Rickwood Timeline

1910

Rickwood Field opened August 18, 1910, to a wildly enthusiastic crowd that saw their beloved Barons beat the Montgomery Climbers, and unknowingly made history. Rickwood was the newest ballpark in the land that day, and 114 years later, stands as the oldest baseball park in America.

1910

Industialist A.H. “Rick” Woodward was not only the owner of the Barons, he never lost his passion for playing the game of his youth. He inserted himself into the staring lineup on Rickwood’s opening day, and threw the first pitch ever in his new ballpark. It was not a ceremonial pitch, but it was a ball.

1912

Player-manager Carlton Molesworth (far left standing) led the Barons to their first league championship at Rickwood in 1912. The team photo tells many stories – including the opera seats for the VIPS in the lower stands, and of course, player / owner Rick Woodward on the far left crouching

1912

Baseball was becoming the national pastime, and Birmingham was baseball-wild. Early images show standing room only crowds not only in the seats and bleachers but on the fences and ground. Baseball was king.

1914-opening-game-The-Birmingham-News-File-Photos-from-Birmingham-Library-2

1912

Rickwood’s original configuration included uncovered bleachers down the right field line, a very distant wooden fence, and a prominent and right field scoreboard.

1912

Civic pride was on the line every year as Birmingham competed with other league cities to win the trophy for the largest opening day crowd. Birmingham won the trophy in 1912, 1914 and 1915. Pictured here are the 1912 and 1915 trophies which been located and returned home to Rickwood.

1915-Circa - Original Ballpark Entrance - FOR_Archives

1917

The original entrance to Rickwood Field

1928

aerial view of Rickwood shows the ballpark configuration by decade end. New covered stands, segregated bleachers, new entrance building and scoreboard, with additional bleachers added in the outfield for the constant overflow crowds. Fans parked wherever they could, as far as the eye can see.

1922

Rickwood was Birmingham’s premier sporting venue, and Woodward expanded the business by playing host to college and high school football. Auburn, Alabama, Birmingham Southern and Howard (now Samford) played before enthusiastic crowds (and tore up the field) until the City built Legion Field (in 1927).

1923

Thanks to the reputation of Birmingham’s sparkling diamond and enthusiastic crowds, barnstorming teams frequently stopped at Rickwood. Future Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby were among the early baseball heroes to thrill Birmingham crowds.

1928

Woodward had little choice but to expand his beloved ballpark to accommodate the overflow crowds. The architectural renderings show the plan to extend the covered grandstand and wrap it around the right field foul pole, and built separate ‘colored bleachers.’

1928

Inspired by popular designs that he also featured in his mansion on top of Red Mountain, Woodward constructed a new entranceway building in a mission stucco style, and added ticket booths and offices.

1928

The other significant change to Rickwood was the construction of a new scoreboard in a new location, deep against the left field fence.

1929

Before ‘major’ league baseball came to the South, the annual Dixie Series between the champions of the Southern Association and Texas League was the penultimate professional baseball event.

1929

The trolley cars still ran frequent loops from downtown, but the boom of the automobile turned Rickwood’s 12th Street into a parking lot.

1931

In 1931, young and very brash pitching phenom Dizzy Dean led his Houston Buffs into battle against the Barons and their ancient pitcher Ray Caldwell. In what many consider the greatest game ever played at Rickwood, Caldwell’s Barons outbattled Dean and won the Series.

1933 Babe Ruth with boys at Rickwood Field

1929

There were no bigger stars in baseball than Babe Ruth, and his arrival at Rickwood with his touring Yankees drew massive crowds of fans young and old.

1936

Rickwood becomes the first minor league ballpark with lights as the the now iconic light standards are constructed high above the field.

1940

Birmingham Black Barons Hall Of Famers

1940

Former Birmingham Black Baron Satchel Paige always drew a crowd.

1941

Future Hall of Famer Jimmy Foxx homers at Rickwood.

1942

After a 15 year hiatus, football returned to Rickwood as Birmingham hosted the Vulcan Bowl, the national Negro College Football Championship.

1947

The left field scoreboard is moved in due to the popularity of home runs (i.e., Babe Ruth).

1940 circa Birmingham Black Barons Game at Rickwood Field from T H Hayes Collection at Memphis Public Library

1948

The Black Barons were must-see baseball at Rickwood.

1948

Birmingham’s Lorenzo “Piper” Davis led his Black Barons to league championships. One of his decisions was to start high schooler Willie Mays, who would have the game wining hit in the 1948 league championship game.

1948

Birmingham’s own, Willie Howard Mays, Jr. was born in 1931 in Westfield, Alabama just west of Rickwood Field. In his Rookie season, Mays led the Birmingham Black Barons to the Negro American League championship. Mays went on to join the New York Giants in 1950 where he was named “Rookie of the Year.” Mays played for the Giants for 21 seasons and in 1954 made an outfield, over the shoulder catch to save a homerun and win the game. “The Catch” is thought of by many as one of the greatest defensive plays in baseball history. In 1954, Leo Durocher once said, ““If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases and performed a miracle in the field every day, I’d still look you in the eye and say Willie was better.” Mays was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

1948

Birmingham Black Barons star Artie Wilson was one of the last professional players to hit over .400

1949

Barons program highlights Rickwood’s far reaching dimensions.

1950

Ted Wiliams and Ralph Kiner at Rickwood Field.

1950

Ted Williams homered twice in this Rickwood debut.

1952

The Dugout restaurant at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

(Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Unknown photographer, Birmingham News.)

1953

Aerial view of Rickwood

1954

Tony Stone becomes first woman to play professional baseball at Rickwood

1954

Future Hall of Famer Stan Musial homers at Rickwood.

1954

Young Braves outfielder Hank Aaron.

1965

In 1964, New York’s Polo Grounds are torn down and the Barons purchased 1,000 seats to use at Rickwood. The seats were used at Rickwood until they were replaced in 1980. The old Polo Grounds seats, some with the famed NY logo, can be purchased from Rickwood.

1964

After refusing to field a team for two years, the Barons returned to Rickwood in 1964 with its first integrated ball club. The press box on top of the roof was expanded to two to accommodate both print and radio media.

1964

Birmingham News "Airview / Rickwood Field"

(Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Unknown photographer, Birmingham News.

1967

Michael Dobbins, Gil Blanco, and Reggie Jackson, members of the Birmingham A's, after a game against the Knoxville Smokies at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

(Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Photo by Jerry Moulder, Birmingham News.)

1969

Luman Harris, Bobby Brooks, and Hank Aaron talking before a game between the Atlanta Braves and the Southern League All-Stars at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

(Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Photo by Haywood Paravicini, Birmingham News.)

1974

Hank Aaron signing autographs during a game between the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

( Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Photo by Edouard Bruchac, Birmingham News.)

2024

The MLB Game Rickwood Field
(Harold Reynolds emceed the unveiling of the changes coming to the ballpark.Russell Kilgore Jr./MLB Photos)

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Rickwood Timeline

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