The Newsletter of America’s Oldest Ballpark Volume 2, Issue 2

June 4, 2021 R ICKWOOD T ALES

Rickwood Calendar: J ERRY M ALLOY C ONFERENCE 6/4/21 to 9/4/21: M OVED TO J UNE 2 - 4 , 2 0 2 2 • June: Dedication of the Women’s Suffrage marker. See our website The prestigious Jerry Malloy Friends of Rickwood are excit- open to and history fans of or Facebook page for the date Negro League Conference has ed to welcome researchers all ages, promotes activities to en- • June 4: tryouts again been rescheduled. The and authors from across the hance scholarly, educational, and Conference will now take country, who will be visiting literary objectives.” For more infor- • June 5-6: Bash baseball event place June 2-4 2022 at the the Magic City for the event. mation, please visit: • June 8: Central Baseball Sheraton Hotel in downtown https://sabr.org/malloy. Academy v. Utah team Birmingham. The event was originally scheduled for 2020 According to SABR, “Since • June 12: Jennifer Weaver Vestavia to coincide with the 100th 1998, the Jerry Malloy Confer- Baseball Family Outing anniversary of the founding of ence has been the only sym- the Negro National and Negro posium dedicated exclusively • June or July: Tennessee Associa- to the examination and pro- tion of Vintage Base Ball makeup Southern Leagues. COVID-19 then postponed the confer- motion of Black baseball his- game. See our website or Facebook tory. The conference, which is page for the date ence several times. The

• July 12-17: Piper Davis Baseball 6th Annual National Tournament W HO A RE T HE F RIENDS OF R ICKWOOD ? • August 18: Rickwood turns 111! P ART 4 : T HE R ICKWOOD C LASSIC B ECOMES IRMINGHAM S AVORITE AME • September: No events are cur- B ’ F G rently scheduled. See our website In our last installment, we dis- the table with a compelling standstill over a mile away. It was for updates cussed how two movies filmed at offer: Tell us how much mon- incredible, and reminiscent of Rickwood, Cobb and Soul of the ey the Barons made on day the long line of cars at the end of Game, brought much-needed games in 1995, on average, , only it was real. Get Your Rickwood Gear! financial assistance and atten- and if the Barons would re- tion to the ballpark at a time turn for one glorious ‘turn People who had not been to Rick- when it was desperately needed. back the clock’ game, we • Caps, t-shirts, posters, wood in years came home wear- These films truly helped keep the would guarantee them at books, and other Rickwood ing nostalgic smiles and sharing wrecking ball at bay. However, least that much off the top, merchandise are available memories. Fans who attended the most critical date in the and then split the rest. The for purchase on our web- games as children now led their Friends of Rickwood’s efforts to funny thing was, we still owed elderly parents by the hand mak- preserve the ballpark happened Vulcan Painters $100,000 for ing sure they got a hot dog, a on June 12, 1996, when the the paint job, and had other cold drink, and a place to sit. returned for creditors clamoring, so our Many grandchildren were also in the first time since 1987 to play ‘guarantee’ was vapor. The tow as the experience of going to the Memphis Chicks in the Rick- good news was that the First the ballpark was handed down to wood Classic. Classic was a sellout [and] a new generation. grossed probably $75,000. It was easy to convince Bill to For this dream to become a reali- make it an annual event.” ty, it took a great deal of hard There were two special honorees work behind the scenes. Coke for the game. Walt Dropo trav- Matthews remembered getting The day of the first Rickwood eled from Boston and looked as the Barons to agree to the game Classic was not like anything if he might play an inning or two. was not easy. He recalled, “[I] ever experienced by fans go- At 78-years old, Piper Davis was https://rickwood.com/shop/ would give [Bill] Hardekopf (the ing to a slowed by time but was proud to Barons GM) the credit for finally game in Birmingham. Sure, join Dropo on the field. Both Da- agreeing to meet with the yahoos there were huge crowds for vis and Dropo had played key from Rickwood. After several at the Hoover roles for two different hometown years of saying how important Met in 1994. But the Classic teams, which shared the ballpark day games were to his players was different, and the feeling (true), and how much money he was electric. Two hours before w [Continued on page 2] made (not much), we got him to the game, traffic was at a Page 2 Volume 2, Issue 2

