According to the NSLM, Mays played 25 games for Birmingham in 1948, posting a .262 average across 84 at-bats as the Black Barons won the Negro American League championship.

Mays got his professional baseball start with the Birmingham Black Barons. He appeared in 13 games for the squad after being noticed playing for the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, a minor league team for ...

This ball that was signed by the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948, including a young Willie Mays, while playing at Rickwood Field. A stamp also notes the league. Contributed, Jeremiah Bishop ...

Willie Mays was just 16 years old when he went to play for the Birmingham Black Barons, beginning what would be a star-making turn as one of baseball's most iconic players.

Baseball legend Willie Mays died Tuesday at 93 years old. ... In 1948, Mays signed with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League later that year, ...

After Willie Mays' death, Rickwood Field game takes on renewed significance 03:21. Birmingham, Alabama — Before Willie Mays electrified fans with the New York Giants and made "The Catch" in the ...

An inning later, a tribute video played on the scoreboard overlooking the outfield where Mays played his first professional game as a teenage phenom for the Birmingham Black Barons, and the ...

According to the NSLM, Mays played 25 games for Birmingham in 1948, posting a .262 average across 84 at-bats as the Black Barons won the Negro American League championship.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Willie Mays was just 16 years old when he went to play for the Birmingham Black Barons, beginning what would be a star-making turn as one of baseball’s most iconic players.