‘Road to Rickwood’: Rebuilding Black Baseball

In the fourth and final episode of the ”Road to Rickwood” podcast series, Birmingham integrates as Black people begin to gain political power. Meanwhile, white flight begins, and Rickwood is left desolate.

The host of the series, Roy Wood Jr., also explores Birmingham on a deeper level by returning to his alma mater Ramsay High School to see how the baseball team is performing without being able to use their home field, Rickwood Field.

Listen to the fourth episode below.

Wood also discusses the obstacles that prevent more Black youth from taking up America’s pastime, as he talks to Major League Baseball executives, managers, and a player about the importance of promoting this sport within Black communities across the country.

Wood also speaks with coaches, parents, and even Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to learn how to reignite Black participation in baseball in the city that was once known for carrying the careers of Black legends of the sport.

The four-part series explores the history of the Negro Leagues in Birmingham with Roy Wood Jr. hosting the new narrative series from National Public Radio and Major League Baseball. The podcast chronicles the story of Rickwood Field as a lead up to MLB’s upcoming game in Birmingham on June 20.

The “MLB at Rickwood” game will see the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, the day after Juneteenth. There will be activities during the week that lead up to the game as part of a tribute to the Negro Leagues and its greatest living player – Hall of Famer, Giants legend, Alabama native and Birmingham Black Barons player Willie Mays.

From the podcast’s official description:

“Birmingham, Alabama was one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Civil Rights Movement. But in order to understand the struggle, you don’t have to look any further than Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the country. Across more than 113 years, it’s hosted Negro League baseball, a women’s suffrage event, a Klan rally and eventually, the first integrated sports team in Alabama. “On June 20, Major League Baseball will host a regular season game at Rickwood. Leading up, host Roy Wood Jr. returns to his hometown Birmingham to tell the story of this ballpark.”

The podcast is a collaborative effort from WWNO and WRKF. Distributed by the NPR network in partnership with support from Major League Baseball and AL.com. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you download your podcasts. AL.com’s Cody D. Short is a producer of the podcast.