Section 30

Earlier this year the Birmingham City Council approved $6 million in funding for Rickwood Field and Legion Field.

Two million bucks will go to the oldest professional ballpark in the United States, mainly to spruce it up, strengthen its bones and make sure the home to the Magic City’s only major league team – the Birmingham Black Barons – can live on for another century as a working museum as well as active stadium. It comes in especially handy since Major League Baseball will be staging a regular season game between the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals there on June 20, 2024.

And Legion Field?

The Football Capital of the South will use its capital for a new roof over the northeast end zone, restroom renovations and technological improvements.

This is welcome news, especially for somebody like me who will always have a deep love for both venues.

But when it comes to Legion Field, the part of the stadium I want preserved for posterity is Section 30.

To you, it might simply be a corner of the Old Gray Lady’s east side, next to the north end zone and across from the press box.

To me, it was where my Birmingham sports journey began – a journey that continues today.

September 19, 1970, was my first visit to Legion Field. In fact, it was my first visit to any field that wasn’t home to a high school or YMCA team.

A week after Alabama was blasted by Southern Cal, 42-21 (an historic game whose significance was lost on me at the time), my dad and brother took me to the Magic City’s gridiron cathedral to watch the Crimson Tide take on Virginia Tech.

Two weird things I’ve retained from that experience; instead of the Hokies, Tech was called the V.P.I. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute) Gobblers, and I was wearing a corduroy jacket.

An acronym represented by turkeys I won’t question, but why I would have on an extra layer of clothing in the middle of an Alabama September will remain a hot weather cold case that will likely never be solved. Maybe it was merely an accessory designed to accentuate my black, horn-rimmed glasses and Lucky Tiger Hair Tonic-soaked noggin.

I was quite the dandy for a nine-year old – a nine-year old known as “Professor Four Eyes” to my frenemies and foes.

But this was a grand occasion, and as I walked between my pop and my bub and we headed toward the nosebleed seats in Section 30, I was proud to be seen.

And even though the players looked small from my vantage point, man, did I ever feel big.

A damp hot dog pulled from an aluminum wrapper – washed down with a Coke in a sweaty cup – was a kingly feast. And with dinner came a show in the form of 51 Alabama points to just 18 for those big cluckers from Blacksburg.

The sights, the sounds, the smells … on that particular day, Legion Field was the happiest place on earth for me.

And for half a century, it’s remained an integral part of my life.

I’ve been there for the World Football League, American Football Association, United States Football League, World League of American Football, Canadian Football League, XFL and Alliance of American Football.

I was in the stands when Banks played Woodlawn in 1974, the state of Alabama’s high school “Game of the Century” and one witnessed by 42,000 fans.

And I was up close to the action every day for every match when the 1996 Olympic Games made it a glorious showcase for association football, as well as many other times when the United States Men’s and Women’s National Teams came there.

But there’s never been a visit to Legion Field – not a one – when I didn’t make a point to point out Section 30 and smile.

Nowadays, greater Birmingham has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to public sports facilities. Protective Stadium (UAB, Legion FC and Stallions), Regions Field (Barons), Legacy Arena at the BJCC (Squadron), the Pelham Civic Complex (Bulls and soon Magic City SC) – there are plenty of teams to cheer, and plenty of places to cheer them.

But I’m still drawn to Legion Field, and took great pleasure back in April when I got to stop in and watch the final few minutes of a scrimmage between the modern-era USFL Stallions and New Orleans Breakers. I didn’t need a corduroy jacket, but I still own a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and can buy Lucky Tiger Hair Tonic online for about 10 bucks. (And frankly, “Professor Four Eyes” isn’t a bad superhero name).

Sadly, it was a bit lonelier that time; I lost my dad nearly 30 years ago and my brother back in February.

But that’s the beautiful thing about beautiful memories. They stay with you forever … in Section 30 and beyond.