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Featured
Book Review
Bases Loaded with History
by Timothy Whitt
 From time to time, even the most ardent fan needs
to be reminded why baseball is truly wonderful. It's not
the size or "creature comforts" of today's modern Major League
ballparks. No, it's the game itself, in its simplicity, that
initially kindles the love affair of the biggest fans of the National
Pastime.
And Bases Loaded with History by Timothy
Whitt is a book that will warm the hearts of lovers of baseball
everywhere -- especially those with a special interest in the game's
history -- because it does remind the reader why baseball is the best of
all sports. Whitt's
work is really a love story . . . about the love between the city of
Birmingham and the teams that played in its baseball palace known as Rickwood Field.
And Rickwood is no ordinary ballpark.
Indeed, this field in Birmingham's West End is considered to be
America's oldest baseball park, as it opened two years before Fenway and
the now-replaced Tiger Stadium, and four years before Wrigley -- and it
is still used today.
Whitt's book details how the heir of a successful industrialist had a
love affair of his own with the sport of baseball -- much to his
father's chagrin -- and from that love came the purchase of the
Birmingham Barons professional team and the construction of Rickwood
Field (for a cost of $75,000) in 1910. Young team-owner Rick
Woodward even obtained
input from none other than Connie Mack on the layout of the
field.
Bases Loaded with History tells the story of
the teams that played at Rickwood -- both the "white" Barons
(of the minor-league Southern Association and later the modern-day
Southern League) and the Black Barons of various Negro leagues.
The stars were many: Pie Traynor; Satchel Paige; Reggie Jackson
and, yes, Birmingham native Willie Mays. And it tells of the
exploits of the stars who were visitors or barnstormers at
Rickwood: Ty Cobb; Dizzy Dean (the chapter on his visit during the
Dixie Series of 1931 is priceless); Babe Ruth; Stan Musial; Rogers
Hornsby; Ted Williams; Josh Gibson; Christy Mathewson; and many, many
more.
Although the book is not long, and there are
several typos within it (I hope they'll be corrected in a future
edition), it is a wonderful collection of baseball treasures.
Whitt, who is an Alabaman with a keen interest in Southern baseball
history, does an excellent job in writing what is ostensibly a biography
of one of America's ballpark keepsakes.
And even though the Black Barons are long gone and
the "white" Barons have moved to a gleaming stadium (not a
"ballpark") in the suburbs south of town, you can still visit
Rickwood Field, thanks to the work of the City of Birmingham and the
honorable efforts of the Friends Of Rickwood Field, a non-profit
organization dedicated to preserving this historic landmark. In
fact, you can purchase Bases Loaded with History from this
organization, and the proceeds will help with this preservation
work. Contact the Friends at 205-458-8161 or visit their Website
at www.rickwood.com.
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