T HE C LASSIC B ECOMES R ICKWOOD ’ S S IGNATURE E VENT

[Continued from page 1] 10,334 fans jammed into the It is hard to believe that only park to relive their memories four years after a group of in the chase for championships and to make new ones. friends got together with the in 1948. The two of them, and Through six innings, the Bar- improbable idea of saving an Rick Woodward III, grandson of ons built a 3-0 lead. Mike old ballpark that the stars the park’s namesake, threw out Heathcott, Birmingham’s aligned, and the Barons came ceremonial first pitches. starting was brilliant, home. Since the Classic began pitching into the eighth. The in 1996, the Barons have re- Many others who played a part Chicks rallied with a in the turned to 23 in Rickwood’s history were there eighth and another in the times with just a few interrup- too. Norm Zauchin came to the ninth to build the drama be- game shortly after having major fore former Auburn standout tions. There was no game in surgery weeks before. Former and Barons reliever Stacy 2017 due to repairs to the player Fred Hatfield and his wife Jones closed the door for a 3- park. COVID-19 then stopped came from Florida and Willard 2 Barons victory. the game in 2020 and 2021. Having the Classic at Rickwood Nixon traveled from Georgia. Bill Greason came from a few miles is a privilege and is due to the Afterward, everyone was diligent efforts of the Logan away to meet old friends and thrilled by how popular the gladly sign autographs. family, Barons’ GM Jonathan event was with the fans. Walt Nelson, the White Sox, Art Clarkson, the former owner Dropo summed up everyone’s and the Friends of Rickwood. of the Barons was there, as well feelings to Wayne Martin of We look forward to the Classic as advertising executive John the Birmingham News, saying returning in 2022. Forney, better known as the “I look out at this park and it radio voice of Alabama football looks just the same to me. It As we said in our first article in “I look out at this park from the 1960s through the seems like just yesterday… I this series, saving the ballpark hope they do it every year.” and it looks just the early 1980s. Also on hand was is a never-ending process. In former Southern League Presi- Baron GM Bill Hardekopf was our final installment, we con- same to me. It seems like dent Jimmy Bragan. Clarkson, cautious in his comments. He clude by discussing some of Forney, and Bragan were the asked attendees to provide the challenges facing Rickwood just yesterday… I hope key people who brought base- feedback and added, “our now and in the future and what ball back to Birmingham in fans will play a big part in any we can do to preserve her for they do it every year.” 1981. Team owner Dave decision about games here at the next generation. Rickwood in the future.” The Elmore even flew in from the - Joe DeLeonard & Jeb Stewart -Walt Dropo west coast but had trouble find- fans’ overwhelming response [This story will conclude in ing the park. There were no was undeniably positive. our next issue] smartphones for directions.

M AJOR L EAGUE S TATUS FOR R ICKWOOD ? On December 16, 2020, Major Negro Southern League, and the announcement, which League Baseball announced the Negro . impacts our favorite ballpark. that seven professional Negro 17 different Black Barons Rickwood Field was not just Leagues, which operated from seasons are now recognized the home of the Birmingham 1920-48, have finally been as being Major League years Barons but was also the designated as having “Major (1924-25, 1927-30, 1932, Black Barons’ park. Rickwood League status”. Nearly 3,500 1937, 1940-48). This means hosted Negro League all-star players who played in the Negro that Black Barons’ greats such games, playoff games, and Leagues during these years are as Sam Bankhead, Mule Sut- the Negro League World Se- now considered Major League tles, Piper Davis, Artie Wilson, ries in 1943, 1944, and players. In addition, the statis- Lyman Bostock, Sr., Bill Pow- 1948. The story of the Black tics and records for the players ell, and so many others, are Barons at Rickwood was told and clubs will be included in now being honored as former by Chris Fullerton in his book ’s rec- Major League players. Every Other Sunday. ords. And while the credit undoubt- Based on MLB’s decision, Included were several leagues edly belongs to those players Rickwood Field is rightfully that the Birmingham Black Bar- and teams who earned their considered a Major League ons competed in during their Major League stripes on the park for all of the seasons glorious history, including the field, there was at least one when the Black Barons were first Negro , the unintended consequence with a Major League team. Rickwood Tales Page 3

