Rickwood Field
Encyclopedia
| Rickwood Field | |
 | |
| Facility Statistics | |
| Location | 1137 2nd Avenue West Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S... |
| Broke Ground | Spring 1910 |
| Cost | $75,000 |
| Opened | August 18, 1910 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Owner | City of Birmingham |
| Tenants | |
| Birmingham Barons Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club.... (Southern Association) | 1910-1961 |
| Birmingham Barons Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club.... (Southern League) | 1964-1965, 1981-1987 |
| Birmingham A's Birmingham A's The Birmingham A's was a former minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team was named for its major league affiliate, the Kansas City Athletics, later the Oakland Athletics, and played for nine seasons from to in the Double-A Southern League.... (Southern League) | 1967-1975 |
| Birmingham Black Barons Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated... (Negro Southern League) | 1920-1924, 1926, 1931–1936, 1938-1939 |
| Birmingham Black Barons Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated... (Negro National League) | 1925-1926, 1927–1930, 1937, 1940-1948 |
| Birmingham Black Barons Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated... (Negro American League) | 1949-1960 |
| Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League... (Major League Baseball Spring Training) | 1911, 1920 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions... (Major League Baseball Spring Training) | 1919 |
| Seating Capacity | |
| 2005 | 10,800 |
| Current Dimensions | |
| Left field | 321 ft (96.3 m) |
| Left center | 399 ft (119.7 m) |
| Center field | 393 ft (117.9 m) |
| Right cemter | 392 ft (117.6 m) |
| Right field | 332 ft (99.6 m) |
Rickwood Field, located in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, is the oldest surviving professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
park in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was built for the Birmingham Barons
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club....
in 1910 by industrialist and team-owner Rick Woodward and has served as the home park for the Birmingham Barons
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club....
and the Birmingham Black Barons
Birmingham Black Barons
The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated...
of the Negro Leagues
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
. Though the Barons have moved their home games to the suburbs, Rickwood Field has been preserved and is undergoing gradual restoration as a "working museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
" where baseball's history can be experienced. Rickwood Field is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
The Birmingham Coal Barons baseball team began playing professionally in 1887, with their home games at an informal park called "Slag Pile Field" in West End. In 1901 they joined the Southern AssociationSouthern Association
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A , Class A1 and Class AA...
.
Allen Harvey "Rick" Woodward, chairman of Woodward Iron Company and grandson of pioneer Birmingham industrialist Stimpson Harvey Woodward, purchased a majority share of the Birmingham Coal Barons baseball team from J. William McQueen in 1909 while he was still in his 20s. Immediately he began planning a grand showplace for his new team. He contacted Connie Mack
Connie Mack (baseball)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...
for advice on the details, including the field dimensions. He settled on Forbes Field
Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(which was controlled by Mack's team and later renamed Connie Mack Stadium) as the models for the new park. He purchased land in the West End neighborhood of Birmingham from the Alabama Central Railroad. The $75,000 structure was designed by Southeastern Engineering Company of Birmingham (a short-lived subsidiary of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
's General Fireproofing Company) and completed during the summer of 1910. The 12.7 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
(51,000 m²) park was flanked along the basepaths by concrete and steel stands. A tile-roofed cupola on the roof behind home plate provided space for the announcer and the press. Woodward named the field after himself, using his nickname and the first part of his last name.
A. H. “Rick” Woodward invited Alabama Governor Braxton Bragg Comer, Birmingham Mayor Culpepper Exum, civic leader, George B. Ward
George B. Ward
George B. Ward was the 13th Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama and the owner of the exotic "Vestavia" estate which gives Vestavia Hills, Alabama its name.-Early life:...
and Victor H. Hanson, publisher of The Birmingham News
The Birmingham News
The Birmingham News is the principal daily newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and the largest newspaper in Alabama. The paper is owned by Advance Publications...
for opening day on August 18, 1910. The day was celebrated by businesses closing all over town to allow fans to fill the park for the first pitch at 3:30 P.M. Over 10,000 people attended that first game in which the Barons defeated the visiting Montgomery Climbers 3-2.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century Rickwood Field hosted sellout crowds for the Barons and the Black Barons who played on alternate weekends.
In 1912 a spring tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
tore through the field, pulling up the outfield fence. Two years later Woodward felt the need to have electric fans installed in the grandstands for the comfort of the crowd. The Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
also made Rickwood Field their spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
home in 1919
1919 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:Chicago White Sox players accused of throwing World Series, resulting in the Black Sox scandal.-Champions:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Chicago White Sox -MLB statistical leaders:-Headline Event of the Year:...
.
