Rickwood Field is the oldest baseball park in America. Rickwood Field was the passionate pursuit of a young Birmingham industrialist, Rick Woodward. While still in his 20s, Woodward bought controlling interest in the city`s professional baseball team, the Coal Barons. He then sought help from Connie Mack in designing "the finest minor league ballpark ever" in this booming iron-and-steel town, the fastest growing city in the nation at that time. The stadium is modeled primarily after Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, and Connie Mack`s own Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
