Major League Baseball will stage a Negro Leagues tribute game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 20, 2024, between the San Francisco Giants and the St.
Louis Cardinals. The 10,800-seat stadium, opened in 1910, is the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S. and a National Historic Site.
The stadium was home to the Birmingham Black Barons from 1924-60. "It's an honour. Any time I get to represent my culture like that, especially on the MLB level, it's always a joy," said Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker, who is Black. "All I got to do is stay healthy and ready and I want to play in that game, for sure." The game will honour Hall of Famer Willie Mays, a Birmingham native who began his professional career with the team in 1948.
On June 20, 2024, Rickwood Field takes center stage. See you next year, Birmingham! <a href="https://t.co/ciVqxh0foA">pic.twitter.com/ciVqxh0foA</a> MLB said Tuesday it is staging the game around the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865.