Sports historian Allan Barra takes us on an unforgettable journey to Birmingham, Alabama, where America's oldest ballpark, would look--were it not for the new paint job--almost identical to when the gates first opened almost a century ago. Evoking such classics as Shoeless Joe and The Boys of Summer, Rickwood Field recalls a simpler bygone era when a weathered ballpark was, and still is, a rare beacon of hope.--From publisher description.;Up from the Slag Pile (1815-1909) -- Birmingham Men Do It Right (1910-1917) -- A Team of Their Own (1918-1925) -- The Golden Age (1926-1929) -- The Greatest Game Ever Played (1931) -- "There Was Just Something about the Baseball in That Park" (1932-1947) -- "Well, I'm Going to the Ballgame" (1948-1949) -- "The Barons Were a Memory" (1950-1960) -- Everything Dies But... (1961-2009).