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Road to Rickwood

Road to Rickwood

Written by: NPR
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In June, MLB will host a game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL. In its 114-year history, the field has seen everything from segregated baseball, a women's suffrage event, a Klan rally and the first integrated sports team in Alabama. Host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with historians, former Negro Leaguers and more to explore how Birmingham's civil rights story played out at America's oldest ballpark.

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Episodes
  • Coming Soon: Road to Rickwood

    Coming Soon: Road to Rickwood
    May 17 2024
    Birmingham, Alabama was one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the American Civil Rights Movement. But in order to understand the struggle, you don't have to look any further than Rickwood Field, America's oldest ballpark. In this podcast, host Roy Wood Jr. looks at the intersection between baseball and civil rights as MLB gears up to honor the Negro Leagues like never before.

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    2 mins
  • The Holy Grail of Baseball

    The Holy Grail of Baseball
    May 28 2024
    Birmingham, Alabama was one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Civil Rights Movement. But in order to understand the struggle, you don't have to look any further than Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the country. Across more than 113 years, it's hosted Negro League baseball, a women's suffrage event, a Klan rally and eventually, the first integrated sports team in Alabama.

    On June 20, Major League Baseball will host a regular season game at Rickwood. Leading up, host Roy Wood Jr. returns to his hometown Birmingham to tell the story of this ballpark. In the first episode, we learn how Rickwood uplifts Black and white communities from the beginning, while also enforcing segregation.

    This episode was written and produced by Ben Dickstein and hosted by Roy Wood Jr.

    Our executive producer is Alana Schreiber and our senior producer is Ben Dickstein. Our producers are Jonah Buchanan and AL.com's Cody D. Short. Mixing and sound design by Joaquin Cotler and story editing by Ryan Vasquez. Artwork by Xavier Murillo. Original music composition by Squeak E. Clean Studios. Voice tracking by Alt Mix Studio.

    Special thanks to Paul Maassen, The Friends of Rickwood Field, Birmingham Public Library archives, AL.com and WBHM.

    For more stories on Rickwood Field, check out https://www.al.com/rickwood-field/

    This podcast is produced by WWNO and WRKF. Distributed by the NPR network. Support from Major League Baseball, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Explore St. Louis.

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    52 mins
  • Church Pews and Bleachers

    Church Pews and Bleachers
    Jun 4 2024
    The 1940s are the heyday for Black baseball in Alabama, the peak of the Negro Leagues – starring a high schooler named Willie Mays. But when the Major Leagues integrate, Black teams everywhere start to fold.
    On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with surviving players from the Birmingham Black Barons about the soaring highs and painful lows of Negro League baseball in Alabama. Roy also explores the struggle for equality and human rights in Birmingham that served as the backdrop of this era. We see how these communities and stories overlap, and how the effort to uphold segregation leads to the temporary end of professional baseball in Birmingham.

    This episode was written and produced by Jonah Buchanan and hosted by Roy Wood Jr.

    Our executive producer is Alana Schreiber and our senior producer is Ben Dickstein. Our producers are Jonah Buchanan and AL.com's Cody D. Short. Mixing and sound design by Joaquin Cotler and story editing by Ryan Vasquez. Artwork by Xavier Murillo. Original music composition by Squeak E. Clean Studios. Voice tracking by Alt Mix Studio.

    Special thanks to Paul Maassen, The Friends of Rickwood Field, Birmingham Public Library archives, AL.com and WBHM.

    For more stories on Rickwood Field, check out https://www.al.com/rickwood-field/

    This podcast is produced by WWNO and WRKF. Distributed by the NPR network. Support from Major League Baseball, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Explore St. Louis.

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    See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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    54 mins
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