D USTING ’ EM OFF ” : F ROM T HE D ESK OF T HE E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR

On Saturday, March 6, 2021, the show, which made nearly $800. Sometime in June, Rickwood ballpark hosted the Rickwood There is baseball nearly every will be getting a new histori- Field SABR Chapter's annual weekend at Rickwood. On May cal marker. On August 18, meeting, which was well attend- 8, Rickwood hosted Vestavia 1915, the Alabama Equal ed. Attendees were treated to Youth Baseball games at the Suffrage Association and the grilled Bratwursts and Italian park. Everyone had a great time. Birmingham Barons hosted a Sausages and watched a slide game supporting the right for show of about 350 photographs On May 28, Rickwood was set to women to vote, which the from the Friends of Rickwood's host games between teams in marker commemorates. The collection of 2,000 photographs, the Tennessee Association of marker is part of the National which the organization obtained Vintage Base Ball. The league Votes for Women Trail. Once from the Birmingham News from follows 1864 rules and teams we know the dedication date, 1931-1987. It was nice to spend use equipment and uniforms we will announce it on our an afternoon talking baseball. from that era. Unfortunately, the website and Facebook page. The event raised $236 in dona- games were rained out. We are tions for the Friends of Rickwood working to reschedule the event We close with some sad in the organization's efforts to and will announce it on our web- restore Rickwood Field, Ameri- news. On April 5, longtime site and Facebook page soon. Alabama sportswriter and ca's Oldest Ballpark. editor Bill Lumpkin died at If you’ve ever walked past the 92. There will be a service for As a bonus, Miles College played first base side of the ballpark on him this Saturday at 11:30 Stillman College in a - 12th Street West, you may have AM at Elmwood Cemetery. header that afternoon. The Gold- noticed extensive water damage en Bears swept both games on the wood on the exterior of from the Stillman Tigers, 11-10 On May 10, Jake Sanders the former Dugout Restaurant. died at 86. He played in the and 16-2. For most of us, it was The Friends of Rickwood have “Sometime in June, the first live baseball game we Negro Leagues with the Kan- begun to replace the siding. Our sas City Monarchs, Detroit had attended in well over a year. Rickwood will be getting Facebook page features a photo Stars, and New Orleans of the ongoing project. With a Bears in the 1950s. WBHM a new historical On April 10, we had a great day 110-year old ballpark, mainte- featured Sanders in a story in nance and restoration efforts of baseball at the ballpark. Ful- 2018. never end. Only In Your State marker.” tondale High School’s baseball team took part in a -header; recently published a nice article and the Friends hosted a base- on the ballpark and the Friends’ Until next time, we hope to ball/sports and memorabilia efforts to restore it. see you at the ballpark.

B ECOME A F RIEND OF R ICKWOOD

The Friends of Rickwood is $25 donation; (3) Level 3 is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organ- “Veteran” for a $50 donation ization, which was formed (and also gets a patch); and in 1992, and is dedicated (4) Level 4 is a “Gold Glover” to preserving America’s for a $100 donation (and also Oldest Ballpark. Anyone gets a Rickwood shirt). To can become a Friend of donate, please visit https:// Rickwood by donating to rickwood.com/donate-to- the Friends. rickwood-field/ or write us at:

We have four levels of The Friends of Rickwood membership for individuals Rickwood Field and each level will receive a certificate, a window 1137 2nd Ave West sticker, and 10% off Rick- Birmingham, AL 35204 wood merchandise: (1) Level 1 is a “Little Leaguer” We need your help more than for a $10 donation; (2) Level 2 is a “Rookie” for a ever this year. Thanks!

