Category: History and More

When I walked through the gates of Rickwood Field on Tuesday, I didn’t realize what an emotional night it would become.

I’ve loved this place for as long as I can remember, and to find it better than ever 114 years after it opened was a genuine thrill. That incredibly warm feeling I got looking at all the signage leading to the entrance of “America’s Oldest Ballpark” had nothing to do with the 88-degree temperature.

It now has a gorgeous playing field, yet still proudly displays the rust and dust that preserves its character.

But as the evening unfolded, there was sadness intertwined with beauty.

On a night billed as “A Tribute To The Negro Leagues,” the great Willie Mays passed away at the age of 93.

The “Say Hey Kid” grew up in the shadow of Rickwood, and got his start playing for the Birmingham Black Barons here. He’d go on to have a Hall of Fame career, one that featured 24 All-Star selections, two National League MVP Awards, a batting championship, 12 Gold Gloves, and a World Series title.

Watching the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits take on the personas (and unis) of Mays’ old team and the Montgomery Gray Sox was always going to be special, but it wound up being poignant due to the loss of one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived.

While a regular season Major League game will take place here in two days when the St. Louis Cardinals and Mays’ former team, the San Francisco Giants, clash, it’ll hardly be the first time big-league baseball has called the Magic City home.

Although it took MLB brass a century to make it official, the Black Barons checked that box as far back as 1920; thanks to them, Rickwood Field was once the friendly confines of Birmingham’s only major league sports franchise.

But while it’s rightfully shining in the national spotlight this week, it never stopped being a beacon for me.

May 15, 1975, was supposed to be my introduction to professional baseball when the reigning world champion Oakland A’s came to Rickwood to play their Southern League farm club, the Birmingham A’s.

My dad and I were among the 7,000 fans who got to the park early, and I was able to get second baseman Phil Garner’s autograph and stand on the field with guys like Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Bert Campaneris. Pop was more interested in watching Vida Blue warm up, since No. 35 was one of his favorite pitchers.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature was in no mood for baseball on this particular Thursday night, so she dumped a ridiculous amount of rain on the field and – for good measure – provided some lightning bolts that knocked out a couple of transformers.

No game … only a mad dash back to the Gran Torino.

Disappointing, yes, but there would be many, many nights of baseball to come.

Once the late, great Art Clarkson spearheaded the Montgomery Rebels’ move to Birmingham and revived the Barons brand, I spent more time at Rickwood than any other sports venue in the city.

I didn’t care that it wasn’t some state-of-the-art, “modern” facility. In fact, maybe that’s why I was so enamored with it. It was cozy and comfortable … if it was a house, it was a house where you felt like you could put your feet up on the furniture and not worry about getting yelled at.

And that’s a good thing, because in a sports sense it became my home away from home.

But only as I got older – and Rickwood continued to stand while other stadiums fell – did I start to learn of its rich, glorious history.

Seeing the iconic BBB Black Barons logo on the field allowed me to imagine the days when Mays, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles began their Hall of Fame journeys on this very spot.

And to think it has hosted everyone from Jackie Robinson to Hank Aaron to Josh Gibson to Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to Roberto Clemente to Stan Musial to Mickey Mantle to … well, you get the idea.

There’s a certain magic to the place, and the game on June 18, 2024, now stands as more than a re-opening of Rickwood, but a memorial to an icon.

For the record, the final score was Montgomery 6, Birmingham 5. The result, of course, was secondary to the experience.

The moment I sat in my seat in Section 41 on Row 18, I knew I was back at a place that feels like home. And when I drove away, all I could think about was Wille Mays – and how I wish he’d have been able to make one last trip home, too.

When Rugby United New York rebranded to Rugby New York Ironworkers this time last year, I thought about getting a new T-Shirt. My navy blue RUNY top was starting to get a little ratty, and the fresh Ironworkers logo was better, anyway.

Oh, I’d still wear the original for throwback purposes, but it was time to upgrade and update. Plus, it was a good way to support the team.

Alas, there is no longer a team to support.

Unable to find financial backing for 2024, the Ironworkers went cleats up on Wednesday. They join the Toronto Arrows as the second Major League Rugby club to cease operations since late November.

“We’re disappointed and saddened to announce the withdrawal of the New York Ironworkers from Major League Rugby, particularly knowing the commitment and pride of its players and staff, as well as the fervent passion of its fan base,” MLR CEO Nic Benson said in a statement. “We’re deeply grateful to the team’s leadership, who have worked to grow the game of rugby in the U.S. and New York, striving to do so in one of the most competitive markets in the world.
“As always, our focus is on doing right by the Club and its players as operations wind down with an announcement about the player disbursal process to come later.”

This news caught me off guard but truthfully, I wasn’t paying much attention. The 2023 season has been over for five months and I had already started concentrating on the United Rugby Championship (and the Glasgow Warriors).

Still, I figured a franchise in the top media market in the league would be safe.

I figured wrong.

And with the largest city in the United States and the largest city in Canada both losing teams over a 10-day span, I wonder if I should start buying up MLR memorabilia so I’ll have a few more collector’s items.

Benson, of course, insists all is well.

“Major League Rugby is embarking on its own positive evolution as a professional sports league,” he added in Wednesday’s statement. “We feel for those impacted by New York’s decision to withdraw, knowing it was a painful and difficult one to make. But we also remain confident in the course the league and its owners have charted, leading the way for the success of the sport in advance of North America hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2031. We remain committed to growth and look forward to a thrilling 2024 season.”

