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Rickwood Tales The Newsletter of America’s Oldest Ballpark Volume 2, Issue 1 March 5, 2021 R ICKWOOD T ALES Rickwood Calendar N O R ICKWOOD C LASSIC FOR 2021 1/3/5/21 to 6/5/21: The Birmingham Barons re- with the health and safety of return for the 24th annual Rickwood Classic in 2022 • March 6: Rickwood Field leased the team’s 2021 sched- the players, fans, and employ- ule a few weeks ago. Unfortu- ees of the Barons as the ut- once the pandemic has sub- SABR Chapter Meeting nately, a date for the Rickwood most priority. The protocols in sided. With the loss of the (11:30AM to 1:00 PM) Classic did not appear. Despite place made scheduling a single Classic, the Friends have the best efforts of the Barons game at Rickwood Field an again lost one of the largest • March 6, & 20-21; April 3- and MLB, which has taken over impossibility this season. revenue sources used to 4, 14 & 20: Miles College maintain and restore the ball- the operations of the minor baseball games at Rickwood leagues, the game cannot be park. Please consider a dona- (See Miles’ website for played due to COVID-19. Games The Friends of Rickwood are tion today on our website. hopeful that the Barons will times) at Regions Field will be played Thank you! • Birmingham High School baseball (See our website for dates & times) W HO A RE T HE F RIENDS OF R ICKWOOD ? Get Your Rickwood Gear! P ART 3 : H OORAY FOR H OLLYWOOD ! • Caps, t-shirts, posters, R ICKWOOD F IELD G OES TO THE M OVIES books, and other Rick- wood merchandise are In the past installments on in the story and a photograph of also reported the story. Rick- available for purchase on the origins of The Friends of them accompanied the piece. wood and the band of people our website. We have Rickwood, some of the The stated goals for 1993 were trying to save it, now had some great new items, founding members of the ambitious and included: a new credibility, a bit of prestige, which we are excited group, Coke Matthews, Tom grandstand roof, plans to have and perhaps more important- about. Please visit our Cosby, and Bill Cather were historians document the facility ly, much-needed national online shop to browse very gracious in sharing so any major renovations would publicity. This attention at- and order: memories of their exploits, be as accurate as possible, tracted the eyes of Hollywood. trials, and ultimate success- along with the development of a es in preserving Rickwood master plan. Rickwood’s first flirtation with Field from the wrecking ball. Hollywood was a swing and a Unsung heroes, Chris Fuller- The story revealed a few ideas miss. When Penny Marshall’s ton and Dr. Cleveland Ham- to make Rickwood viable. Some assistants scouted for loca- monds were also given long of the thoughts floated in the tions to film “A League of overdue credit for their ef- article became reality and oth- Their Own” they visited Rick- forts in making the organiza- ers never made it to fruition, wood and decided against tion a success. This install- such as holding a pre-Olympic filming because of the park’s ment focuses on some of the exhibition baseball tournament. dilapidated roof. However, the movies filmed at Rickwood. The idea of filming parts of a profile of the ballpark had baseball movie was not men- been raised and it soon gar- Perhaps the first notice to tioned, however. nered the attention of Ron the public there was a group Shelton, the director of “Bull of people attempting to re- Durham”. Shelton decided to https://rickwood.com/shop/ By February 25, 1993, staff store Rickwood Field was an film the baseball scenes at writer David Knox of The Bir- article by Nancy Bereckis, the park for his movie “Cobb”, mingham News reported that which appeared in the Bir- which starred Tommy Lee Rickwood had been named to mingham Post-Herald on Jones as the title character the National Register of Historic January 19, 1993. There was with Roger Clemens and Jim- Places by the National Park no mention of “The Friends my Buffet as extras. Initially, Service. The inclusion on the of Rickwood”, just the Rick- the grandstand roof remained National Register was an enor- wood Task Force. Terry mous step in Rickwood’s resto- Slaughter, Coke Matthews, ration and Baseball America and Tom Cosby were quoted [Continued on page 2] Page 2 Volume 2, Issue 1 H OLLYWOOD C ALLS ON R ICKWOOD [Continued from Page 1] Painters bent over backwards to played at Rickwood in the 40’s help bring Rickwood back to life – this is what it looked like! No an impediment to