6 Negro Leagues (and Major League) ballparks you can still visit
Dan Cichalski
@NJ_baseballA version of this story was originally published in June 2024.
When the Giants and the Cardinals played at Rickwood Field in June 2024, it wasn¡¯t the first Major League game at America¡¯s oldest ballpark. That¡¯s because the Birmingham Black Barons called Rickwood home from 1923-48, competing in the Negro National League and Negro American League that are among the circuits now officially recognized as Major Leagues.
But Rickwood isn¡¯t the only extant field that once hosted official games between Negro League teams. There are five more, with various uses today, that stand as monuments to the players who played in leagues that would accept them when the American and National leagues would not.
"As we talk about the stories of the past, it's really cool to go there and hear, 'So-and-so hit the ball there,' and you can actually, visually see it," Curtis Granderson told the Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium at the Hall of Fame's East-West Classic in May 2024. "'So-and-so played here. Wow, I can step in the same place that this iconic player was there once before.' From that standpoint, I definitely think it's very important to preserve it."
Rickwood Field, Birmingham, Ala. (opened 1910)
Rickwood opened on Aug. 18, 1910, as the home of the Birmingham Barons in the Class A Southern Association. Nine years later, the Birmingham Black Barons began using Rickwood when the white Barons were on the road. In 1927, a 20-year-old Satchel Paige ¨C born in the Gulf Coast city of Mobile, Ala. ¨C embarked on his professional career with the Black Barons, pitching for them until 1930. Other Hall of Famers with ties to the Negro Leagues who dug into the dirt at Rickwood are Willie Foster, Biz Mackey, Mule Suttles and Willie Mays.
In 1988, the Barons left Rickwood for a new ballpark 11 miles south in Hoover, and four years later, the Friends of Rickwood Field was formed to advocate for the ballpark¡¯s preservation. In 1993, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places ¨C after director Ron Shelton chose it as a location for his movie ¡°Cobb.¡± In ¡¯96, the Barons began playing one game a year back at their former home, calling it the Rickwood Classic.
"These buildings are historic; for us, it's like going to a church," CC Sabathia told the Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium in Cooperstown. "We wouldn't be able to play if it wasn't for these buildings, for these stadiums, for these men that sacrificed all that they did. It's incredibly important for me to be a part of Rickwood, for me to help preserve that history."
The Friends of Rickwood provide guided tours upon request; check the website for details.
League Park, Cleveland (opened 1910)
A wooden ballpark originally built in 1891 on this site was home to the Cleveland Spiders and then, in 1900, the Blues (precursor to today¡¯s Guardians). In 1910, a concrete-and-steel replacement opened on the same site, with Cy Young starting the first game.
While Black teams played at League Park in the 1930s, the longest Negro Leagues tenant was the Cleveland Buckeyes, from 1942-48. That included the ¡¯45 winners of the Negro World Series, who swept the Homestead Grays in four games. One of the stars of that team was center fielder Sam Jethroe, who went on to integrate the Boston Braves and win the 1950 NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Today, League Park is a community field. Much of the original brick wall along the first-base line remains on E. 66th St. At the corner of Lexington Ave. and E. 66th is the Baseball Heritage Museum, located in a former ticket office. It hosts various events throughout the year, from dinners and plays to a catch on the field for Mother¡¯s Day and Father¡¯s Day.
When Cleveland hosted the All-Star Game in 2019, the opening ceremonies for the Commissioner¡¯s Cup and Jennie Finch Classic ¨C two of MLB¡¯s signature youth events ¨C took place at League Park.
Hamtramck Stadium, Hamtramck, Mich. (opened 1930)
Home to the Detroit Stars and Detroit Wolves at various times in the 1930s, Hamtramck Stadium was almost lost to history. A dilapidated grandstand surrounded by chain-link fencing and overgrown with weeds was considered for demolition when the city was renovating Veterans Park in 2010. But then historian Gary Gillette stepped in and revealed the historic value of the structure. Soon the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium was formed, leading to the renovation of the grandstand and field and a rededication in June 2022.
