In the third episode in the “Road to Rickwood” podcast series, the show continues with the peak of segregation in Birmingham during the 1960s, and how it affects local businesses, including Rickwood Field. It wasn’t until 1964 that the Birmingham Barons finally integrated, nearly 20 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Roy Wood Jr., the host of the series, talks to some of the players from the ‘64 Barons team about their experiences on the field and traveling in the Deep South to play baseball.

Listen to the third episode below.

The series explores the history of the Negro Leagues in Birmingham with Roy Wood Jr. hosting the new narrative series from National Public Radio and Major League Baseball. The podcast chronicles the story of Rickwood Field as a lead up to MLB’s upcoming game in Birmingham on June 20.

The “MLB at Rickwood” game will see the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, the day after Juneteenth. There will be activities during the week that lead up to the game as part of a tribute to the Negro Leagues and its greatest living player – Hall of Famer, Giants legend, Alabama native and Birmingham Black Barons player Willie Mays.

From the podcast’s official description:

“Birmingham, Alabama was one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Civil Rights Movement. But in order to understand the struggle, you don’t have to look any further than Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the country. Across more than 113 years, it’s hosted Negro League baseball, a women’s suffrage event, a Klan rally and eventually, the first integrated sports team in Alabama.

“On June 20, Major League Baseball will host a regular season game at Rickwood. Leading up, host Roy Wood Jr. returns to his hometown Birmingham to tell the story of this ballpark.”

The podcast is a collaborative effort from WWNO and WRKF. Distributed by the NPR network in partnership with support from Major League Baseball and AL.com. The four-part series will release weekly on Tuesdays. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you download your podcasts. AL.com’s Cody D. Short is a producer of the podcast.