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Rickwood Field /
Birmingham Barons (Annual Rickwood Classic)
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| Year Opened | 1910 |
| Capacity | 10,800 |
| Owner | City of Birmingham (sustained by Friends of Rickwood) |
| Original Cost | $75,000 |
| Dimensions | 325L, 393C, 335R |
| Playing Surface | Grass |
| Last Visit | 2007 |
| Web Site | barons.com |
| Online Broadcasts | Yes |
| Online Ticket Sales | Yes |
| Phone | 205/458-8262 |
| League | Southern League |
| Ticket Prices (2007) | $9 |
| Parking | $4 on grass field beside ballpark |
| Address | 1137 2nd Ave. W., Birmingham, AL 35203 |
| Written by: | Michael Hammonds |
| Rating |  |
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Rickwood Field is one of the oldest ballparks in the country and is a true classic. Going to Rickwood is like walking back in time to when the game was the only reason to go to the park. Rickwood doesn't have loud, blaring music, no carnival-like atmosphere or other distractions that are all too common in today’s ballparks. With Rickwood, what you see is what you get.
The ballpark was built in 1910 -- with the first game played in the sweltering heat you’d expect on Aug. 18 -- and was then home to the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League, who played there every other Sunday. Rickwood also hosted local football, including the Alabama Crimson Tide playing at Rickwood until Legion Field was built.
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Minor-league baseball now is only played once a year at what is called the Rickwood Classic. The Barons and the visiting team play in old throwback uniforms with the three umpires wearing white dress shirts and bow ties, just like in the old days of baseball. In 2007, the Barons wore road uniforms honoring the 1964 rebirth of the team and ballpark in affiliation with Charlie Finley’s Kansas City Athetics. The Jacksonville Suns wore uniforms from their 1967 team featuring fireballing future Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan.
Seating for the Rickwood Classic is general admission except for seats around the dugouts, which are reserved for season tickets for the Barons. After three or four innings, the PA announcer does pronounce that anyone can move to any open seats by the dugouts -- a tradition in some parts of the South. Seats in those sections are wooden and very old. (The General Admission seats are newer gold-toned metal seats). While they are not the most comfortable in the world, you are right on top of the action. The only drawback to those seats -- other than lack of comfort -- are the poles that hold up the roof. These aren’t much of a problem, just a natural design of early 20th-century ballparks.
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Rickwood has only one major concession stand and a few side stands for barbecue and other small items like cotton candy and snow cones. The staff for the Barons brings over the concession food from the Regions Park (the Barons regular home formerly known as Hoover Metropolitan Stadium); lines are long and the prices are on the high side (popcorn and a Coke was $6.50). One major souvenir stand features nice t-shirts commemorating the 12 years of playing the Classic along with other Barons items. The store also has Rickwood Classic scorecards and other memorabilia from past years.
For the Rickwood Classic, they conduct a silent auction with various locally donated items. Items ranged from library books to old pennants and autographed items. Also in the auction area for the 2007 Classic was Ben Cook, the author of the book "Good Wood -- A Fans History of Rickwood Field," and former Baron Frank Lary who was sat next to Cook as both autographed book purchases.
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Throughout the stands were several former Birmingham Black Barons who were wearing the hats from their playing years and having a blast with the fans. For this Classic, the Barons elected Reggie Jackson to the Barons’ Hall of Fame and also celebrated the Bragan family, who have been in baseball since the 1930s.
Rickwood is open throughout the year for self-guided tours, and it's used throughout the spring for high-school and college games. The Classic is announced in February and tickets can be purchased online through the Barons or tickets can be purchased at the old-time ticket window at Rickwood on the day of the Classic. The attendance for the 2007 Classic was announced as 5,802 in a 10,800-seat ballpark. I would have thought more people would have attended, but understand that the Classic is in the middle-of-the-week day game. One word of warning for those who plan on going to future Classics: bring a hat and a lot of sunscreen. While the 2007 Classic was overcast and 82 degrees, one regularly attending gentleman said it can get over 100 degrees and be really humid for the post-Memorial Day event.
This is definitely one ballpark that any true baseball fan will relish attending while it remains open.
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