Road to Rickwood : NPR
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Road to Rickwood 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.
Road to Rickwood

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The Road to Rickwood
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Road to Rickwood

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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.

Most Recent Episodes

Rebuilding Black Baseball

Birmingham is about to host a Major League game at Rickwood Field as a tribute to the Negro Leagues. But that doesn't come without its challenges.

Rebuilding Black Baseball

Listen · 53:42
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Don't Fight Back

In 1964, the Birmingham Barons become Alabama's first integrated sports team. This is 17 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues. What took so long?

Don't Fight Back

Listen · 53:03
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Church Pews and Bleachers

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.

Church Pews and Bleachers

Listen · 54:27
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The Holy Grail of Baseball

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.

The Holy Grail of Baseball

Listen · 52:12
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Coming Soon: Road to Rickwood

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.

Coming Soon: Road to Rickwood

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Road to Rickwood

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