Since its renovation, the field has hosted Juneteenth celebrations, ballgames from high school to senior baseball levels, and SABR¡¯s Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference.
In June 1930, a month after the ballpark opened, the Kansas City Monarchs visited with their portable lights ¨C the first professional night game played in the state of Michigan.
Bush Stadium, Indianapolis (opened 1931)
This field in Indiana¡¯s capital hasn¡¯t been home to a team since 1996, but people have called it home since 2013 ¨C that¡¯s when the Bush Stadium Lofts apartment complex opened to tenants. Called Perry Stadium when it opened, it was the home field for the Minor League Indianapolis Indians ¨C as well as several Black teams, including the Indianapolis ABCs and Clowns in the 1930s and ¡¯40s. Henry Aaron played here for the Clowns in 1952, though that season isn¡¯t currently part of the Negro Leagues records that have been included with MLB stats.
The Triple-A Indians played their final game at Bush Stadium on July 3, 1996, and the next year it was used as a venue for midget car auto racing. It was closed soon after and fell into disrepair, even being used to store junked cars in the Cash for Clunkers program. But in 2013, it was given new life when the Stadium Lofts opened, with studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments in the former stadium structure. Units facing the north and east look out over the former grass playing surface ¨C though pavers have replaced the dirt infield.
Hinchliffe Stadium, Paterson, N.J. (opened 1932)
This northern New Jersey stadium is the only one on the list that is home to a professional baseball team today. In 2023, the New Jersey Jackals of the MLB-partner Frontier League played their first game at Hinchliffe Stadium after 25 years in neighboring Little Falls.
The stadium opened in 1932 and served as a home field primarily for the New York Black Yankees, though the New York Cubans and Newark Eagles also scheduled games there. In ¡¯33, the Black Yankees faced the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the deciding third game for the ¡°colored championship,¡± with both teams stacked with stars. Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson played for Pittsburgh; John Beckwith, George Scales and Ted ¡°Double Duty¡± Radcliffe suited up for New York, which won the game, 6-3.
The Jackals¡¯ home schedule usually runs from May through August each year. If you go, plan some time to take in the neighboring Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park and the new Charles J. Muth Museum, located in a new building out beyond Hinchliffe¡¯s center-field fence and featuring displays on Paterson¡¯s baseball history.
J.P. Small Memorial Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla. (opened 1937)
First known as Durkee Field ¨C a nod to its location in Jacksonville¡¯s Durkeeville neighborhood ¨C the original structure burned down in 1936 and was immediately rebuilt by the city. In 1937-38, 1941-42 and ¡¯44, it served as the home of the Jacksonville Red Caps of the Negro American League. Among the Black stars who played there were Henry Aaron (as a Minor Leaguer in the Braves¡¯ system), Satchel Paige, Roy Campanella, Cool Papa Bell and Judy Johnson.
Pro teams moved out in 1954 after a new stadium, Wolfson Park, was built, and Durkee Field was used by local college and high school teams, but by the 1970s ¨C stop us if you¡¯ve heard this one before ¨C it fell into disrepair. That prompted the city to renovate it and rename it in 1980 for J.P. Small, a local high school teacher, coach and administrator who died in ¡¯75. The ballpark outlasted Wolfson (demolished in 2002) and earned a historical marker from the City of Jacksonville in ¡¯03. A small museum was added three years later, and in 2013 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2006, a statue of Buck O¡¯Neil ¨C who attended Edward Waters College in Jacksonville ¨C was dedicated in the entry plaza at the corner of 7th St. W and Myrtle Ave. N. The park underwent renovations in 2024.
If you've ever wanted to step back in time and walk where Negro League legends played the game, pack a glove and a ball and don't forget the sunscreen -- there are real fields of dreams waiting.