Rickwood's Grand Years
The Barons did not claim an SA pennant during the 1940s, but the resurgence of baseball across the country after World War II brought record crowds to Rickwood from 1948–50. In 1948, the Barons drew 445,926 to Rickwood winning the Dixie Series over Fort Worth and followed up with 421,305 in 1949. Unfortunately, the Barons did not win another SA pennant until 1958, when they won 91 games and the pennant by 6½ games for Cal Ermer
The remainder of the 1950s and 60s saw the club finish first in 1959 (1st half) but could not win the pennant. Then, for the first time since 1898, Birmingham did not have a team as the Southern Association ceased operations after the 1961 season.
Read more about this topic: Birmingham Barons
Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or years:
““You have a grand gift of silence, Watson,” said he, “it makes you quite invaluable as a companion.””
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
“When Prince William [later King William IV] was at Cork in 1787, an old officer ... dined with him, and happened to say he had been forty years in the service. The Prince with a sneer asked what he had learnt in those forty years. The old gentleman justly offended, said, “Sir, I have learnt, when I am no longer fit to fight, to make as good a retreat as I can” —and walked out of the room.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)