[?] Subscribe To
This Site

Birmingham Barons

Regions Park

Hoover, Alabama

Class AA Baseball Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox

Birmingham Barons during the 20th Century and now into the 21st Century, are still proudly carrying the traditions and passions of Southern League baseball for its loyal fans down here in the deep south.

The Barons baseball team is thrilled and delighted to have beautiful Regions Park as their home since 1988.

The 2007 season got underway by inviting the Barons back to their ball park which was newly renovated and refurbished, pleasing to its many fans and a proud home for the Baron players.

Regions Park is located in Hoover, Alabama and is the second-oldest park of the Southern League. It is, due to refurbishment and reoutfitting of 2006, the crown jewell home for baseball in the South.

Directions to Regions Park: Take I-459 toward Tuscaloosa to exit 10 (Hwy 150). Turn left go 1/4 mile to the traffic light at Stadium Trace Parkway. Turn right go 1-1/2 miles to Regions Park.

You will enjoy a visit with our Barons by clicking onto their website Birmingham Barons.

The Metropolitan Birmingham Area is chock-a-block full of interesting sights and landmarks which all the family will enjoy visiting during your visit to see our Barons in action: Located in the Metro Birmingham, Alabama area are several very historic and educational venues for all ages to enjoy.

Features such as the Vulcan Statue, "The Iron Man," stands high and tall on Red Mountain. Downtown Birmingham includes The Civil Rights Institute and Museum, and The McWane Science and Fun Center.

Vulcan Park the "Iron Man"

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

McWane Science Center

It is both fitting and appropriate today, as of old, that "The Iron Man" or "Vulcan" representing Fire and Iron Making looks out over the City of Birmingham.

Early days of Birmingham in "Alabama The Beautiful, with a crescendo of the red hot molten iron open hearth furnaces spewing out bright red sparks into the night, compare to today's Regions Park each Friday nite with our friday night Fireworks Spectacular at the Ballpark.

The Botanical Gardens and a World Class Zoo are nearby located in beautiful Homewood, Alabama.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Birmingham Zoo

Do not forget there is our historic Grand Dame of The Baseball World "Rickwood Field", the oldest standing Baseball Stadium in the Nation in the western sector of downtown Birmingham.

Rickwood Field named to ESPN sports venue list September 2008. Birmingham's Rickwood Field was named one of "America's 100 Most Important Sports Venue", according to an ESPN.com column published Friday, September 19. 2008.

Renowned baseball and travel writer Jim Cable compiled the list. The field, located on the westeern edge of Birmingham, had also been listed by Caple in a prior column as "100 Places Every Sports Fan Must Visit Before They Die".

Learn more about dear ole "Rickwood Field" by visiting via the web simply click here at Rickwood Field

Rickwood Field also lies just a stones throw away and to the west of our Grand Ole Gray Lady, "Legion Field", once proclaimed as the Capitol of Football in The South.

The Alabama Sports Hall Of Fame Museum located downtown at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center Complex is a must go for all true sports fans.

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

The Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center provides such an array of cultural sporting and trade shows you must check what is scheduled when you visit.

The Birmingham Children's Theatre is only a sample of the fare you might enjoy at our Convention Center.

Birmingham Childrens Theatre

Come only a short drive to lovely Montevallo, Alabama and let the kids enjoy early American History at The American Village in Montevallo. This is also home to one of the oldest Universities, Montevallo University, which for many years has been dedicated to training and educating our future teachers.

American Village

The Birmingham Barons and Hoover,Alabama welcome you to the greater Birmingham Metropolitan Area of Alabama and the Magic City and Southern League baseball.

Baseball Regions Park Information and Statistics.

Name: Regions Park

Seating capacity: 10,800 Opened: April 16, 1988

Playing Field Dimensions:

Left field foul line fence 340 feet

Right field foul line fence 340 feet

Center field dead center 405 feet

Backstop Screen distance 90 feet

Outfield and Infield: Natural grass with base paths of good old red dirt.

The Ball Park is a multi-use facility accomodating both baseball and football. The stadium stands are designed to faciltate both sports but is primarily a Baseball Park.

Regions Park also is an ideal setting for other entertainment and sporting venues.

The average season attendance for baseball is over 1/4 million fans on a consistent annual forecast.

The 2008 season recorded over 300,000 fans.

The Barons enjoyed many out of town guests; however, most are local baseball fans cheering and pulling for their Birmingham Barons.

Historical dateline and significant chronlogy of owners for the Birmingham Barons baseball franchise are as follows:

