June 20, 2024: MLB at Rickwood Field brings big-leaguers to a Negro League shrine

Reggie Jackson had not returned in years, but it made no difference. Decades after being one of the few Black minor leaguers on the 1967 Birmingham A’s, he could still recall how segregationists would point and refuse him service. He could still recite the taunts: “The n****r can’t stay here”; “The n****r can’t eat here.”1

Now he was back at Rickwood Field. The nonprofit Friends of Rickwood Field had saved the venue from disrepair in the 1990s.2 A century of chalk lines, 10 inches thick, had recently been unearthed and replaced by spray paint.3 New dirt had been trucked in from out of state. New Bermuda grass was installed.4 Five thousand tons of material had been removed to build a new drainage system.5 The latest fixes and upgrades had cost $5 million.6

But for all the surgeries performed on America’s oldest surviving professional ballpark, scars remained.7

“Coming back here is not easy,” the Hall of Famer Jackson told a Fox Sports panel that included Derek Jeter, Alex Rodríguez, and David Ortiz. “The racism when I played here, the difficulty of going through different places where we traveled. … Fortunately, I had a manager in Johnny McNamara that if I couldn’t eat in a place, nobody would eat. … If I couldn’t stay in a hotel, they’d drive to the next hotel and find a place where I could stay.”

Jackson mentioned staying with teammate Joe Rudi and his wife, Sharon: “Finally they were threatened that [someone] would burn our apartment complex down unless I got out.”8

If not for his White friends, he added with a cracking voice, “I would have never made it. I was too physically violent. … I’d have got killed here because I’d have beat someone’s ass, and you’d have saw me in an oak tree somewhere.”9

The words were raw but, to certain listeners, not shocking. After all, it was June 20, 2024, a day after a holiday meant to mark slavery’s end in the United States but not the end of racism. Jackson had returned to Rickwood – once also home to the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons – to attend the White major leagues’ first regular-season game in Alabama, a “Tribute to the Negro Leagues.”10 Seventy-seven years after former Kansas City Monarch Jackie Robinson first wore Brooklyn Dodgers blue, major-league officials billed their event as a commemoration of the players whose Negro League accomplishments they had finally integrated into the major-league record books that May. The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were to play that night in replica jerseys of two Negro League teams: the San Francisco Sea Lions and the St. Louis Stars.

Jackson hadn’t played in the Negro Leagues, but as Andscape columnist Clinton Yates later wrote, the 78-year-old’s account of 1960s Alabama made sense to tell before a game devoted to Black history: “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.”11

Another hard truth was that more former Negro Leaguers were dying, often taking their stories with them. The death two days earlier of 93-year-old Hall of Famer Willie Mays – an Alabama son who had played with the Black Barons before joining an integrated New York Giants team – meant that of the more than 2,300 major Negro Leagues players between 1920 and 1948, only two were still alive.12 In Mays’ honor, groundskeepers had drawn the number 24 in white chalk behind home plate. A video tribute graced the field’s big screen, showing Mays’ spinning basket catches, his hat blowing off his head as he ran, and the swing long emulated on streets and sandlots.13

To Mays’ son Michael, revisiting Rickwood was nothing short of spiritual. He walked to the pitcher’s mound with his father’s godson Barry Bonds as well as Ken Griffey, Jr. “I’ve been telling y’all that if there’s any way on Earth my father could come down here, that he would,” the younger Mays told the crowd. “Well, he’s found another way.”14

Someone in the stands chanted, “Willie! Willie! Willie!” Many in the sold-out crowd of 8,332 joined in. Musician Jon Batiste performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Ninety-nine-year-old Bill Greason – a right-hander who had played with Mays on the Black Barons before joining the Cardinals – tossed a ceremonial first pitch. Members of the White major leagues’ first-ever all-Black umpiring crew got into place to officiate.15

Time to play.

St. Louis attacked early. After starter Andre Pallante retired the Giants in the first inning, the Cardinals pounced on 26-year-old rookie Keaton Winn. Leadoff hitter Masyn Winn (no relation) took first base on a walk, then third on a single by Alec Burleson, then home on a sacrifice fly by Nolan Gorman. Moments after Gorman and Masyn Winn returned to the dugout, longtime Alabama resident Brendan Donovan’s seventh home run of the season cleared the right-field wall.16 The Cards were up 3-0 in the first inning.

