Sweet Home Alabama? | Reggie Jackson’s Remembrance Of Rickwood Field Is A Look Into America’s Ugly, Not-So-Distant Past

by Jalyn Smoot | Jun 23, 2024 | THE THREE SPOT

Major League Baseball made history on Thursday night, as the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals competed in the league’s first game at Rickwood Field. Built in 1910, Rickwood Field is the oldest existing professional ballpark and once served as home to the Negro League’s Birmingham Black Barons.

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Prior to the start of Thursday’s contest, Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson recounted the racism he experienced during his time in Birmingham, Alabama and admitted that it was difficult to return to the historic ballpark. In 1967, before he advanced to the Majors, Jackson was one of the few Black players on the Birmingham A’s Double-A Southern League team. The team played at Rickwood Field until 1963.
Asked by Alex Rodriguez what the emotions are like to return to Rickwood Field, the 1973 AL MVP spoke of how challenging it was to travel to where his baseball career began.

“Coming back here is not easy,” Jackson said. “The racism when I played here, the difficulty of going through different places where we traveled. Fortunately, I had a manager and I had players on the team that helped me get through it. But I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

Despite being well-received on the Black Barons, Jackson was often forbidden from restaurants and hotels where his white teammates were welcomed. “I’d walk into restaurants, and they would point at me and say, ‘the n—– can’t eat here.’ I would go to a hotel, and they say the n—– can’t stay here. We went to Charlie Finley’s country club for a welcome home dinner, and they pointed me out with the N word.”

Jackson’s retelling of his experiences highlighted America’s dark, segregated, and not-so-distant past. Born just two years before the integration of the U.S. military in 1948 and nearly 20 years before President Lyndon B. Johnson legally ended segregation with the Civil Rights Act, Jackson, 78, lived through one of the nation’s cruelest periods. Despite his talent, the baseball legend was constantly antagonized and rebuked during his time in the Minors.

Although he was a victim of severe racism, especially in the South, Jackson was grateful to have a manager that was willing to stand up for equality. During Fox’s broadcast on Thursday, Jackson spoke about his AA manager, Johnny McNamara, who managed him in Birmingham and came up to manage the major league A’s in 1969, reuniting with Jackson for the end of 1969 and the 1970 season: “Fortunately, I had a manager in Johnny McNamara that if I couldn’t eat in the place, nobody could eat,” Jackson said. “We’d get food to travel. If I couldn’t stay in the hotel, they’d drive to the next hotel and find a place where I could stay.”

In addition to McNamara, Jackson named Rollie Fingers, Dave Duncan, and Joe Rudi along with his wife, Sharon, as figures that defended him and helped him navigate such trying times. Jackson spoke of how, for a few weeks, he would spend several nights a week on the Rudis’ couch. He only left once there were threats made of burning the Rudis’ apartment complex down if Jackson continued lodging there. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. At the same time, had it not been for my white friends, had it not been for a white manager… I would have never made it. I was too physically violent; I was ready to physically fight someone. I’d have gotten killed here because I’d have beat someone’s a–, and you’d have saw me in an oak tree somewhere.”

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Thankfully, Jackson was able to suppress his anger and avoid any fatal racist encounters. Following his days in Birmingham, the talented outfielder carved out a legendary career in the Majors. The hard-hitting lefty was the driving force behind five World Series title teams – including a three-peat with the Oakland Athletics. During the 1977 World Series, as a member of the Yankees, Jackson earned the nickname “Mr. October” after launching five home runs against the Dodgers.

Jackson’s crowning achievement came with his three-home-run performance in World Series-clinching Game Six — each on the first pitch — off three Dodgers pitchers. His heroic performance earned him the 1977 World Series MVP, thus making him the first player to win World Series MVP on multiple teams. Jackson, the 1973 AL MVP, was also the first Major Leaguer to hit 100 home runs for three different franchises as he later went on to play for the California (now Los Angeles) Angels.

Though it may seem easy to look at Jackson’s achievements as a story of triumph, the racism-riddled road toward his goals should not be overlooked. Instead, they should be a reminder to all that America is not without its flaws and still has a long way to go. “People asked me today and said, ‘Do you think you’re a better person? Do you think you won when you played here and conquered?’ I said, ‘You know, I would never want to do it again.’”