Honoring History, When Convenient

Don’t get me wrong. I loved watching the Giants-Cardinals’ game last night, played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham. Any ballpark opened in 1910 is bound to be rich in history. Those Erector-Set light standards are a hoot, too. What bothered me, though, was the rather selective of reverence for baseball history on display throughout the broadcast. Because anything that happened at Rickwood happened at Comiskey Park, too, whether white baseball or Negro League, only Comiskey Park was home to even more history—Joe Louis becoming the first Black heavyweight champion; the East-West All Star Game; Larry Doby breaking the color line in the American League. Oh, and the White Sox and the Black Sox and players too many to name, and the Beatles. So, I’m happy this little gem of a park still exists and gets to host ballgames from time to time. Still, after all these years, I find it hard to let go of the crown jewel major league baseball let Jerry Reinsdorf destroy.