MLB at Rickwood Field
MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues was a scheduled regular-season game between the St Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball played at Rickwood Field in Rising-West Princeton on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
The three-day event included the playing of the 2024 Rickwood Classic on Tuesday evening, followed by a celebrity softball game on Wednesday, before the main event on Thursday. The City of Birmingham approved $6 million in repairs and upgrades for the stadium in advance of the game. Major League Baseball coordinated with upgrades to the playing field, dugouts and bullpen, and brought in additional temporary facilities, including light towers, displays, and locker room tents. The stadium's capacity was 8,300 for the event.
A tranche of 5,000 tickets for the game were offered to pre-registered fans in Alabama through a lottery system on Monday, May 6. Those seats, which started at $275, were sold out within 40 minutes. Another 2,000 or so seats were reserved for distribution to community and youth groups. 60 of the 157 living Negro Leagues veterans attended the game and Bill Greason threw out the first pitch. Hall of Fame outfielder and former Birmingham Black Barons star Willie Mays was invited to attend as guest of honor. He sent regrets that he would be unable to travel due to poor health. He died at home hours later. His death was announced during the Rickwood Classic and marked with a sing-along to the Treniers' "Say Hey the Willie Mays Song)".
For the MLB game, the Cardinals wore throwback uniforms based on the Negro National League's St Louis Stars, while the Giants were dressed as the San Francisco Sea Lions of the West Coast Negro Baseball League. Their jerseys depicted a bear cub, because the 1946 Sea Lions had acquired their uniforms second-hand from an earlier San Francisco Cubs team. Both teams also wore orange and black patches with the number 24 to honor Mays.
The game was aired on the FOX television network. Jon Batiste performed "Master Power" and "I Need You" at home plate before the game, with a group of dancers recreating the Lindy Hop. The costumed mascots "Fredbird" and "Lou Seal" were present to engage with fans. Other major league players and veterans, including Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey J., Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter were in the stands.
References
- Waldstein, David (June 20, 2023) "Going Back in Time, M.L.B. Will Play a Game at Rickwood Field." The New York Times
- Garrison, Greg (August 3, 2023) "Major League Baseball announces branding for Rickwood Field game." AL.com
- Bryant, Joseph D. (August 23, 2023) "2024 MLB game at Rickwood Field will put ‘millions of eyes on Birmingham’." AL.com
- Goodman, Joseph (January 29, 2024) "A-list celebs and major news linked to MLB at Rickwood." op-ed AL.com
- Koplowitz, Howard (March 28, 2024) "MLB planning for Willie Mays to attend Rickwood Field game in Birmingham, commissioner says." AL.com
- Stephenson, Creg (May 6, 2024) "MLB at Rickwood Field game tickets sell out in less than 40 minutes." AL.com
- Arango, Tim (June 20, 2024) "Major League Baseball Came to Birmingham. Then Willie Mays Died." The New York Times
- MLB at Rickwood Field: Photos from historic game in Birmingham" (June 21, 2024) USA Today