Park Name: Rickwood Field Tenants: Birmingham Barons (Southern League) {Alternate Field} Opened: 1910 Address: 1137 Second Avenue West, Birmingham, Alabama 35204 Dimensions: 321' (L), 393' (C), 332' (R) Former Tenants: Birmingham Barons (Southern Association) 1910-1961 Philadelphia Phillies (Major League Spring Training) 1911 Pittsburgh Pirates (Major League Spring Training) 1919 Philadelphia Phillies (Major League Spring Training) 1920 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Southern League) 1920-1924 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro National League) 1925-1926 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Southern League) 1926 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro National League) 1927-1930 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Southern League) 1931-1936 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro National League) 1937, Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Southern League) 1938-1939 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro National League) 1940-1948 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro American League) 1949-1960 Birmingham Barons (Southern League) 1964-1965 Birmingham Athletics (Southern League) 1966-1975 University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers (NCAA Division I) 1979-1983 Birmingham Barons (Southern League) 1981-1987 The view from down the first base line at Rickwood Field. The rooftop gazebo was once home to the pressbox, where infamous Birmingham commissioner Bull Connor once called Barons games. An open area in the stands behind home plate acts as a bandstand for throwback games at Rickwood Field. Bleacher seating makes up most of the grandstand, underneath the steel girders of the roof. Rickwood was the first concrete and steel ballpark built for minor league use. The majority of the seating runs straight along the foul lines, as the park once hosted football games as well, but the last section of seats in the right field corner curves back toward home plate. Rickwood Field was opened in 1910, making it the oldest ballpark structure still being used for professional baseball. The lineup board features pictures and artifacts from the history of baseball in Birmingham. On days when there are no games, the park is open as a museum for fans to explore. Banners on the stadium facade celebrate championships won by the Birmingham Barons and Birmingham Black Barons, the two longest tenured tenants of the park. Rickwood Field is one of the few former Negro League parks still in use. The playing field slopes slightly downward behind the plate, creating a small hill leading down to the backstop. The hand turned scoreboard in left field, featuring period "out of town" scores, and vintage ads on the outfield wall. The original outfield wall stood a cavernous 470 feet from home plate, and the concrete wall that was erected in 1920 still stands behind the current outfield fence. The Birmingham Barons on the field during the 14th Annual Rickwood Classic. The Barons moved out of Rickwood Field in 1988, but in recent years have returned once a year for a throwback game to celebrate their classic park and the history of baseball in Birmingham. |
Exhibition/Etc >