Ajay Stone strolled around historic Rickwood Field, taking in the tributes displayed in honor of Willie Mays and other Negro Leagues legends. Clutched in his hands was a cherished memory—a photograph from 2004 of Mays holding Stone's then-10-month-old daughter, Haley. She was dressed in San Francisco Giants gear, and Mays was offering her a chunk of a chocolate chip cookie.
Stone and his wife, Christina, had traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Birmingham, Alabama, for an occasion they deemed just as special. It was just hours before Rickwood Field would host its first Major League Baseball game between the Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, an event dubbed "A Tribute to the Negro Leagues" by MLB.
Tributes and Tears: Honoring Willie Mays
MLB planned a week of activities around Willie Mays and the Negro Leagues, including an unveiling ceremony for a Mays mural in downtown Birmingham. These tributes took on a more profound significance on Tuesday afternoon when news broke that Mays had passed away at 93.
As word of his death spread through Birmingham, the celebrations of his life intensified. The atmosphere at Rickwood Field on Thursday was electrifying well before the game began. The rapid rhythm of a drum echoed within the ballpark, excited murmurs from fans bounced along the corridors, and bursts of laughter peppered the air, all hinting at the grandeur of the event.
Inside, history was palpable. Photos and artifacts of baseball Hall of Famers who had played at the 114-year-old ballpark, including Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson, and Satchel Paige, adorned the walls. The original clubhouse of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, where Mays began his professional career in 1948, was open to the public. A memorial dedicated to Mays featured bobbleheads, a signed glove, and his Black Barons and San Francisco Giants jerseys.
Fans Relive History
Outside, lines formed as fans eagerly waited to hold a baseball bat used by Mays in 1959 and to take photographs inside an original 1947 bus typically used during barnstorming tours by Negro Leagues teams. Fans danced to live music and indulged in food from concession stands with menu designs reminiscent of the 1940s.
Eddie Torres and his son Junior, lifelong Giants fans from California, wore matching Giants jerseys as they snapped pictures inside the ballpark. Musical artist Jon Batiste added to the festive atmosphere, strumming a guitar and dancing on a wooden stage near home plate just before the game's first pitch.
As former Negro Leaguers were escorted to the field for a pregame ceremony, shouts of "Willie! Willie!" erupted from the crowd after a poignant moment of silence.
Echoes of the Past
Sitting in the stands at Rickwood Field, Michael Jackson felt a wave of nostalgia. Jackson had played baseball in the 1970s and 80s with the East Thomas Eagles of the Birmingham Industrial League. His baseball journey had brought him to Rickwood Field numerous times, and he was thrilled that the iconic venue was still standing.
"It's nice seeing them re-do all of this instead of tearing it down," Jackson said. "We played in the same ballpark they named after Willie Mays out in Fairfield, Alabama. I had my times out here playing at this ballpark. It's all very exciting."
Memories and Reflections
Ajay Stone took a moment to reflect on his memories with Mays. "Willie gave her that cookie. She had no teeth. But we took the cookie and kept it in her stroller for a year and a half. The great Willie Mays gave it to her, so it was special to us," he said.
Another fan shared a similar sentiment, "I never even got to see Willie Mays play, but as a Giants fan, you knew what he meant to the game of baseball."
"The legacy of Willie Mays transcends generations," noted Eddie Torres. "My son, he's only 11. Willie Mays had such an effect on the game that even he knew who Willie Mays was."
As the game commenced and the crowd erupted in cheers, it was clear that Rickwood Field had transformed from a ballpark into a living museum, a time capsule capturing the essence of a bygone era while honoring the life and legacy of one of baseball's greatest icons, Willie Mays.