But San Francisco retaliated in the third. Mike Yastrzemski, whose father and grandfather had played at one time or another at Rickwood, started the inning with a groundball single to center field.17 Brett Wisely lined a single to center. And on a 0-and-1 pitch, Heliot Ramos tied the game with his 10th homer of the season, an opposite-field shot to right.

The tie, though, was short-lived. Masyn Winn began the St. Louis third with a double; the ball hit the chain-link fence in front of the left-field scoreboard. Burleson, as he had done in the first, singled to push the runner to third base. Gorman, as he’d done in the first, sent a go-ahead sacrifice fly to center field. A double by Donovan allowed Burleson to reach third. San Francisco manager Bob Melvin removed Keaton Winn from the game, yet the damage wasn’t done. With Randy Rodríguez pitching in relief, a wild pitch sent Burleson home, bumping the Cardinals’ lead to 5-3.

Rodríguez fanned Matt Carpenter on the next pitch and escaped the fourth inning without a run, but the fifth brought more trouble. He hit Burleson on a 0-and-1 pitch and allowed a single to Paul Goldschmidt. After Gorman struck out, Melvin called the bullpen again. And off reliever Taylor Rogers, Donovan drove in his third run of the night, on a single that again scored Burleson. St. Louis 6, San Francisco 3.

The Giants attempted a comeback. A leadoff double by Matt Chapman and a walk to Jorge Soler led Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol to replace the starter Pallante with Andrew Kittredge. On Kittredge’s second pitch, Wilmer Flores singled to center field, scoring Chapman. Two at-bats later, a sacrifice fly by Nick Ahmed scored Soler. San Francisco was a run away from tying the game.

Even so, the Cardinals’ relievers upheld the 6-5 edge. Kittredge and John King combined for a scoreless seventh. Right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, a 23-year-old who had arrived a day earlier from Triple-A Memphis, made his big-league debut in the eighth.18 Only an hour’s drive from his mother’s hometown of Gadsden, Alabama, Kloffenstein pitched a one-two-three frame with his parents in the stands.19 Against St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley in the ninth, the Giants lost this game by stranding the tying and leading runs.20

Pallante got the win. Keaton Winn took the loss. Helsley, on his way to a league-leading 49 saves, earned his 25th.

Masyn Winn, fresh off his two-run night, saw stepfather Earl Luckett in the crowd. Luckett had coached him years earlier in a Texas youth league. Their team had been called the Negro Leagues Legends, with the names of Aaron, Bell, Gibson, Mays, Robinson, and Paige on their shirts.21 Being at Rickwood, where each of those Black legends had played, left them both holding back tears.

“A pretty special honor,” the 22-year-old shortstop said, “being one of the only Black players out here and representing the Black community.”22

Winn was not exaggerating. In this “Tribute to the Negro Leagues,” he was the only Black player in either team’s starting lineup. This game’s only other Black player was Cardinals left fielder Victor Scott II, for the final three outs. The only Black position player on the Giants’ roster – outfielder-first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr. – was on the injured list and had lost an appeal to play, though he was allowed to hand out his team’s lineup card.23 Despite the growing presence of Latinos and other players of color, USA Today had noted that only 5.7 percent of major leaguers on that year’s Opening Day rosters or injured lists were Black, the lowest percentage since 1955.24

The shortage wasn’t limited to players. Among the 30 major-league teams, only two sitting managers and one sitting general manager were Black.25 There had still never been a Black majority team owner.

“It’s very easy for the history to get lost,” said Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark, the league’s first Black union chief. “Having an event is great, and it brings and sheds a light on that history. But it will be very important beyond this week – and beyond the game – that history continues to be told.”26

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Andrew Harner and copy-edited by Len Levin. Additional thanks to John Fredland for his insight.