filming. Coke for the movie and the communi- need for set decorations!” Matthews recalled, “The new ty. This included the construc- Once convinced, production roof, louvers, and paint, were tion of a left-centerfield score- ran smoothly. eventually part of what we prom- board. However, the Friends allowed ised Shelton to get the ‘Cobb’ Notably, the early baseball films one significant change to Rick- deal done. He had flown an ad- at Rickwood predate the Bar- wood during the filming of vance crew in on a Friday night, ons’ return to the park. “Cobb” “Soul of the Game,” which still and with no notice and they was released in 1994 two years exists. During Rickwood’s hey- asked to see the park. The two before the first Rickwood Clas- day, the press box was on the memories I have are: It was pour- sic. Although many baseball roof of the park. In an effort to ing down rain and gaping, rotted fans did not “discover” Rick- replicate Griffith Stadium in holes in the roof created a hun- wood until the Classics began, Washington, D.C., the produc- dred waterfalls. We couldn’t find the movie projects at the ball- ers added a press box directly a dry place to stand, and back park gave Rickwood a financial under the roof. Tom Cosby then, a pack of dogs still lived at shot in the arm at a critical time recalled, “It would have never Rickwood. So, when we turned in the history of the Friends’ occurred to us to change the on the lights there were 4 or 5 efforts to preserve the park. placement of the press box “We couldn’t find a dry dogs asleep around the pitcher’s from the roof to underneath mound. It really scared the chew- place to stand, and back Shortly after the release of the roof -- it had never been ing tobacco out of all of us as we “Cobb,” a commercial shoot for there before. But we instantly imagined the next day’s head- then, a pack of dogs Baby Ruth candy bars was liked the aesthetics. When we lines. Fortunately, Shelton was filmed at Rickwood. Things were realized that being protected still lived at Rickwood. an old ballplayer himself and he certainly on the upswing for the by the roof would add to its felt and saw the history of the So, when we turned on Friends, which was remarkable longevity and would reduce the place.” after only two years as a fledg- risk of the press box one day the lights there were 4 or ling organization. The publicity Shelton’s vision for the ballpark crashing through the roof, we and hard work by the members 5 dogs asleep around the created the right feel for the ‘permanent-ized’ the movie set culminated in successful fund- baseball scenes. The existing version after filming.” raising efforts. pitcher’s mound.” signs in the outfield were re- The new press box was much placed with period signs includ- “Soul of the Game” was a 1996 larger than the previous one, ing Ajax Tires, The American Boy film produced by HBO and di- which made it more suitable Magazine, and Burma-Shave. rected by Kevin Rodney Sulli- for baseball. In fact, the first The signs were designed by Ted van. The film explored the story Rickwood Classic took place Haigh, who also created signs for of the Negro Leagues shortly before the major leagues inte- just two months after the re- “A League of Their Own” and grated in 1947. The movie fea- lease of “Soul of the Game.” “The Natural.“ tured Satchel Paige, Josh Gib- son, and Jackie Robinson as In May 2012, Hollywood re- The excitement created in the rumors swirled as to who would turned to Rickwood with the local papers and the sudden be the first black major leaguer. filming of the Jackie Robinson- national attention opened doors Many of the baseball scenes in biopic “42”. This movie will be to businesses. This allowed the the movie were filmed at Rick- featured in a future story in Friends to solicit financial help wood in 1995. Rickwood Tales. However, the for needed repairs in order to subject of our next installment make “Cobb” a reality. The According to Matthews, his in- is the Rickwood Classic, which grandstand roof was repaired teractions with the producers of began 25 years ago on June because All South discounted this movie were different. “They 12, 1996. roofing materials, and the Ce- kept wanting to change Rick- lotex Corporation generously wood to make it look - Joe DeLeonard & Jeb Stewart donated general materials. Dan- ‘authentic’. We had a hell of a iel Iron, Stringfellow Lumber, time convincing them that when [This story will continue in Brasfield & Gorrie, and Vulcan Mays, Paige, Gibson, et.
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