A few years ago I was contacted by a writer in Alabama who was interested in my grandfather Bob Hasty's experiences playing for the Birmingham Barons from about 1928-31. While he was there, the Barons went to what was basically the World Series of baseball in the south, at that time, the 1931 Dixie League championship. Papa pitched in that, against a young Dizzy Dean.
The writer, Art Black, and I corresponded a lot by email and eventually he let me know his book was published. It's a beautiful book, well researched, Showdown at Rickwood. Here's more about it: "The dramatic 1931 Dixie Series between the Birmingham Barons and the Houston Buffaloes serves as the backdrop of the newly published book Showdown at Rickwood. Written by local author Art Black, the book focuses not only baseball culture in the Magic City, but explores as well the social and economic climate of the Birmingham district as it was evolving into a major industrial center during the early decades of the 20th century. Through World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the onset of the Great Depression, Birmingham and its citizens weathered the turbulence of national and international events. In the midst of this unrest, many found respite in the calming rhythms of the national pastime." [from the press release]
I wanted to interview Art Black about his book and his fascination with baseball history. He's a fascinating guy, and an excellent researcher and writer. Although now retired, he has been a technical writer and a sports information writer for Furman University and Wofford College in South Carolina. This is his first book, and it represents 6 1/2 years of meticulous (and sometimes tedious) research and writing. He looked through microfilm for many hours to learn the facts presented in the book.
However, I want to emphasize that Showdown at Rickwood is also about a period of time in American history and the history of Birmingham [Alabama]. Art explains, "My idea about the book was to make it more about the people, and not a year-by-year, game-by-game kind of thing. I think that's what people like, to feel invested in the characters."
Personal stories abound in the book, and they are fascinating.
What got you interested in The Birmingham Barons?
As a teen, in the late 1960s, early 70s, I loved going to games at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. It is now America’s oldest ball park. Before I was old enough to drive, I had to beg someone to take me to games – a next-door neighbor, my father, or grandfather. After I got my driver’s license, I usually went by myself.
What got you interested in writing Showdown at Rickwood? [click on the link for purchase information]
They celebrated Rickwood Field’s 100th birthday with an event in August 2010. Allen Barra, a noted writer and author, had just published a book about Rickwood Field, and I wanted to meet him. I told Allen I wanted to write a book about Rickwood. He said, “There’s one book still out there – the industrial leagues.” Back in the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, baseball was THE sport in America and vital to the social and cultural life of every city. Companies, large and small, had baseball teams for their employees to play on. There were leagues of these teams, and the industrial league games were written up in the newspaper. I think that’s fine, but it’s not what I wanted to write a book about. Days after I met Allen Barra, I began looking at newspaper microfilm in the library, beginning with 1950 and going further back in time. I said to myself: If I go back to the 1930s, the newspaper won’t have much coverage about baseball, but it did. Then I said, If I go back to 1912, they won’t have much coverage. But you know what? They did. It seemed the further back I went, the better the coverage.
Were you able to speak with anyone who attended any of those games?
I interviewed the Birmingham Barons batboy from 1950, but that story is on the cutting room floor. A year after I interviewed him, I refined the time period of my book to cover the years 1910 to 1931. I’ll include the batboy in the next book, as I move ahead in time.
What was the hardest part of writing the book?
The tedium. I scrolled through newspaper microfilm, day by day, page by page, year by year, of two newspapers for my time period, 1910-1931, not just looking at sports but looking at national news, local news, editorials, letters to the editor. I spent thousands of hours looking at microfilm. Some days I didn’t take a single note. On days that I found a gem of information – something I could use – it was all worthwhile. The project - researching, writing, editing, and laying out the book - took six-and-a-half years.
Do you know anyone on the current Birmingham Barons roster?
No, I do not. I don’t go to games much anymore. I’m busy being productive in other ways.
Now that Showdown at Rickwood is finished, what’s your next project?
Over the past two years, as we edited and laid out the book, I never stopped researching. Presently, I’m 15 years beyond my time period of 1910-1931, still looking at microfilm. I intend to research through the 1950s and cover the 30 or 40 years after the time period of my present book. Think about this: I have read in newspapers of the day about the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, Lindbergh flying across the Atlantic - a huge event, by the way, the stock market crash, the Great Depression, and World War II. Unfortunately, one can’t read every story he comes across. You’d get diverted from your main objective, which is searching for information to help you write the book.
The best way to buy the book?
Go to the website, [link]. You can email Art at [email protected] for an autographed copy.
THE STANDARD TWENTY QUESTIONS
What is your full name?
Arthur King Black, Jr.
Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world?
I’m happy where I am. I’ve decided that writing my next book is how I will live out my life, and I can’t research the topic living in another city. If you forced me to answer your question, I’d say New York. I might get tired of the hustle and bustle, but I’d like to give it a try.
What is your favorite movie and why?
I would go back to around 1980 and the movie “10.” Bo Derek was beautiful. Also from the time period, the Peter Sellers’ movie, “Being There,” because of its subtle humor, and a few years later, “Hoosiers,” a truly inspirational movie.
What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid?
Math. Doesn’t everyone say that? I chose the liberal arts college I attended partly because it didn’t have a math requirement, if you can believe a college didn’t require you to take math.
What was your nickname when you were a kid? I didn’t have one. My name is Art, short for Arthur. When I played little league baseball, people in the stands yelled: “Come on, Artie, get a hit!” I hated that nickname.
Do you believe in God?
Someone’s watching over us.
What sound or noise do you love?
The purring and the mewing of a cat.
If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be?
I admire truly intelligent people – for instance, the great scientists or the mathematicians, the people who have changed the world. I would love to have been an astronaut, the first person to go to the moon.
If heaven exists, what do you think it is like?
Here’s what I hope: that we’ll be with our family members once again - parents and grandparents - when we were all young and vibrant.
Do you have siblings?
My mother had six children in nine years, three boys and three girls.
What is your favorite memory of childhood?
Collecting baseball cards and opening the package to find my first Mickey Mantle while visiting my grandmother in South Carolina, the summer of 1961.
If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why?
Traveling Europe by train – all the history you’d see while someone else does the driving.
What inspires you?
Getting up every day at 4 o’clock in the morning and going to the gym, before the rest of the world wakes up, knowing I’ve done something good for myself, and the good feeling I have when the workout is over.
What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now?
Writing my next book. It’s my life at the moment. There’s so much to do and so little time to do it.
Do you know how to cook?
I know enough to prepare vegetables and rice to go with my meal. I usually fix baked chicken, fish, or a frozen entrée, along with the vegetables.
What is your favorite thing to cook/eat?
Turkey or anything Italian. As a dessert, anything chocolate.
If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, for 2-4 weeks, all expenses paid, where would you go and why?
I don’t have a desire to go anywhere at this stage of my life. I guess I’m becoming a homebody in my old age. Sad, isn’t it?
What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer?
If you want something related to the book, then “Why did you write the book?” My answer is: Not to sell books and not to make money. It was something more personal. I wanted to preserve the neat old stories that are in the book before they are lost to the dustbin of history. As a corollary, I wanted to leave something behind after I’m gone.
