Rickwood Classic

[bhambruiser]

The Birmingham Barons are playing in the 10th Annual Rickwood Classic today. Rickwood Field is the oldest baseball park in America (yes even older than Fenway and Wrigley). And it is the former home of the Birmingham Barons (AA-Southern League Affiliate of the White Sox) also the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues played there. But it has been featured in many baseball movies for its nostalgic look.

But every year they play one home game there in throwback uniforms with throwback umps and peanut sellers and...well pretty much everything is throwback. But since this is the 10th anniversary they will today be wearing a grab-bag of uniforms from all of the Classics of the past 10 years. The Montgomery Biscuits will be wearing the old uniforms of the Montgomery Climbers.

I will be taking pictures and hopefully posting them for your ammusement...or maybe it won't be ammusing...but I thought it might be of interest...I'm rambling now...will update

[slapshot]

Sounds like it will be a fun time. Maybe some of the fans will dress in period piece as well?

And sorry to add a little correction. I believe the oldest ballpark in America would be Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. History dates back to 1892, althouth the first professional team there didn't play until 1913-14.

http://www.wahconahpark.com/history.html

[bhambruiser]

Sounds like it will be a fun time. Maybe some of the fans will dress in period piece as well?

And sorry to add a little correction. I believe the oldest ballpark in America would be Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. History dates back to 1892, althouth the first professional team there didn't play until 1913-14.

http://www.wahconahpark.com/history.html

well i am going off of their claims on the website, but oh well, no matter....

The game itself was rained out, but I still got some shots of the uniforms and whatnot, which I will post shortly.

[slapshot]

Cool. We get to see pictograms from "ye olde raine de-lay"

[bhambruiser]

pictures.

[bhambruiser]

[BRice16]

So I assume, considering the excellent condition the field and stadium seem to be in, the stadium is still being used for something?

[bhambruiser]

So I assume, considering the excellent condition the field and stadium seem to be in, the stadium is still being used for something?

occasionally they play a high school game there, but for the most part it remains unused...it is used for movies, documentaries and whatnot.

It also kind of serves as a makeshift museum for baseball in Birmingham

But it is kept up by the Friends of Rickwood Foundation

[OB33]

The guy in the wool uni must've burnt up quick

[bhambruiser]

The guy in the wool uni must've burnt up quick

fortunately it wasn't a big deal because:

a) he is the manager (razor shines)

and

b ) they didn't play anyway....plus it was only about 74 degrees and overcast.

[slapshot]

Are those ads normally on the walls, or are they only put up for one-time events like these? They look awesome out there.

The uniforms and striped stirrups look really nice too. Except for the player wearing #19 (Helvetica Bold? Don't think so, unless Mitchell & Ness had a surplus from 1970s Phillies uniforms).

[bhambruiser]

Are those ads normally on the walls, or are they only put up for one-time events like these? They look awesome out there.

The uniforms and striped stirrups look really nice too. Except for the player wearing #19 (Helvetica Bold? Don't think so, unless Mitchell & Ness had a surplus from 1970s Phillies uniforms).

yeah the ads are up all year long..yeah those jerseys are from the late 70s and early 80s

[bhambruiser]

here are a couple of more shots of the outfield ads and scoreboard

[OB33]

The guy in the wool uni must've burnt up quick

fortunately it wasn't a big deal because:

a) he is the manager (razor shines)

and

b ) they didn't play anyway....plus it was only about 74 degrees and overcast.

Brilliant!

[bhambruiser]

upon further review of this photograph, we found something interesting

[totc]

There is one Birmingham uniform that looks strangely like the 1970-1992 Phillies -- the one with the black stripe on the sleeve and the Helvitica numbers.

I am curious though -- hasn't the AA team for the Phils been Reading since time immemorial? And AAA was Charleston (to 1983), then Maine (84-86), then Wilkes-Barre (87-present)?

Or was this another case of a team getting a jersey made from the same manufacturer (like the Utah Stars, Atlanta Hawks, and Indiana Pacers of 1973)?

[Mings]

The guy in the wool uni must've burnt up quick

fortunately it wasn't a big deal because:

a) he is the manager (razor shines)

and

b ) they didn't play anyway....plus it was only about 74 degrees and overcast.

I thought that was Razor, he played for the Indy Indians in the 80's. I saw him a couple times. Anyways, thats a great way to celebrate the history of the ballpark and teams.

[bhambruiser]

There is one Birmingham uniform that looks strangely like the 1970-1992 Phillies -- the one with the black stripe on the sleeve and the Helvitica numbers.

I am curious though -- hasn't the AA team for the Phils been Reading since time immemorial? And AAA was Charleston (to 1983), then Maine (84-86), then Wilkes-Barre (87-present)?

Or was this another case of a team getting a jersey made from the same manufacturer (like the Utah Stars, Atlanta Hawks, and Indiana Pacers of 1973)?

birmingham at that time was affiliated with the tigers I believe...then the white sox affiliation started sometime in the mid-to-late eighties

[Gamingboy]

Wow, I had heard about Rickwood, I'd seen pictures of Rickwood. But now that I've seen DIGITAL pictures or Rickwood, with people in Period unis, I'm speechless. Wow. That's a amazing park. Let us only hope that it stays standing for years to come.