Rickwood Field also hosted college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
games. From 1912 to 1927 the Alabama Crimson Tide played its Birmingham home dates in Rickwood. In 1921 the outfield fence was damaged in a tornado and quickly rebuilt. In 1924-1927 the infield bleachers were covered with a steel-framed roof designed by Denham, VanKeuren & Denham, Architects of Birmingham. Shortly after, In 1928 a new Mission style
Mission style
Mission style may refer to the following:*Mission Style Furniture*Mission Revival Style architecture*American Craftsman, an architectural and design movement*Mission School, an art movement of the late 20th century...
entry structure with offices was built to the designs of Paul Wright & Co., Engineers of Birmingham. A new concrete outfield wall replaced the original fence.
In 1931 in the first game of the Dixie Series championship, Birmingham's 43-year-old Ray Caldwell
Ray Caldwell
Raymond Benjamin Caldwell, , was an American major league pitcher from 1910 to 1921. He was known for throwing the spitball, and he was one of the 17 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1920.Caldwell was notorious during his playing career for his addiction to...
outpitched 22-year-old Dizzy Dean
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....
, who had guaranteed a win. The Barons won the series 4 games to 3. In 1936 four monumental steel-frame light towers designed and fabricated by the Truscon Steel Company of Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
were erected, allowing for night games. In 1938, Woodward sold the park to Ed Norton, a local businessman. In 1940 Norton sold it to the Cincinnati Reds. At that time new outfield fences were built inside the original walls to reduce the field dimensions. G. J. Jebeles of Birmingham purchased the park in 1944. A ladies' rest room was added and the outfield fence reduced again in 1948. In 1949 ownership changed hands again, going to a partnership of Al DeMent, Al Belcher, and Rufus Lackey. They added a small restaurant in the entrance building in 1950 and installed additional box seats, necessitating the relocations of the dugouts farther down the baselines. In 1958 Belcher gained a majority share and control of the park. In 1964 General Manager Glynn West purchased 1000 wooden seats from New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
and installed them at the park. Belcher sold Rickwood Field in 1966 to the City of Birmingham, but retained a lease for the remainder of that year.
In 1966 the lease was transferred to Charlie Finley
Charles O. Finley
Charles Oscar Finley , nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968...
, who brought the Kansas City Athletics'
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
AA farm team to Birmingham for the 1967 season. That year is remembered for the day that 14,000 disappointed fans were sent home early when the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
vs. Southern League All-Stars exhibition game was called "on account of tornado." During this period, following a trend which swept minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
(and which has since been largely reversed), the team took the name of the parent major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
club and was known as the "Birmingham A's". Between 1979 and 1980 the wooden seats were replaced with plastic seats in the box areas and metal bleachers under the grandstands.
In 1981 Art Clarkson brought minor league baseball back to Rickwood with the Detroit Tigers AA club, which resumed the Barons name. He had a new electronic scoreboard installed at the park. In 1986, the Barons became the Chicago White Sox AA club, an affiliation that continues today.
In 1987 the Barons moved to a new facility, (Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
Regions Park, formerly known as Hoover Metropolitan Stadium or The Hoover Met, is a minor league baseball park located in the Birmingham, Alabama, USA, suburb of Hoover. It has been the home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League since 1988, replacing historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham...
) in the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Hoover, Alabama
Hoover, Alabama
Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...
.
Current status
Since 1992 the ballpark has been under the care of the Friends of Rickwood who are restoring the facility to its former glory. They also host frequent amateur, police and semi-pro games and open the gates to visitors who can walk in and explore the grandstands or run the bases.Since 1996, Rickwood Field has hosted the Barons for a throwback game in which both teams wear period uniforms. Each match honors a different era in Birmingham baseball history. Ballpark enthusiasts from across North America migrate to Rickwood to attend this AA regulation game, named the "Rickwood Classic," every season. Many consider this game the best opportunity to experience a regulation ballgame in an historic ballpark that remains true to its original and traditional appearance. Those involved – the Barons franchise, Friends of Rickwood, and fans – fully believe that this experience in the sacred baseball cathedral is among the most underrated baseball events.
Scenes from the movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Cobb (1994) and Soul of the Game (1995) were filmed at Rickwood. Those productions contributed to the recreation of the scoreboard and press-box and the addition of 1940s period style advertisements on the outfield fence. Some of these retro-style ads have been sponsored by real Birmingham businesses, including a section sponsored by the descendants of Rick Woodward that advertises long-gone Woodward Iron Co. The outfield signs were designed by Ted Haigh, a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based graphic designer and executed by Skidmore Sign Company of Birmingham.
As of 2005, the Friends of Rickwood have spent around $2 million refurbishing the grandstands, press-box, locker rooms, roof and main entrance to the park. Future plans include establishing a Museum of Southern Baseball.
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
broadcast a re-enactment of a Negro League game played at Rickwood on February 26, 2006. It featured teams wearing the uniforms of the fictitious "Bristol Barnstormers" (named for ESPN's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
) and the Birmingham Black Barons
Birmingham Black Barons
The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated...
.