Are you a fan of baseball the way it used to be? Then you probably already know that Birmingham boasts the oldest baseball park in America, a place called Rickwood Field.

All year, the official Friends of Rickwood organization has been celebrating the park’s 100th anniversary, but the actual birthday is coming up next week on August 18. Maybe you’ve already seen exhibits at Vulcan Park or the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Or you were on hand in June for the yearly “throwback” game featuring our own Birmingham Barons in period uniform.

Now’s the time for another special trip, as we gather at 3 p.m. on August 18, 2010, the same time as the opening game that virtually emptied the streets of Birmingham back in 1910.