America’s – and the world’s – oldest ballpark officially turned 100 years old on Wednesday afternoon and The Friends of Rickwood Field organized a celebration befitting the occasion.
Unfortunately the weather didn’t exactly want to cooperate to allow a three-inning exhibition game to be played.
Hundreds still gathered under the grandstand attempting to stay dry while they heard words from Birmingham mayor William Bell’s chief of staff Chuck Faush and A.H. “Rick” Woodward III, grandson of the park’s builder, among others. A new sign from the state tourism office was unveiled, joining the historical marker already located in front of the ballpark’s main entrance. The video up above is of former Birmingham Barons owner Art Clarkson reading a letter from the team’s current parent club, the Chicago White Sox.
Incidentally, the demolition of the Sox’s former home, Comiskey Park, back in 1991, led to Rickwood’s current designation.
