Negro League Baseball Conference

"This was one of the fields that had the largest attendance that I had a chance to play at when we played here in 1957 we had a full house," Former Negro League baseball player, Sam Allen says. 

Rickwood Field is more than an historic landmark for Allen, its a step back in time.

"1957 we kicked them and then I came back in 1959 and Birmingham beat up on us pretty bad that year."

Allen, along with other former negro league players, and baseball enthusiasts are in Birmingham to celebrate a major piece of sports history.

Jack Anderson and his wife traveled from Canada. He says, "We're here to meet other fans of old time baseball and black baseball. Birmingham has been a very important part of black baseball."

And while the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference has made stops in 13 other cities..Baseball fans and former players agree that once you step out onto this field you understand the true rich history of Rickwood.

Larry Lester is the co-chair of the organization. He says, "Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb I can feel the sweat and grit and the muscle and it just gives me chills up my spin to know this is where it all really happened and no other ball park in the country can make that claim."

The nostalgia of Rickwood and the preservation of the Negro Leagues' history is something Allen and other fans hope lives on.

"This is something that happened, as bad as they said it was but today when you think back about it, it made America apart of what it is today," Allen says.