Road to Rickwood
Road to Rickwood, hosted by Roy Wood Jr., tells the story of the long and complicated history of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The 114-year-old stadium has hosted everything from segregated baseball to a women’s suffrage event, to a Klan rally and eventually, the first integrated sports team in Alabama. Roy Wood Jr. speaks with historians, civic leaders, and former Negro League players to learn how Birmingham’s civil rights story played out at America’s oldest ballpark. This four-part radio series serves as the lead-up to a special Major League Baseball game hosted at Rickwood Field on June 20, 2024.
Sunday, June 9th at 1pm - Episode 1: The Holy Grail of Baseball
In the first episode, we look at how baseball and Birmingham are linked from the beginning. And while baseball uplifts both the white and Black communities, it also enforces the principle that rules Alabama: segregation.
Sunday, June 16th at 1pm - Episode 2: Church Pews and Bleachers
In this episode, we learn about the heyday of Black baseball in Birmingham and the launch of Willie Mays' career as a 17-year-old. We hear from surviving players from the Birmingham Black Barons about the soaring highs and painful lows of Negro League baseball in Alabama. We also explore the struggle for equality and human rights in Birmingham that served as the backdrop of this era.
Sunday, June 23rd at 1pm - Episode 3: Don't Fight Back
In 1964, the Birmingham Barons became Alabama’s first integrated sports team, 17 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues. In this episode we hear about the Klan violence that plagued Birmingham in the early 1960s, and how baseball was resurrected to restore hope to the community and prove that integration could succeed in Birmingham.
Sunday, June 30th at 1pm - Episode 4: Rebuilding Black Baseball
In the final episode, we explore some of the obstacles that prevent more Black youth from taking up America’s pastime. We speak with everyone from MLB execs, managers and players to Birmingham high schoolers and coaches to learn about efforts to reignite Black participation in baseball. We explore what it means to give space for Black athletes to be themselves.