Birmingham is a relatively young city. Founded in 1871, the Magic City received a flood of rural workers who moved to town to take advantage of its exploding industrial opportunities. Many of those men were young with plenty of energy for the new game of baseball. The sport flourished on the city’s sandlots and company ball fields. Baseball was a great way for men to burn off steam and provided a morale boost for workers.
One of the leading industrialists driving Birmingham during the early twentieth century was Joseph Henry Woodward, who created the Woodward Iron Works. His son Rick had little interest in the iron business, but loved baseball. In 1910, he purchased a controlling interest in the Birmingham Barons and immediately announced plans to build one of the best parks in baseball. Rickwood Field opened on August 18, 1910 to overflowing crowds. Built before Fenway and Wrigley, Rickwood now finds itself fulfilling the position of the oldest baseball park in America.
In commemoration of Rickwood’s one hundredth anniversary, Vulcan Park is hosting a special exhibition called “From Factory to Field: The Dream of Baseball in Birmingham.” It will continue on view until October 3, 2010. It chronicles the humble beginnings of the sport in Birmingham all the way through its association with professional baseball in the form of the Barons and the Black Barons.
There are priceless pieces of Birmingham baseball memorabilia from private collections including uniforms, caps, bats and scorecards. Spectacular archival photographs take the reader back in time. An absorbing set of stories takes the viewer from the foundations of the sport in the city through the glory years of the Southern Association and Negro Leagues to a time when the lights at Rickwood went dark. The effect of Jim Crow laws and race relations on the sport is examined. The narrative winds through the return of the Barons to Rickwood in 1981 and their eventual move to Hoover and Regions Park, and the excitement of Michael Jordan’s year with the team.
Check out the exhibit at Vulcan Park through October 3rd. Admission to the exhibit is included in the museum entrance fee.
