Rickwood Field: A league of its own
1910. Taft became the first president to throw the first pitch of a baseball game, pilot Charles Hamilton made the first one-day roundtrip from New York to Philadelphia, the U.S. celebrated Father’s Day for the first time and on Aug. 18, more than 10,000 people bought tickets for a special moment in Birmingham and baseball history: The first game at Rickwood Field.
On Aug. 18, Rickwood Field, which the National Park Service identifies as the oldest baseball park in America, turns 106 years old.
Built by wealthy industrialist Rick Woodward, Rickwood Field served as the home field for the Birmingham Barons from 1910 to the end of the 1987 season. The Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Southern League also used the stadium from 1920 until the team became integrated into the Barons in 1964.
As major league teams traveled through Birmingham on the railroad, many would stop at Rickwood for an exhibition game.
“Guys like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson, these iconic baseball figures, they also played here,” said David Brewer, executive director of Friends of Rickwood. “There are 112 members of the baseball Hall of Fame who have played here. That’s over a third of the total [Hall of Fame] membership in a city that was never a major league town.”
In 2016, the park bears a strong resemblance to its original construction. Because of its old-fashioned appearance, it has been used for several movies, such as “Cobb,” “Soul of the Game” and, most recently, “42.”
The field hosts between 175 and 200 games every year, and the park serves as the home field for Miles College and is used for high school and travel league games, scouting and training camps and corporate events. Additionally, every year, the Barons return to play in the Rickwood Classic.
“We think it remains important, and maybe even beyond that, essential to our success to continue to play baseball here, rather than having America’s oldest empty ballpark,” said Brewer, who started working for Rickwood while earning his graduate degree in American history at UAB.
The ballpark is maintained by Friends of Rickwood, a nonprofit organization with Brewer and groundskeeper Alvin Harris as the only paid employees.
“Our mission statement is the restoration and revitalization of the park,” Brewer said. “We handle the day-to-day operations of the park, the management, the fundraising, the scheduling, the marketing, the maintenance and the implementation of the actual restoration project.”
Since 1992, Friends of Rickwood has invested over $1.5 million in the park. Brewer describes the restoration as an “ongoing challenge.” One project the organization still hopes to complete is the creation of a traditional museum at Rickwood. Brewer said that the organization owns or has access to several historical artifacts and memorabilia, but for now, the organization lacks the funds required to start the museum.
When asked if Regions Field in downtown Birmingham is good for Rickwood, Brewer emphatically answers “yes.”
“The new ballpark downtown has gotten the city excited again about baseball,” Brewer said. “There’s something romantic about baseball. We call it America’s game, America’s pastime. It’s always been an integral part of American culture and anything that is good for baseball in the community is good for all of us who are involved in baseball. We’re all part of the cultural, historic community in Birmingham.”
Rickwood Field, located at 1137 2nd Ave W, is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit rickwood.com for schedule of events or more information.