I just stepped out of a shop on Gary Avenue in my hometown of Fairfield and, much to my surprise, there he stood looking in a store window, a baseball player. I could tell he was a baseball player because he was dressed in his Birmingham Black Baron’s baseball uniform.
In those days of racial segregation in the South there were two Birmingham Baron professional baseball teams, the Barons (white players) and the Black Barons. When the Birmingham Black Barons were hosting a team from out of town, it was necessary for the players to come to the ballpark already dressed in their uniforms. That was because there were no lockers for the black players in those days. That was segregation in the South.
When I saw the uniformed Black Baron window shopping, I happened to notice the name on his jersey. It didn’t mean much to me then, but it came to mean a lot in the years to come. The name? The name was “Mays.” Yes, it was seventeen-year-old Willie Mays who would become, some say, the best player to ever play professional baseball.
As you probably know, Willie Mays died at the age of 93 this past June 18th. He was born in 1931 in a town adjacent to Fairfield, Alabama, where I grew up.
If you were watching Fox Sports a few days ago, you might have observed Major League Baseball’s memoriam honoring Willie Mays. It happened to coincide with MLB’s recognition of The Negro Leagues at Birmingham’s Rickwood Field.
The entire occasion brought back fond memories of when Dad would take me to Baron’s games at Rickwood. I’m sorry to say that I was never permitted to see the Black Baron’s play, due to segregation. Thankfully, a lot has changed in sports,
something for which I am pleased. I only wish it had come sooner in my lifetime. At the time that Dad and I were attending games at Rickwood Field we were not aware that Rickwood was the oldest professional baseball field in the nation, two years older than Boston’s Fenway Park and four years older than Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Professional sports were certainly culture driven back in the day. But by the same token, as the culture has adjusted for the better, sports have improved as well. Technically, I mean!
FINALLY, I am happy to announce that on Sunday, July 28, we will open the door at the Plains Theater on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. for our very first Sunday Morning Community Worship Service.
Our hope and prayer are people of our area who do not have a place of worship will feel comfortable joining us at the theater. Everyone is urged to attend this unique service honoring Jesus Christ.
