HISTORY Rickwood Field underwent a long-awaited restoration prior to MLB’s arrival.
The oldest professional baseball stadium in the country, Rickwood Field, was first built in 1910.
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The venue was initially designed to house the Birmingham Barons, with its owner Rick Woodward’s intention to be “The Greatest Minor League Stadium Ever”, according to its website.
Seating 5,000 fans, the stadium was only the fifth built of concrete and steel for baseball use and had a similar layout to Shibe Park in Philadelphia, the MLB explains.
Built at a cost of $75,000, the stadium ended up hosting the Barons for 78 years until they moved to the newly built Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The Barons occasionally return for one-off games at Rickwood.
It was also the home of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League for all 40 years of the team’s existence, beginning in 1920.
Since the departure of the Barões and Barões Negros, the stadium ended up falling into disuse in the early 1990s.
Fears of its potential demolition prevailed, however, it was Hollywood that spurred the start of the stadium’s rejuvenation.
The 1994 film Cobb, depicting the life of Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, was filmed at the stadium after local fundraising brought it “to a level where the film could be made,” according to the board’s chairman of the Friends of Rickwood, Gerald Watkins in an interview with USA today.
Fast forward three decades, Rickwood Field would receive new life with MLB’s decision to host a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants in honor of the Negro Leagues on June 20.
MLB field consultant Murray Cook, who first visited the stadium in 2022, described it as “a really unique and cool place.”
However, to be considered MLB-ready required significant work.
“The big challenge with Rickwood was making sure we maintained the magic and history of the place,” Cook said.
This story includes 182 future Hall of Famers who graced the stadium with their presence.
Players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Willie Mays – who began his career with the Black Barons – have made appearances at Rickwood, according to Alabama News Center.
The mix of weeds and grass left the course at “a recreation level”, adding that “the shelters were like bunkers”.
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Cook also noted the bizarre toll that 100 years of chalk has taken on the filthy.
“This made the line literally a foot higher than the field on both sides,” he explained.
The dugouts, backstop, foul posts and fences were all replaced, while two feet of the playing surface was excavated, with a modern drainage system and field put in its place.
Temporary structures were installed outside the stadium to house changing rooms and media facilities, while temporary lighting and a big screen were also installed for the game.
As for the stadium itself, they guaranteed not to add anything to the main structure.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
