Willie Mays Will Not Attend MLB Game at Historic Rickwood Field

The 93-year-old began his pro career at the famous Birmingham ballpark.

D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball legend Willie Mays will not be in attendance when the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals square off Thursday at the ballpark where Mays began his professional career.

Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., is the oldest professional baseball stadium in the United States. On Thursday, the Giants and Cardinals will play there in what MLB is calling “MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues.” It will be the first regular-season AL/NL game played at the ballpark.

Mays made his professional debut as a 17-year-old in 1948 for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League before signing with the New York Giants. Mays, now 93, will be honored at Thursday’s game but will not travel to be in attendance.

“I’m not able to get to Birmingham this year but will follow the game back here in the Bay Area,” Mays said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “My heart will be with all of you who are honoring the Negro League ballplayers, who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons. I wanted to thank Major League Baseball, the Giants, the Cardinals and all the fans who’ll be at Rickwood or watching the game. It’ll be a special day, and I hope the kids will enjoy it and be inspired by it.”

In addition to Thursday’s big league game, Rickwood will also host a contest on Tuesday between the Double A Birmingham Barons and the Montgomery Biscuits. Both teams will wear uniforms of former Negro League teams in their cities, with the Barons suiting up as the Black Barons and the Biscuits wearing Montgomery Gray Sox uniforms. The Giants and Cardinals will also wear Negro Leagues uniforms for their games. San Francisco’s will be the San Francisco Sea Lions and St. Louis’s will be the St. Louis Stars.

Rickwood Field was opened in 1910, two years before Fenway Park, and was the home of the Black Barons for their entire 40-year existence. The stadium also hosted the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League until 1987. The ballpark was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 has undergone extensive renovations in preparation for Thursday’s game.