1885--Local baseball players playing in what was essentially semi-pro industrial league of the Birmingham area.
Players broke away and formed a baseball team called the Coal Barons. Many of the players had formerly played for ACIPCO, a leading Cast Iron Pipe Company of Birmingham.
The "Coal Barons" played their games in the West End of Birmingham in a field which they called the "Slag Pile."
1898--The Coal Barons was franchised and owned by William J. McQueen. The team retained its name as the Barons since this early beginning, with one or two exceptions thru the years.
1901-- Mr.William J. McQueen as the owner of the team franchise joined and helped form and become part of the Southern Association of Baseball Teams.
1910-- Mr.A. H. "Rick" Woodward bought the Barons from McQueen and brought the team to a newly constructed ballpark, the Grand Dame of Baseball Parks, "Rickwood Field."
A.H. "Rick" Woodward inherited the Woodward Iron co. land, plants and fortune developed by his forebears in the late 1800"s. The passing of the empire was an earned privelege.
Mr. Woodward had been working as a waterboy and shop hand since age 10. By the time "Rick" was 16, he was a fully licensed locomotive engineer. Later, he squeezed in a mining engineering degree from MIT.
Woodward was a baseball bug. He played in college and in summer leagues, and became the proud builder of Rickwood Field and owner of the Birmingham Barons.
Rickwood Field is a legacy holding Mr. Woodward's name untill this day.
1938--The economic downfall and depression years dealt a savage blow to many and Mr. Woodward felt the need to forego the pleasure of owning the Barons and sold the franchise to a Mr. Ed Norton.
1961-1963 Dark days for much of baseball and the Barons as many other teams went underground and there was no pro team in Birmingham.
1964-Barons were reborn in the now newly formed Southern League.
1965-1967--The Barons fell on rough times and they were selling apples on the street corner but not playing baseball.
1967- Mr.Charles O. Finley, a Birmingham native and owner of the Major League Kansas City "A's" Athletics, purchased the franchise and brought baseball back to Birmingham as the Birmingham A's.
Mr. Finley and the Birmingham A's stayed until 1975. This is one period in the Barons history where the Barons were not Barons but the Birmingham "A's."
1975-1981 Birmingham again was an orphan child with no baseballl team to call their own.
1981-Mr Art Clarkson and other investors bought the Montgomery "Rebels" of Montgomery, Alabama and brought them to Birmingham.
The Birmingham Barons franchise regained the Barons Heritage once again.
1988-A significant event unfolded, as the Birmingham Barons with its storied legacy of playing in "dear ole" Rickwood Field, was destined to move to brand new digs located in the Mars Hill area of the rapidly growing City of Hoover, Alabama.
Mr. Art Clarkson, Mayor Skinner for the City of Hoover and Mr. John Harbert, owner of Harbert Construction in a combined effort with others, magically but with blood sweat and much intestinal fortitude put our Birmingham Barons on cloud nine by moving them to the magnificent Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
1991-The Art Clarkson group of investors sold the Barons franchise to Suntory International, Inc.
1996- Mr Dave Elmore and the "Elmore Sports Group Ltd" bought the Barons from Suntory International, Inc.
2006-The Don Logan Family, as the "Birmingham Barons,LLC", purchased the Barons from the Elmore Group.
The present owners, the "Logan Family" have the Barons home based in an newly updated (2007) first class ball park and the name was changed to "Regions Park" which previously was known as the Hoover Met.

Flagship Radio Station: Broadcasting all of the Barons baseball games is FM 101.1 "The Source"

Local Media Print: The Birmingham News--Doug Segrest

The Birmingham Barons are an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox organization.

Included in the stable of Minor League teams owned by the White Sox are the following teams.

Charlotte Knights class (AAA)---International League
Birmingham Barons class (AA)----Southern League
Winston-Salem Warthogs class (A)-Carolina League
Kannapolis Intimidators class (A)-South Atlantic League
Bristol Sox class (Rookie)----Appalachian League
Great Falls White Sox class (Rookie)-Pioneer League

The City of Birmingham is a relative young city; however, it grew rapidly after its incorporation in 1871.

The population in our greater metropolitan area is nudging just over the (1 million southern citizens) and the beautiful green trees and rolling hills beckon all with their eye catching beauty.

The North and the South with the great struggle between the two or "The War Between The States" over matters of economics, our Civil War clash of the 1860's was finished and behind us by 1871. This is when Birmingham begin to flourish.

A young city with an industrial base spawning rapid growth was the reason and cause to refer to Birmingham as The Magic City.

The Birmingham area here in the South has changed quantumly over the past quarter century. It has been transformed from the South's leading industrial center to a city with a wide and diverse amalgam of a service economy.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, our largest employer, is home to a Medical Center that has consistently ranked among the world's finest and leads as the cutting edge in many health related fields.

Here's hoping your visit will have you singing our praises and telling of your experience of real Southern hospitality in our fair city.

Your visit with the Birmingham Barons at Regions Park will make you feel free from the city's hustle and bustle. Instead of being crammed into a downtown site the stadium is located in a more pleasant open air relaxed and leisure filled atmosphere in the suburbs.

Hoover, now the sixth largest city in the State of Alabama, continues to grow at a significantly fast pace. Hoover sits smack dab a-straddle I-459, one of the busiest interstate beltways of Alabama.

This area of the metro Birmingham environs is also unique in its location being part of both Jefferson and Shelby Counties and lies on both sides of the beautiful free flowing Cahaba River.

The City of Hoover, grew from a small village on US Hwy 31, and now shares the I-459 beltway but also the I-65 Interstate south of Birmingham.

The sky rocketing explosion of growth to the south of Birmingham along the I-65 and Us Hwy 280 corridor into Shelby County signifies to us all a new meaning of the word Magic for the Birmingham area.

The Southern League, in addition to the Birmingham Barons, is pleased to provide three more Southern League teams here in the State of Alabama. The Mobile Bay Bears, Montgomery Biscuits and the Huntsville Stars all are part of the Southern League teams located in "Alabama The Beautiful."

Baseball fans across the globe if you have some interesting or more definitive data concerning our City or Team please let us hear about it.

Return to the Top of this page: Birmingham Barons.

Visit and learn more informatioin about the other Southern League teams with a click here.

Batter Up----Lets Play Ball....

Return to BaseballFarming our home page which is an introduction to the concept of baseball farming which includes ideas on strategies, training, and winning

Sitesell and affordable professional Site Builders for your Business

The fascinating world of sharing a passion via the Internet could come alive for you.

Come visit to learn about how you might enjoy your very own website while being guided by the folks at Site Build It.

Click the Here's the Proof button below

Website Hosting considered to be at the top in the field will lead to Web-Building Success
SiteBuildIt provides Awesome results...Here's the Proof!

Sports and Fitness on Rollback at Walmart.com