Major League Baseball (MLB) has announced plans to stage a tribute game honoring the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 20, 2024. The game will be played between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rickwood Field, which opened in 1910, is the oldest professional ballpark in the United States and is designated as a National Historic Site. It was the home stadium of the Birmingham Black Barons, a prominent Negro Leagues team, from 1924 to 1960.
The game at Rickwood Field will pay tribute to Hall of Famer Willie Mays, a native of Birmingham who began his professional career with the Black Barons in 1948. Mays is considered one of the greatest players in baseball history.
MLB has chosen to schedule the game around the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865. As part of the tribute, there will also be a Double-A game at Rickwood Field between the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits on June 18.
The St. Louis Cardinals will serve as the home team for the June 20 tribute game, which will be televised nationally on Fox. Both teams will wear period uniforms related to the Negro Leagues history of San Francisco and St. Louis.
Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed the significance of the event, stating, “The legacy of the Negro Leagues and its greatest living player, Willie Mays, is one of excellence and perseverance. We look forward to sharing the stories of the Negro Leagues throughout this event next year.”
Willie Mays, now 92 years old, expressed his emotions about the upcoming game, saying, “It has been 75 years since I played for the Birmingham Black Barons at Rickwood Field, and to learn that my Giants and the Cardinals will play a game there and honor the legacy of the Negro Leagues and all those who came before them is really emotional for me.”
MLB, in collaboration with the City of Birmingham and Friends of Rickwood, will also renovate the historic ballpark as part of the preparations for the game. Rickwood Field was the home of the Birmingham Barons from 1910 to 1961, 1964 to 1965, and 1981 to 1987. The Barons currently play their home games at Regions Field but annually hold one game at Rickwood Field to honor their history.
