St. Louis will face San Francisco in Thursday's 'MLB at Rickwood Field' game
St. Louis Cardinals Ozzie Smith turns a double play during the 1987 National League Championship Series vs. the San Francisco Giants. Smith was born in Mobile, making him likely the most famous Cardinal with connections to the state of Alabama. and The Birmingham News will be producing weekly stories that showcase the history of Rickwood Field, and history of baseball in the state of Alabama.
But in the years after his retirement from baseball in 1996, Smith has returned to Mobile on occasions and has embraced his Alabama roots. Osborne Earl Smith, who will turn 70 this year, was born the day after Christmas in 1954 in Mobile. He was only 6 when his father, a truck driver, moved the family from Alabama to the tough Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.
Smith added a unique personality to the game. On Opening Day, and other special occasions, Smith would show off his acrobatic skills by doing a flip. He is also the most celebrated living Hall of Famer for the Cardinals, who has appeared in promotions touting the “Tribute to the Negro Leagues” game at Rickwood Field.Bill Greason, a long-time Birmingham resident, pitched for the Birmingham Black Barons from 1948-50 and briefly for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954. Bill Greason pitched only three games in 1954 for the St. Louis Cardinals, and his experiences with the franchise were not great.
Greason’s off-field career is one of remarkable endurance and fascinating history. He was one of the first Black Marines to enlist in the military during World War II, where he was with the 66th Supply Platoon – an all-Black unit – for the Pacific Theater of Operations and took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
Hall of Famer Stan Musial was the star attraction on Stanky’s teams, hitting over .300 each season and was a National League All-Star each year. In 1954, Musial became the first player in MLB history to hit five homes runs in a double-header. Musial led the NL in batting average, hits, runs, doubles, and slugging percentage during the 1952 season, and also pitched for the first time in his career. Stanky had summoned Musial to pitch as a publicity stunt during a Cardinals home game in 1952.
Stanky was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He died of a heart attack in 1999, at age 83, in Fairhope, and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery of Mobile. The Jaguars’ home baseball stadium is named after him.Harry Walker, born in Pascagoula, Miss., but raised in Birmingham, lacked the power of his brother, Fred “Dixie” Walker. But Harry Walker was an effective hitter during his lengthy playing career that included his best years in St.
Walker is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and his No. 32 has since been retired by the UAB baseball program.Cincinnati Reds third base coach Alex Grammas, left, shakes hands with Pete Rose after a home run in 1978. Grammas, a Birmingham native, spent several years as a player with the St. Louis Cardinals. Before Ozzie Smith dazzled at shortstop for the Cardinals, Alex Grammas ranked no lower than third in fielding percentage for the ballclub in 1954, 1955, and 1959.
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