Page 4 Volume 2, Issue 2

T HE R ICKWOOD H ALL OF F AME P ROJECT The 13th annual Jerry Malloy Stewart formed the Rickwood Rickwood almost certainly Negro League Conference Hall of Fame Project commit- happened on April 4, 1927, was held in Birmingham in tee. The goal of the project is when 13 future Hall of 2010. The conference pro- to confirm every member of Famers took the field. The gram reported that “A record the National Baseball Hall of Washington Senators, man- 107 Cooperstown Hall of Fame who appeared in a aged by Stanley “Bucky” Har- Famers stepped onto Rick game at Rickwood Field as a ris, were led by Sam Rice, Tris Woodward’s Rickwood Field.” player, , , or Speaker, , and That number has been con- umpire. Stan Coveleskie. The Sena- sidered final for a decade. tors were overmatched losing 10-3 to the New York Giants,

So far, the committee has who were managed by John However, new sources have identified an additional 30 McGraw. The Giants’ roster revealed additional Hall of Hall of Famers, who appeared featured , Fred Famer members who ap- in games at Rickwood, which Lindstrom, , Rogers peared in games at Rickwood. brings the total to 137 with Hornsby, , and Bur- The Friends of Rickwood soon more to come. Some of the leigh Grimes. In addition, fu- realized that 107 was merely recently identified Hall of ture Hall of Famer, , the floor, not the ceiling, and Famers include , umpired the game. additional research was need- , , Larry ed. Walker, Edgar Martinez, “So far, the committee , , We will report our findings in a

and . future edition of our newslet- has identified an This year members of the ter and will provide a com- additional 30 Hall of Friends of Rickwood and plete list of the Hall of Famers SABR, Joe DeLeonard, Ben The most Hall of Famers to who have appeared in games Powell, Lamar Smith, and Jeb appear in a single game at Famers, who appeared at America’s Oldest Ballpark. in games at Rickwood, which brings the grand DID YOU KNOW ? total to 137 with more to come.”

Photo Credit: The Birmingham News, 1982.

On July 22, 1982, the , who were in the heat of a pennant race, visited Rickwood Field to play an exhibition against the Southern League All-Stars. After a heavy rainstorm nearly canceled the game, an overflow crowd of 11,111 saw the All-Stars defeat the Braves, 7-4. Jeff Reynolds of the Knoxville Blue Jays won MVP honors after going 2-for-4 and smashing a 2-run homer. Despite the loss, the Braves went on to win the National League West by 1 game over the Dodgers, as Atlanta finished with a record of 89-73. Unfortunately, the Braves’ Cinderella season came to an end in the NL Championship Series, as they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in three games. Rickwood Tales Page 5

R ICKWOOD ’ S C HAMPIONSHIPS : T HE 1 9 1 2 B IRMINGHAM B ARONS

If you happen to wander over by The Barons batted .253 collec- Of the 16 players on the the third-base side of the grand- tively with Bill McGilvray roster, 9 members of the stand, you will notice that the (.314), Mike Almeida (.301), 1912 Barons would reach Friends of Rickwood have com- Jimmy Johnston (.296), and the big leagues. There were memorated the championship Bobby Messenger (.259) lead- no SA playoffs that year, and clubs that have called America’s ing the way as the Barons the did not yet Oldest Ballpark home from 1910 scored 560 runs. Moles- exist. So, the Barons’ season -1987. This series remembers worth’s club ran wild on the ended with the rest of the SA each of those seasons. basepaths as the Barons stole clubs, except they were an incredible 259 bases champions. paced by Johnston’s league- In 1912, the Birmingham Barons leading 81. His total still won the (A) stands as the franchise record pennant as they finished 85-51 today. (.625) with a 6.5 game lead over the second-place Mobile Sea Gulls. Legendary Manager Carl- The pitching staff was ably led ton Molesworth skippered the by Ray Boyd (23-11), Bill Fox- team to the first championship en (19-9), Omer Hardgrove (14 ever won at Rickwood Field. -10), and Pop-boy Smith (15- Molesworth managed the Barons 8). Pop-boy would later “Molesworth’s club ran from 1908 to 1922. achieve fame in Art Black’s Showdown at Rickwood: Ray wild on the basepaths as

Caldwell, , and the The Montgomery Times called Early Years of America’s Old- the Barons stole an the club “The Bold Bad Barons”, est Ball Park (Birmingham, AL: as Molesworth’s men used dar- Blue Rooster Press, 2017). incredible 259 bases ing and dash to race to the pen-

nant. Carlton Molesworth paced by Johnston’s league leading 81.”

