 to 1949 and again in 1952.
But in 1920, Black baseball history was made when the Birmingham Stars of the Negro Southern League became a tenant and eventually renamed itself as the Birmingham Black Barons
And while they played games there for the next four decades, the Black Barons never played against the Barons, a manifestation of baseball’s overall refusal to face (or fear of facing) Negro League teams.
In 1925, the Black Barons became a full-time member of the Negro National League (NNL), run by Negro League legend Rube Foster. The team’s star player was power hitter George “Mule” Suttles, a 23-year-old left fielder and first baseman who eventually became the All-time home run king of the Nergo American League (NAL).
Two years later, a 20-year-old pitching phenom signed with the club and helped the team make the postseason. That player, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, went on to become, arguably, the greatest and most famous Negro League player in history.
The Black Barons would experience highs and lows during its existence, moving down to the Negro Southern League in 1931 thanks to the Great Depression. In 1937, it moved back up to the newly formed Negro American League, which consisted of many of the NNL teams that were affected after the league folded due to the Depression.
The NAL fielded historic teams including the Chicago American Giants, New York Cubans, and the Kansas City Monarchs, which featured baseball legends Paige (1941 – 47) and Jackie Robinson (1945).
In 1943, the Black Barons finally made the Negro League World Series (NLWS) but lost to the Homestead Grays. A year later, the same outcome played out at the NLWS.
Five years later, the Black Barons would sign a young 17-year-old player who would go on to become one of, if not the greatest, baseball player in history, period. That player was Willie Mays, who passed away this past Tuesday at the age of 93.
Mays, a Birmingham native, was in high school when he signed with his hometown Negro League team in 1948. That year, the team made the NLWS once again, only to fall to the Grays yet again at Rickwood Field. That year was significant as Rickwood Field set an all-time seasonal attendance record of 445,926 fans and also hosted the final Negro Leagues World Series Game ever played.
Mays left the Black Barons in 1951 to join the New York Giants and put together one of the greatest baseball resumes in history.
He played for the NY/San Francisco Giants for 21 years and spent two years with the NY Mets. Over his career, he was the Rookie of the Year, 2x NL MVP, 24x All-Star, 2x All-Star MVP, 12x Gold Glove winner, batting champion (1954) and 1954 World Series champion, a game where he made “The Catch” in Game 1, which is often called the greatest defensive play in MLB history.
Tonight’s game was created as a tribute to the Negro Leagues, but it will signify so much more.
It will honor the great teams, players and moments from Negro Leagues history and follow in the footsteps of MLB’s decision to recognize NEgro League statistics in its record books. It will honor Juneteenth and those who fought for human and civil rights in a city run by people who violently opposed it.
Rickwood Field will also host home games for Miles College next season, maintaining its HBCU ties.
Lastly, and now most importantly, the game at Rickwood Field, one of only five remaining Negro League stadiums in the country, will be a fitting tribute to its hometown hero Willie “Say Hey Kid” Mays, a son of Birmingham and one of the greatest to ever play the game.
You can watch the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants from historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama tonight, Thursday, June 20th at 7pm ET.
