Negro Southern League Museum

The idea of building a Negro Leagues museum in Birmingham was proposed independently by the American Negro League Baseball Association, which secured a contract on the Booker T. Washington Building at 18th Street and 3rd Avenue North and the Alabama Negro League Association, which secured a $4 million collection of memorabilia owned by Layton Revel of Dallas, Texas. Revel plans to move his Center for Negro League Baseball Research to the new facility.

At this insistence of then-mayor Larry Langford, both groups agreed to cooperate with the Friends of Rickwood on a joint Negro and Southern Leagues Hall of Fame honoring the Negro Leagues' Birmingham Black Barons as well as the Birmingham Barons, which was a charter member of the Southern League. In April 2009 Mayor Larry Langford unveiled a proposal to build a museum encompassing all of Birmingham's baseball history adjacent to historic Rickwood Field in West End. Further restoration of the baseball park was also included in the $7.5 million proposal.

The City Council passed a resolution supporting the project, and promised to find funding for it in the 2010 city budget. Under pressure from the Mayor, the Council approved a motion to fund the project with unspent capital funds at their May 5 meeting. On July 14 the Council approved a $310,000 contract with Exford Architects to complete design and construction documents. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on August 12 with hopes that construction could be completed in time for the park's centennial in the summer of 2010.

Work on the project never really started, and the proposal died with Langford's October 2009 criminal conviction. With the development of a new downtown baseball park in the vicinity of the Railroad Park, a new Negro Leagues Museum was announced by Mayor William Bell as part of the city's plans.

Ground was broken for the two-story, $2.3-$2.5 million building on the corner of 15th Street and 1st Avenue South on June 25, 2014. The museum galleries will include materials relating to Industrial League baseball, the Birmingham Giants, the various Birmingham Black Barons teams, and the movement of black players into the Major Leagues. The programmatic focus will be on the story of black baseball from Birmingham's perspective.

References

• Wolfson, Hannah (December 23, 2007) "Baseball veterans and supporters want to build a Negro Leagues museum in downtown Birmingham." The Birmingham News
• Norris, Toraine (April 15, 2008) "Group wants to build museum to honor Negro League veterans from Alabama." The Birmingham News
• Oberholzer, Kristin (May 14, 2008) "Groups unite to develop Negro Leagues museum." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (April 2, 2009) "Birmingham considering museum, restoration at Rickwood Field." The Birmingham News
• Archibald, John (April 12, 2009) "John Archibald: Behind gunk, a diamond of an idea." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (May 5, 2009) "Birmingham City Council OKs $7.5 million for museum, Rickwood Field improvements." The Birmingham News
• Spencer, Thomas (July 14, 2009) "Birmingham City Council gives OK on Rickwood Field work." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (August 14, 2009) "Ceremonial beginning for Rickwood Field renovations." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (October 26, 2010) "Mayor Bell pitches bigger plans for Birmingham baseball stadium." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (July 27, 2011) "Site set for downtown Birmingham ball park." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (June 25, 2014) "Birmingham baseball museum to feature mix of traditional, interactive features, mayor promises." The Birmingham News
• Crenshaw, Solomon Jr (June 25, 2014) "Birmingham's Negro baseball museum 'completely different' from any museum in the United States." The Birmingham News