Brownie31
06-05-2006, 03:39 PM
Rickwood Field, Baseball's oldest ballpark, and one of
its real treasures, is at long last the subject of a book.
"Good Wood" is the book and the author is Ben Cook,
veteran Birmingham sports writer and broadcaster, and
someone with a true love for the National Pastime.
At the turn of the last century, Birmingham was a booming
industrial city-The Pittsburgh of the South. One of the
younger industrialists was A.H. "Rick" Woodward who also
happened to be a former college baseball player.
Cook relates how Woodward, a bad arm ending his own
playing dreams, plunked down $20,000 for the "Coal Barons".
He then proceeded to spend $75,000, a huge sum in 1909
and 1910, on his dream park. Drawing on his friendship with
Connie Mack, the new baseball palace drew on elements of
both Mack's Shibe Park and Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, to
become only the fifth concrete and steel ballbark at the
time and the first in the minors.
A crowd of 10,000 enthusiastic Birminghammers crammed
Rickwood Field on August 18, 1910 to see their beloved
Barons edge the Montgomery Climbers 3-2.
Thus was the debut of Grande Dame of West 12th Street.
Much more was to come: four no-hitters in 1917 (three
thrown by Baron twirlers), college football games in the
fall during the '20s, Old Man Ray Caldwell, 43, besting
the one and only Dizzy Dean before 20,000 fans in the
opener of the 1931 Dixie Series, dashing seventeen year old
Willie Mays, star of the great 1948 Black Barons, on down
to the Barons departure in 1987 for the suburbs.
All of this is captured by Mr. Cook in his excellent book,
including a large selection of wonderful photos
Luckily, a dedicated group of people, The Friends of
Rickwood, came along to keep Rick Woodward's
Field of Dreams from meeting the fate of so many
contemporarys. It is now the home to the annual
Rickwood Classic between the Barons and an SL
opponent in throwback uniforms and this past
February hosted a Negro League game recreation
telecast on ESPN with Willie Mays in attendance.
The game scenes of Tommy Lee Jones' "Cobb" were
shot at Rickwood and the old time ads put in for the
film are still there adding to the ambience.
This fine book can be obtained from www.rickwood.com,
the Friends' website.
Brownie31
its real treasures, is at long last the subject of a book.
"Good Wood" is the book and the author is Ben Cook,
veteran Birmingham sports writer and broadcaster, and
someone with a true love for the National Pastime.
At the turn of the last century, Birmingham was a booming
industrial city-The Pittsburgh of the South. One of the
younger industrialists was A.H. "Rick" Woodward who also
happened to be a former college baseball player.
Cook relates how Woodward, a bad arm ending his own
playing dreams, plunked down $20,000 for the "Coal Barons".
He then proceeded to spend $75,000, a huge sum in 1909
and 1910, on his dream park. Drawing on his friendship with
Connie Mack, the new baseball palace drew on elements of
both Mack's Shibe Park and Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, to
become only the fifth concrete and steel ballbark at the
time and the first in the minors.
A crowd of 10,000 enthusiastic Birminghammers crammed
Rickwood Field on August 18, 1910 to see their beloved
Barons edge the Montgomery Climbers 3-2.
Thus was the debut of Grande Dame of West 12th Street.
Much more was to come: four no-hitters in 1917 (three
thrown by Baron twirlers), college football games in the
fall during the '20s, Old Man Ray Caldwell, 43, besting
the one and only Dizzy Dean before 20,000 fans in the
opener of the 1931 Dixie Series, dashing seventeen year old
Willie Mays, star of the great 1948 Black Barons, on down
to the Barons departure in 1987 for the suburbs.
All of this is captured by Mr. Cook in his excellent book,
including a large selection of wonderful photos
Luckily, a dedicated group of people, The Friends of
Rickwood, came along to keep Rick Woodward's
Field of Dreams from meeting the fate of so many
contemporarys. It is now the home to the annual
Rickwood Classic between the Barons and an SL
opponent in throwback uniforms and this past
February hosted a Negro League game recreation
telecast on ESPN with Willie Mays in attendance.
The game scenes of Tommy Lee Jones' "Cobb" were
shot at Rickwood and the old time ads put in for the
film are still there adding to the ambience.
This fine book can be obtained from www.rickwood.com,
the Friends' website.
Brownie31