Photo credit: Bill Greason, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for box scores and other material.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN202406200.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2024/B06200SLN2024.htm

Notes

1 The interview with Jackson – which first aired on Fox’s June 20, 2024, pregame telecast – was later posted here: “Reggie Jackson on Willie Mays’ Legacy & Emotions of Visiting Rickwood Field,” YouTube video (Fox Sports), 8:07, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMH2z4lFvZw. Accessed March 2025.

2 “1990-1999,” Rickwood.com, https://rickwood.com/1990-1999/. Accessed March 2025.

3 Details on the depth of the chalk lines come from “BrightView Transforms Historic Rickwood Field for MLB Special Game,” BrightView Holdings press release, June 19, 2024, https://www.brightview.com/resources/press-release/brightview-transforms-historic-rickwood-field-mlb-special-game. According to Sports Illustrated, there was “so much chalk that they had to dig down 18 inches to remove it all. The lines are now spray painted on.” See Tom Verducci, “Rickwood 101: Everything to Know Before MLB’s Negro League Tribute Game,” Sports Illustrated online, June 19, 2024, https://www.si.com/mlb/rickwood-field-history-negro-league-willie-mays-tribute.

4 The dirt came from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, the same source that provides dirt for 25 major-league parks. The blend of Bermuda grass used, Tahoma 31, had also been installed at Angel Stadium and Dodger Stadium. See Verducci, “Rickwood 101.”

5 “Rickwood 101.”

6 “Rickwood 101.”

7 Rickwood Field first opened on August 18, 1910, some 20 months before Boston’s Fenway Park opened. It became America’s oldest standing professional ballpark in 1991, after Chicago’s original Comiskey Park was demolished.

8 “Reggie Jackson on Willie Mays’ Legacy & Emotions of Visiting Rickwood Field.”

9 “Reggie Jackson on Willie Mays’ Legacy & Emotions of Visiting Rickwood Field.”

10 Though this was the White major leagues’ first regular-season game at Rickwood, it was not their first time there. On April 1, 1954, Rickwood hosted the first of five racially integrated major-league exhibition games over the course of a week; the participating teams were the Milwaukee Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago White Sox. As journalist Tom Verducci noted: “Over the next seven days, a Birmingham fan could watch Robinson, Campanella, Newcombe, Aaron, Bruton, Mays, Monte Irvin, Larry Doby, and Minnie Miñoso, not to mention White future Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Richie Ashburn.” Only months before the 1954 exhibitions, Birmingham’s public safety commission had amended its city code to allow American League and National League teams to play integrated games; however, in a public referendum on June 1, 1954, the city’s voters chose to remove the baseball exemption. See Tom Verducci, “Rickwood Field Was a Scene of Change for Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron,” Sports Illustrated online, June 20, 2024, https://www.si.com/mlb/rickwood-field-birmingham-jackie-robinson-hank-aaron-segregation.

11 Clinton Yates, “Reggie Jackson Reminds Us That MLB’s Rickwood Field Game Isn’t a Kumbaya Moment,” Andscape, June 21, 2024, https://andscape.com/features/reggie-jackson-reminds-us-that-mlbs-rickwood-field-game-isnt-a-kumbaya-moment/.

12 Seven major Negro Leagues existed between 1920 and 1948: the Negro National League (I), 1920 to 1931; the Eastern Colored League, 1923-1928; the American Negro League, 1929; the East-West League, 1932; the Negro Southern League, 1932; the Negro National League (II), 1933 to 1948; the Negro American League, 1937 to 1962. Days before Mays died, MLB.com had noted that there were 157 living Negro Leaguers. Mays’ death, according to the Washington Post, left Bill Greason and Ron Teasley as the only ones still alive who had played in the Negro Leagues before 1949. See Maria Guardado, “New Doc Traces Cultural Impact of Rickwood,” MLB.com, June 15, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/giants-make-documentary-detailing-history-of-rickwood-field-birmingham; Michael Lee, “Now 99, the Oldest Living Negro Leaguer ‘Never Thought They Would Recognize Me,’” Washington Post online, June 20, 2024. In all, about 60 former Negro League players attended the game. See Dalia Faheid and Elizabeth Wolfe, “Reggie Jackson Says Racism He Experienced Playing in Birmingham Made His Return for Negro Leagues Tribute ‘Not Easy,’” CNN.com, June 21, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/21/sport/reggie-jackson-racism-birmingham/index.html.

