BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — As Ajay Stone strolled round historic Rickwood Area and gazed at tributes displayed in honor of Willie Mays and different Negro Leaguers, he clutched a cherished reminiscence underneath his arm.

It was an image from 2004 of Mays holding Stone’s then-10-month-old daughter Haley, who was sporting San Francisco Giants gear. In Mays’ hand was a piece of a chocolate chip cookie, which he was handing over for Haley to eat.

“Willie gave her that cookie. She had no enamel,” Stone remembered. “However we took the cookie and we stored it in her stroller for a yr and a half. The good Willie Mays gave it to her, so it was particular to us.”

Stone and his spouse Christina traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to be in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday for a second they deemed simply as particular.

It was hours earlier than Rickwood Area hosted its first Main League Baseball sport, because the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Giants 6-5. The sport, which MLB known as “A Tribute to the Negro Leagues,” was meant to honor the legacy of Mays and different Black baseball greats who left a permanent mark on the game.

MLB deliberate every week of actions round Mays and the Negro Leagues, together with an unveiling ceremony on Wednesday of a Willie Mays mural in downtown Birmingham. These tributes took on a extra vital which means Tuesday afternoon when Mays died at 93. As information of his loss of life unfold all through Birmingham, celebrations of his life ramped up.

You may hear the celebration at Rickwood Area on Thursday even earlier than arriving on the ballpark with the speedy thumping of a drum echoing from contained in the ballpark, excited murmurs from followers skipping towards the music and frequent bursts of laughter.

Inside, there have been reminders of historical past throughout.

There have been images and artifacts of baseball Corridor of Famers who performed on the 114-year-old ballpark, together with Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. The unique clubhouse of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues, the place Mays obtained his professional begin in 1948, was open. A memorial of Mays was on the entrance, with bobbleheads, a signed glove and his Black Barons and San Francisco Giants jerseys on show.

Exterior, followers stood in line to carry a baseball bat utilized by Mays in 1959. They took images sitting inside an authentic bus from 1947 that was usually used throughout barnstorming excursions by Negro Leagues groups. They danced to reside music and ate meals from concession stands that includes menu boards designed to replicate the appear and feel of the Forties.

Eddie Torres and his son Junior wore matching Giants jerseys as they took photos contained in the ballpark. They’re lifelong Giants followers who got here from California for the sport.

“I by no means even obtained to see Willie Mays play, however as a Giants fan, you knew what he meant to the sport of baseball,” Torres stated. “My son, he’s solely 11. Willie Mays had such an impact on the sport that even he knew who Willie Mays was.”

Musical artist Jon Batiste strummed a guitar whereas dancing on a wood stage close to house plate simply earlier than the primary pitch. Followers stood as former Negro Leaguers have been helped to the sphere for a pregame ceremony.

Shouts of “Willie! Willie! broke out after a quick second of silence.

For Michael Jackson, sitting within the stands at Rickwood Area reminded him of the previous.

The 71-year-old Jackson performed baseball within the Seventies and 80s with the East Thomas Eagles of the Birmingham Industrial League, which was a semi-professional league made up of iron and metal employees that was an integral type of leisure in Birmingham within the twentieth century.

Jackson’s baseball journey took him to Rickwood Area many occasions. In spite of everything these years, he was simply excited that it’s nonetheless standing.

“It’s good seeing them re-do all of this,” he stated, “as an alternative of tearing it down. We performed in the identical ballpark they named after Willie Mays out in Fairfield (Alabama). After which I had my occasions out right here taking part in at this ballpark. It’s all very thrilling.”

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