THIRD ANNUAL EAST-WEST CLASSIC
For the third straight year, MLB will celebrate Juneteenth with an event at Rickwood Field. The Third Annual East-West Classic will take place on June 19.
FACTS ABOUT RICKWOOD FIELD
- Opened August 18, 1910
- Construction cost: $75,000
- Capacity: 10,800
- Modeled after Pittsburgh's Forbes Field
- First Minor League ballpark constructed from concrete and steel
- Spring Training home of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1911 and 1920, and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1919
- Added to National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1993
- Hosted the annual Rickwood Classic since 1996
- Filming location for Cobb, Soul of the Game, and 42
The Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues called Rickwood Field home from 1924 through 1960. As a teenager, Willie Mays began his professional career with the Black Barons in 1948. He played with them before beginning his legendary MLB career as a member of the New York Giants in 1951. Rickwood Field was the site of the final Negro League World Series game in October 1948, which saw Mays’ Black Barons falling to the Homestead Grays in five games.
June 19, 2026
Rickwood Field
Birmingham, Alabama
