This year is an important one in the history of ballparks, as it was a century ago that Birmingham’s Rickwood Field opened. Patterned after what was then the state of the art in ballparks — Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field — Rickwood Field was a center of baseball in the South and is now the oldest ballpark in continuous use in the minor leagues: the Birmingham Barons (Class AA; Southern League) play one game annually in their old home, the Rickwood Classic. And this year’s Rickwood Classic will mark something very special: the 100th anniversary of the opening of this legendary facility. Inspired by the big plans from the Barons and the Friends of Rickwood Field to mark the occasion, we decided to use the anniversary of Rickwood Field as part of our own celebrated summer: Visiting 100 ballparks during the course of the season.The year 2010 is an important one in the history of ballparks, as it was a century ago that Birmingham’s Rickwood Field opened. Patterned after what was then the state of the art in ballparks — Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field — Rickwood Field was a center of baseball in the South and is now the oldest ballpark in continuous use in the minor leagues: the Birmingham Barons (Class AA; Southern League) play one game annually in their old home, the Rickwood Classic. And this year’s June Rickwood Classic will mark something very special: the 100th anniversary of the opening of this legendary facility.
Inspired by the big plans from the Barons and the Friends of Rickwood Field to mark the occasion, we decided to use the anniversary of Rickwood Field as part of our own celebrated summer: Visiting 100 ballparks during the course of the season. This summer Ballpark Digest will hit at least 100 Major League, Minor League, independent, college and notable ballparks, highlighting exactly what makes baseball American’s Pastime. Whether it’s Legion ball in Montana, college ball in Florida, spring training or professional ball in the United States and Canada, we’ll be there, along with a running tally of our visits.
That will include visits to ballfields older than Rickwood Field — like those found in London (Ont.), Bisbee (Az.) and Newport (R.I.) — as well as the many ballparks slated to open this season.
We’d love to have you join us along the way. We’ll be posting schedules at the beginning of the month; if you plan on being at the ballpark, we’ll set up some sort of place to meet and chat ballparks. (Drop a line to info@augustpublications.com to make arrangements.) We already have a head start of sorts: Yesterday we were at the spring opener at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland and a college game at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach.
March 3: Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota (1)
March 4: Charlotte Sports Park, Port Charlotte (1)
March 4: City of Palms Park, Fort Myers (7)
March 5: Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter (1)
March 5: Henley Field, Lakeland (7)
March 7: Metrodome, Minneapolis
March 16: HoHoKam Park, Mesa (1)
March 16: Packard Field, Tempe (6)
March 17: Camelback Ranch-Glendale (1)
March 17: Goodyear Ballpark (7)
March 18: Phoenix Municipal Stadium (1)
March 18: Surprise Stadium (6)
March 19: Scottsdale Stadium (1)
March 19: Peoria Stadium (6)
March 27: Target Field (1)
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