MLB to stage Negro Leagues tribute game at Rickwood Field next June honouring Willie Mays

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. There also will be a Double-A game at the ballpark between the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League on June 18.

St. Louis will be the home team for the June 20 game, scheduled to start shortly after 7 p.m. EDT and to be televised nationally on Fox. Period uniforms will be used relating to the Negro Leagues history of San Francisco and St. Louis.

"The legacy of the Negro Leagues and its greatest living player, Willie Mays, is one of excellence and perseverance," baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We look forward to sharing the stories of the Negro Leagues throughout this event next year."

A World Series champion with the Giants in 1954, Mays