The 1912 Birmingham Barons - Southern Association Champions The Friends of THE RICKWOOD LIBRARY: Fielder’s Choice Rickwood Fielder’s Choice is a novel by J. Mark Hart, which is set in the fictional community of West Lake in Rickwood Field the City of Birmingham in 1969. The book tells the story of Brad Williams, a skinny high school 1137 2nd Ave W senior on the West Lake High School baseball team, who is also the narrator. The book begins as Brad loses his starting shortstop position to a black player named Robbie Jones, who recently Birmingham, AL 35204 transferred into West Lake. Brad realizes Robbie has more range and deserves to start. Hoping to 205-922-3725 win a high school championship and possibly earn a baseball scholarship to college, Brad dutifully accepts his new role as the team’s second basemen, and he and Robbie soon become a solid Email address: double-play combination and develop a friendship. [email protected] Throughout the book, Brad arrives at a series of crossroads. Despite his young age, he has to make the kinds of decisions usually reserved for adults. Brad is a young man who is forced to handle enormous pressures, including: his teammates’ reaction to Robbie winning his job; the larger racial tensions simmering in his neighborhood; his desire to attend college to avoid the drudgery of working in a mill; concerns about his draft status, the war in Vietnam, and the peace movement; his relationship with Susie (his first serious girlfriend); and his interactions with a bully named Bubba. Hart deftly uses the backdrop of the issues colliding in Birmingham in 1969 as a https://www.facebook.com/fri parallel to the entanglements Brad faces. His choices will not only shape his future but more im- endsofrickwood/ portantly his character. Hart’s writing breathes three dimensions into Brad. The reader is immediately drawn into this big- hearted story and soon develops a deep empathy for him. As implied by the title of the book, Hart compares the many decisions Brad has to make as being like that of an infielder deciding which base runner to throw out. He writes: There’s a thing in baseball called a “fielder’s choice.” The dictionary defines a fielder’s choice as a play made on a ground ball in which the fielder chooses to put out an advancing base runner, allowing the batter to reach first base safely. What it really means is if you choose to get one guy, the other guy gets away. Choices are a lot like that, you know. And it might be something you really, really don’t want to lose. That turned out to be true for me when I had to make some serious choices. But I didn’t know any of that yet at the beginning of spring when the robins came back and dandelions sprouted in the outfield grass.

Of course, this is also a baseball novel set in Birmingham, Alabama. Walter Jones (Robbie’s fa-

ther) tells Brad a story about how he played for the in the late 1940s at Rickwood Field, and what it was like to bat against the great . Brad also learns how the tentacles of segregation prevented Walter from playing organized baseball, but Walter tells him the story without bitterness. In another scene as Brad’s team is riding on the bus home after a game, they “drove past Rickwood Field, where and the A’s played their minor league ball on their way to the future .”

Even with the complex issues swirling around him, Brad is always able to find sanctuary between the lines of the baseball diamond where things always seem to make sense. By the end of the book, the reader learns whether West Lake will play for the Alabama state baseball championship, whether Brad will earn a scholarship, and whether things work out for him and Susie.

Hart is a great storyteller who writes with an easy style. Any baseball fan will enjoy this novel and Fielder’s Choice would make a great movie. This is Hart’s first book and is also the first novel re- viewed in the Rickwood Library. J. Mark Hart is a Birmingham attorney who grew up watching the Birmingham A’s play at Rickwood Field in the late 1960s. - Jeb Stewart