BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Ahead of MLB’s Tribute to the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field on Thursday night, there was one final get together aimed at giving those who battled and balled in the Negro Leagues the shine and adoration that they deserve. And in the name of stacking history upon history, the numerous former Negro Leaguers on hand to watch the Giants take on the Cardinals met at the Negro Southern League Museum in downtown Birmingham. Of the 157 Negro Leaguers invited by MLB, close to 60 were present.

“We wanted to ensure that we would have as many former Negro League players with us today as possible,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said before the luncheon began. “Honestly, to those players, we are honored to have you here to celebrate the Negro Leagues. This will be the largest gathering of former Negro League players in nearly 30 years. We really do believe that Rickwood Field is that ideal setting for a celebration whose time has come.”

Whether they played for the Negro American League, the Negro National League, or the Negro Southern League, brilliant barnstormers filled into the museum, witnessing how the history that they created was on display for residents and visitors to learn about. The Birmingham Black Barons and Indianapolis Clowns jerseys that they donned, the Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs hats that sat like loose crowns upon their heads.

Even more, they were able to meet each other and trade stories. To put names to faces that may have only been whispers and figures in the past.

“I’m just so delighted,” said Eddie Banks, who played for the Newark Eagles from 1958-60. “Because I’m in the presence of all the players that are still here, we’ve lost so many guys. And these guys that are still here get a chance to mingle with each other. … So we are hoping that they are ready at this point in time to accept the fact the Negro Leagues were a real, major baseball operation. And that it was competitive with anybody that wanted to play the game. This is a culmination of a lot of work.

“We talk about standing on the shoulders of folks who have made you who you are now. … That terminology can very well be used in honor of the Negro Leagues. Because some of the younger guys -- and I’m one of them, I’m 82 years old -- we stood on the shoulders of these guys who made this what it is today.”

It’s quite the parallel to be perusing the exhibits at the NSLM on Thursday, then turn your head to the left and see generations of Black baseball history and royalty laughing like old friends. And while the invaluable work that the museum has done to archive and preserve the pieces of Negro Leagues memorabilia and record books cannot be overstated, nothing can match the opportunity to hear the history straight from their mouths. The stories that didn’t make it into the newspapers, that didn’t get cemented in the box scores. The history that can’t be left behind if we want to honor these players’ lives.

“I do remember the time in high school -- because Willie [Mays] was a little ahead of me, and he was in the army at the time -- and I was in the 11th grade,” said Bill “Fast Ball” Hopson, who played for the Philadelphia Stars from 1960-62. “And [Willie] came to see ‘Fast Ball’ Bill Hopson. And when he came, we were having practice. And he said, ‘Well let me see if you can throw the ball.’ I said, ‘You want me to strike you out?’

“[Willie] said, ‘Well, if you can.’ And guess what -- I did.’”