Forecast for Today’s Rickwood Classic: Fun!

Today is my favorite baseball day of the year! It is the day that one of the best sporting events of the year in all of world occurs. An event that ESPN says is one of the 100 Things That a Sports Fan Has To Do Before They Die.

The Birmingham Barons and Jacksonville Suns will turn the calendar back to 1948 for the 20th iteration of the Rickwood Classic. In that year, the Black Barons were the Negro American League Champs and the Barons won the Dixie Series. Willie Mays was a 17 year old star on the Black Barons team.

It is hard to believe that we have been making the pilgrimage to Rickwood each year for the Classic since 1996. The historic ballpark is the oldest professional ballpark still in use in the U.S. It was built in 1910 and played host to the Barons from 1910-1965, the Birmingham A’s from 1967-1975 and the Barons again from 1981-1987. The Black Barons played there basically from 1920-1960. The Philadelphia Phillies actually held spring training there in 1911 and 1920.

The game is put on by the Friends of Rickwood, a group of local fans who work to maintain and preserve the park. The Classic is one of their major fundraisers. They do a great job with the event each year. First pitch is 12:30 p.m., but arrive early to experience the park. Have a great hot dog. Enjoy the throwback uniforms. Some fans even dress up in period clothing. Meet the Negro League alumni. They are living history. You will fin dthem on the third base side in reserved seating. Check out the hand operated scoreboard.

And be generous if you see a Friend of Rickwood with their charity buckets. Your donation will go to preserve this temple of baseball.

HOW ABOUT THE WEATHER
Everyone is worried about that high chance of rain today. Indications are that a few showers may start forming in the Birmingham area around 12:45 to 1 p.m. but they will be widely spaced until around 4-5 p.m. and the heavy stuff shouldn’t arrive until 6-7 p.m. or so. So there could be a couple of passing showers during the game, so take a light rain jacket. The general admission seats are under the roof. If you have box seats, you might take a towel to dry off your seat after any showers zip by. Temperatures will be around 80F and it will be muggy. Take some sunscreen for those periods when the sun is out. It can burn you quickly!

So take a late lunch and head out to Birmingham’s west side for a bit of baseball and Birmingham history.

Category: Alabama's Weather