Baseball to honor Negro Leagues
Fred Jeter | 6/29/2023, 6 p.m.
Baseball fans may want to circle June 20, 2024, on the calendars.
That’s when baseball will turn back the clock to honor the Negro Leagues at famed Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala. The San Francisco Giants will play the St. Louis Cardinals at the iconic ballpark that opened in 2010.
The Negro League Birmingham Black Barons played at Rickwood from 1925 to 1960, sharing the facility with the then all-white Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association.
At age 17, Willie Mays made his pro debut at Rickwood as a Black Baron outfielder, playing 13 games. Mays went on to become a 14-time All-Star and is today considered the “greatest living ballplayer.”
The San Francisco vs. St. Louis match will be nationally televised on ESPN as part of the Juneteenth holiday celebration.
There will also be a minor-league game at Rickwood June 18 between the current Barons (affiliate of Chicago White Sox) and Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay).
