Rickwood Field is the oldest ballpark in America, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that it has a rich history.
Some of baseball's greatest players have taken the field at the stadium. More top-tier players will be in action there Thursday as the Cardinals and Giants play an MLB game at the historic park.
Rickwood no longer has a team that calls it home full-time. The Birmingham Barons — the White Sox's Double-A affiliate — now play at Regions Field, also in Birmingham, Alabama, though they play the occasional game at Rickwood Field.
But from 1920 to 1960, Rickwood Field had two full-time teams play within its confines. The Barons were one and the Birmingham Black Barons — a Negro League team that produced a handful of Hall of Famers — were the other.
Here's what to know about the Black Barons as the Giants and MLB honor Willie Mays' first professional club.
MORE: Willie Mays' career, from start with Black Barons to Hall of Fame run with Giants
What team played at Rickwood Field?
The Birmingham Black Barons were one of the primary residents of Rickwood Field during the ballpark's heyday.
The Black Barons were a Negro League team that began playing in 1920. They played through the 1960 season and won four championships (1943, 1944, 1948 and 1959).
MORE: Revisiting Willie Mays' Hall of Fame stats, accolades
Birmingham Black Barons history
The Black Barons began as a part of the Southern League, which Hall of Famer Rube Foster organized. The club spent the first 20 years of its history bouncing between the Southern League — a minor league operation — and the Negro National and American Leagues, which were at the professional level; this was due to financial issues stemming from The Great Depression, per the Negro Southern League Museum.
After not playing during the 1939 season, the Black Barons established themselves as a Negro American League team and competed at that level for the final 20 years of their existence. They won four league titles after moving to that level, with their early success — pennant wins in 1943 and 1944 — coming after Harlem Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein purchased the team.
After baseball's integration, the Negro Leagues gradually declined, and attendance for the Black Barons thinned. As a result, the team converted into a barnstorming squad and played their final Negro League game in 1960. It is believed their final year sporting the Birmingham nickname came in 1962.
MORE: Why Willie Mays was known as the 'Say Hey Kid'
Notable Birmingham Black Barons players
The Black Barons saw five Hall of Famers play for them during their history. Willie Mays notably suited up for the squad when he was 17, while Satchel Paige became a dominant pitcher with the Black Barons during the 1927 run to the Negro League World Series.
Below is a look at the Black Barons to make the Baseball Hall of Fame:
| Player | Position | Years played | HOF induction |
| Willie Mays | CF | 1948-49 | 1979 |
| Willie Wells | SS | 1941 | 1997 |
| Satchel Paige | P | 1927-30 | 1971 |
| Bill Foster | P | 1925 | 1996 |
| Mule Suttles | 1B | 1924-25 | 2006 |
Beyond those Hall of Famers, the Black Barons also had Goose Tatum — a.k.a. The Clown Prince of Basketball — on the team. In the team's later years, Charlie Pride was their top player. He eventually became better known as a country singer.
Dan Bankhead, the first Black pitcher in MLB, also pitched for Birmingham in four of five seasons from 1940 to 1944.