13 Video of the Willie Mays tribute that aired at Rickwood Field is available here: “Rickwood Field Pays Its Tribute to Willie Mays,” MLB.com, 2:10, https://www.mlb.com/video/rickwood-field-pays-it-s-tribute-to-willie-mays. Accessed May 2025.

14 Video of Michael Mays’ remarks is available here: “Willie Mays’ Son Encourages Crowd at Rickwood Field to Cheer,” YouTube video (ESPN), 1:30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEprpaumt-4. Accessed March 2025.

15 The game’s five umpires were home-plate umpire Alan Porter; field umpires Adrian Johnson, C.B. Bucknor, and Malachi Moore; and Jeremie Rehak in the replay booth.

16 Donovan, whose father served overseas in the US military, was born in Germany and moved to Alabama while in the third grade. He graduated from Enterprise High School and attended the University of South Alabama. See Lynn Worthy, “Cardinals’ Adam Kloffenstein Jumped into Setup Role, and Ryan Helsley Made History at Rickwood,” TCA Regional News, June 21, 2024.

17 Mike Yastrzemski’s father – also known as Mike – played 124 games in 1986 with the minor-league Birmingham Barons, mostly as an outfielder. See “Mike Yastrzemski,” Baseball Reference online, https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=yastrz002car. Accessed March 2025. The younger Mike’s grandfather Carl Yastrzemski played an exhibition game at Rickwood on April 3, 1971, with the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox beat the New York Yankees in that game, 5-1. See Wayne Martin, “Bosox’ Seibert Throws a Sparkler at Yanks,” Birmingham News, April 4, 1971: 17.

18 Lynn Worthy, “Kloffenstein Gets Call to Join Club for Rickwood Game,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 21, 2024: B5.

19 “Kloffenstein Gets Call to Join Club for Rickwood Game.”

20 The Giants ended the 2024 season fourth in the NL West, with an 80-82 record. The Cardinals finished 83-79, tied with the Chicago Cubs for second in the NL Central.

21 John Denton, “Winn Embraces ‘Every Bit of Emotion’ in Rickwood Field Victory,” MLB.com, June 21, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/brendan-donovan-masyn-winn-star-in-rickwood-field-game.

22 Bob Nightengale, “Historic Night at Rickwood Field: MLB Pays Tribute to Willie Mays, Negro Leagues,” USA Today, June 21, 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/06/21/mlb-historical-night-rickwood-field-willie-mays/74166156007/.

23 The Giants’ two Black nonposition players, starting pitchers Jordan Hicks and Spencer Bivens, did not play.

24 Information on the percentage of Black players comes from Bob Nightengale, “MLB Game at Rickwood Field a Seminal Moment,” USA Today, June 20, 2024: C4. A separate report notes that 24.2 percent of MLB players on Opening Day 2024 rosters came from a Latin American nation. See Anthony Crupi, “MLB Marketing Effort Celebrates Baseball’s Latino Stars, Fans,” Sportico, May 31, 2024, https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2024/mlb-marketing-push-celebrates-latino-baseball-stars-1234782373/. To see how a year-by-year breakdown of the major leagues’ racial and ethnic makeup, see Mark Armour and Daniel R. Levitt, “Baseball Demographics, 1947-2016,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/baseball-demographics-1947-2016/. Accessed April 2025.

25 Counting the two sitting skippers – Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Ron Washington (Los Angeles Angels) – there had been 28 Black managers throughout MLB’s history. The Houston Astros’ Dana Brown was only the second Black general manager in MLB history. The first official one was Bob Watson, with the Astros in 1994 and ’95, then the New York Yankees in 1996 and ’97. Before Watson, Atlanta Braves executive Bill Lucas had served as a de facto GM from 1976 until his death in 1979.

26 Bob Nightengale, “Why Reggie Jackson’s Powerful Remarks on Racism Still Resonate Today,” USA Today online, June 23, 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/06/23/reggie-jackson-racism-birmingham-rickwood-field-mlb/74183751007/.