Historic Rickwood Field
Comments from PugsleyTonks
It has been a long time since my blog travel partner, Goosebuster, has guest written his own post. So, I would like to thank Goosebuster for his willingness to once again guest author. Goosebuster understands the importance of looking for hidden gems on his path of travel. In a recent family trip, he visited a true Americana gem. Without further adieu, let’s learn all about Rickwood Field.
Rickwood Field – America’s Oldest Baseball Park
On a recent family trip to Destin, Florida, my family and I were looking for attractions in our path. My son came up with the idea of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. My son loves baseball. And, I have a passion for architecture. So, with an original opening day of August 18, 1910, a tour of America’s Oldest Baseball Park seemed like an interesting stop for all.
A Bit of History
PugsleyTonks warned me not to over do it with details readily available on Wikipedia. But, the post would not work without a bit of history.
As already mentioned, Rickwood Field opened in 1910. It became the oldest field when Chicago’s Comiskey Park was torn down in the early 90s. Rickwood Field was home of the Birmingham Barons. In the first 50 years, the Barons hosted many professional baseball teams and future Hall of Famers. 181 Hall of Famers have played in Rickwood, including Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, etc. etc.
Its also important to note that Willie Mays never played for the Birmingham Barons. Rather, Willie Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons. From 1920 to 1960, Rickwood Field was also home to the Black Barons of the Negro Baseball League. Willie Mays was from Birmingham. So, in 1948, at the young age of 17, Mays began his professional career with the Black Barons. As Mays was still in high school, his father would not let him travel. So, Mays only played in home games.
In the last 50 years, Rickwood has served many purposes, primarily minor league and collegiate baseball.
But what about the Stadium
As you saw in the Pre-Post Teaser, the Rickwood Stadium has been used as movie set for many movies. The key reason that makes this possible is the “retro” renovation. Since the 1990s, all of the renovations are designed to return the park to its 1948 appearance. Therefore, while the park as all the modern amenities, it looks very much look the stadium of 1948.
As you can see with the pictures above, the stadium buildings and roofs are the same. The lighting looks the same. Within the stadium, the stands and dugouts look circa 1940s. Finally, the retro architectural would not be complete without the period scoreboard.
But…the Original Equipment is the Best
While the retro renovation is very unique, the remaining original parts of the stadium were my favorite part of the tour. The original home run wall is still standing. However, there is a second home run fence within this one that is used for the games. The center field distance on the original wall is 478 feet. My son tells me that 478 feet is way too far by current standards. Additionally, the Willie Mays pavilion down the left field line is a nice tribute to the legend.
Two other points of interest really caught my eye. First, there was tunnel leading from the lockerrooms to the baseball field. I could not help but wonder how many hands slapped the worn concrete before running onto the field. But, the true star of the historic architecture show is the Green Monster. The Rickwood Green Monster somewhat differs from the Boston’s Fenway Park version. At Rickwood Field, the Green Monster happens to be the big trough style urinal in the mens’ restroom…nostalgia at its best.
Wrap It Up
So ends my family’s tour of historic Rickwood Field, America’s Oldest Ballpark. Admission and parking were free. If you are a baseball fan traveling through Birmingham, I highly recommend the tour. Thanks again to PugsleyTonks for publishing our Rickwood visit. Have a good day and God Bless. Goosebuster
I hope you have enjoyed reading “Historic Rickwood Field” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.
Here was a past post for the baseball fans https://travelingwithpt.com/newcomerstown-birthplace-of-legends/
Here are the details if you wish to visit Rickwood Field yourself https://rickwood.com/
P.S. Just in case the Pre-Post Teaser connection is not obvious, all of those photographs were taken at Rickwood Field. As already mentioned, Willie Mays started his career there with the Birmingham Black Barons. The other two pictures were old baseball movies filmed at Rickwood. The list of major movies filmed at Rickwood Field include:
- “Cobb” (1994) featuring Tommy Lee Jones
- “Soul of the Game” (1995) an HBO movie about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson
- “42” (2013) featuring Chadwick Boseman