I hope he’s right, because I’ve really enjoyed this league.

I started watching in 2018 and cheered for the NOLA (New Orleans) Gold during the inaugural season. But when New York came aboard a year later, I continued my tradition of “adopting” New York sports teams as my own, and became a RUNY supporter.

They rewarded me with an MLR championship in 2022, and provided a lot of fun along the way.

From a business standpoint, though, the club didn’t establish firm roots.

It had gone through ownership changes, five different venues, and based on attendance, the “fervent passion of its fan base” Benson spoke of came from a pretty small number of supporters.

The teams competing next season are the Chicago Hounds, Dallas Jackals, Houston SaberCats, a Los Angeles entry (relocating from Atlanta), Miami Sharks (expansion team), New England Free Jacks, NOLA, Old Glory DC, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves and Utah Warriors.

I guess I’ll go back to pulling for NOLA (although the guys from the Big Easy might not want me back as a fan after I deserted them once before), but my enthusiasm for the circuit has taken a major hit.

If you know anything about me, though, you know I’m no stranger to having teams – and leagues – I follow cease to exist.

I’m truly sorry to see the Ironworkers join that group.

And while I’d like to think New York will get a new franchise in the future, the future of MLR doesn’t seem quite as bright as it once did.

A hundred years ago professional football was still in its infancy, with the National Football League (known as the American Professional Football Association until 1922) entering just its fourth season of operation.

But 1923 was also the final year of the Canton Bulldogs “dynasty” – one that crumbled when the two-time champions were bought out and redistributed to Cleveland before the future Hall of Fame City had a chance at a three-peat.

The Bulldogs were already well-established, having won championships in the Ohio Football League before professional football consolidated into one major league.

Their first season in the APFA – 1920 – ended with a 4-4 record, and they improved to 5-2-3 in 2021, good enough for fourth place.

In 1922 the NFL started with 18 teams. Along with the Bulldogs, there were the Akron Indians, Buffalo Bisons, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, Columbus Tigers, Dayton Triangles, Evansville Crimson Giants, Green Bay Packers, Hammond Pros, Kenosha Maroons, Louisville Colonels, Milwaukee Badgers, Minneapolis Red Jackets, Oorang Indians, Racine Tornadoes, Rochester Jeffersons and Rock Island Independents.

Guy Chamberlin took over as head coach, player and part-owner of the Bulldogs in 1922. The former Nebraska All-American had played for the unbeaten Ohio League Bulldogs (coached by Jim Thorpe) in 1919, and returned in multiple roles after starring for the Decatur/Chicago Staleys for two seasons.

Chamberlin made quite an impact in his first season at the Canton helm, leading the team to a 10-0-2 record that included nine shutouts.

Chamberlin – an end and wingback – led the team with seven touchdowns and the Bulldogs outscored their opposition, 184-15.

There was no playoff system then, but Canton was declared champion by virtue of having the best record in the league.

A year later, with Chamberlin still running the show, the Bulldogs did it again – even better than before.

Going 11-0-1, they were an offensive juggernaut, tallying 246 points. Chamberlin was still a solid contributor on the field with three touchdowns, but tailback Lou Smith set the pace with seven scores while fullbacks Doc Elliott and Ben Jones each had six TDs.

The defense gave up just 19 points in registering eight shutouts.

Once again there were no playoffs, but Canton took a pair of victory laps after retaining the crown.

First it traveled to Philadelphia on December 15 and defeated the Frankford Yellow Jackets, 3-0, on the strength of Pud Henry’s 11-yard field goal. The exhibition game came against a team that would join the NFL a year later.

The Bulldogs then blanked Melrose Athletic Club, 27-0, in another exhibition contest played a day later in Atlantic City.

The report in The Morning Call newspaper on December 17 called Canton “the greatest collection of football stars ever assembled on any gridiron here.”

The Bulldogs’ 25-game unbeaten streak from 1921-23 is still an NFL best, and they are the only team to go undefeated in consecutive seasons.

A chance to continue their dynasty appeared on track as the calendar turned to 1924.

In April Chamberlin was reappointed Canton head coach, and signed most of the stars from the previous two seasons. And in July, the Bulldogs had already mapped out their schedule for the upcoming season.

But everything changed on August 3, 1924.

“The greatest deal in the history of professional football was consummated here Saturday when Sam Deutsch, backer and manger of the Cleveland professional eleven, purchased the Canton Bulldogs, professional champion of America for two years, buying franchise, players and even uniforms,” the Dayton Herald reported in its August 4 edition. “Deutsch has also retained Guy Chamberlin, who successfully coached the Canton eleven, to coach the team, which will now be known as the Cleveland Bulldogs.”

Adding insult to injury for Canton fans, the article also noted that, “Deutsch expects to sell the Canton franchise to another Canton syndicate, which will try to keep Canton on the football map with a cheaper team, some of which possibly will be the players Deutsch and Chamberlin will not need on the Bulldogs.”

Cleveland’s Bulldogs did, in fact, win the 1924 league championship with a 7-1-1 record (although they were trounced by the Bears, 23-0, in a postseason exhibition game on December 7).

The Canton franchise sat out the year and reformed for 1925.

In a sense, the first year the franchise spent in Cleveland was, in fact, a three-peat; they were basically the same Bulldogs, just housed in a kennel 60 miles away. The NFL, however, officially considers it a completely different team.

But for Canton – which lost its NFL club for good following the 1926 season – 1923 was the last year the city was home to a championship team in football’s biggest league.