Rickwood Field is one of the United States' most historic ballparks and sports landmarks.

Its history is centered around players like Willie Mays and Satchel Paige getting their start in the Negro Leagues to later living their dream of playing professional baseball — one that Jackie Robison, who too played at Rickwood —put in play in 1947 when he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Now, the nation's oldest ballpark will see its history renewed while paying an ode to the Negro Leagues in a unique way Thursday when the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals travel to Birmingham, Alabama for a special single regular season game Thursday night.

REQUIRED READING: Where was Willie Mays from? Late MLB legend was Alabama native who began career in Birmingham

Here's what you need to know about why MLB has returned to Birmingham and Rickwood Field for a special commemorative game Thursday:

Why is MLB, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals playing at Rickwood Field?

The Giants and the Cardinals are playing at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday, June 20 as part of the MLB's first commemorative MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues game.

That isn't the only piece of history being made Thursday. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Thursday's NL Central vs. NL West clash between the Cardinals and the Giants will have the first ever all-Black umpiring crew in MLB history. Alan Porter will be behind the dish while Adrian Johnson, C.B. Bucknor, Jeremie Rehak and Malachi Moore will make up the rest of the crew on the bases and replay center.

MLB announced the addition of the game to its "special event games" — like the MLB Little League Classic, Field of Dreams Game and London Series amongst others — in June of 2023. According to MLB.com, the field had $5 million worth of renovations put into it to bring it up to MLB regulation and ready for the game.

History of Rickwood Field

• Opened: August 18, 1910

Opened on August 18, 1910 Rickwood Field is the oldest ballpark in the United States and one of five Negro League ballparks that still remains standing today, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. At 114 years young, Rickwood Field is older than both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.

As previously reported by The Tuscaloosa News, Rickwood Field was a "passion project" for Birmingham industrialist Allen Harvey "Rick" Woodward. The field itself, which was modeled after the Pittsburgh Pirates old Forbes Field, was the first minor league ballpark to be built with concrete and steel.

The first team to play at Rickwood Field was the Birmingham Barons, until the Birmingham Black Barons, formerly the Birmingham Stars of the Negro Southern League, started playing there in 1920. The Black Barons were formed as the Barons were not allowed to play Black teams at that time, nor allowed to have Black players.

The Black Barons, who played at Rickwood Field when the Barons were on the road, moved up to the Negro National League in 1924, which according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame was a "major league caliber" league. In 1927, the Black Barons won the Negro National League second-half pennant, thanks to a then young Satchel Paige.

The Black Barons played at Rickwood Field until 1960, shortly before the Negro Leagues folded as a whole. The Black Barons were quite successful in the 1940s, winning three Negro American League pennants in 1943, 1944 and 1948. MLB teams also played spring training games at Rickwood Field during this time, as they made their way back to their MLB city from Florida. This is how players like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Stan Musial added their names of players to have played at Rickwood Field.

One of the reasons the Black Barons, and later the Barons, stopped playing at Rickwood Field in 1961 was due to race and segregation issues that involved Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan. Baseball would return to Rickwood Field in 1967 when the then-Kansas City Athletics brought its Double-A affiliate to Birmingham, where they stayed until 1975. Since then the Detroit Tigers (1981-1986), who also brought back the "Barons" name, and Chicago White Sox (1986-present) would have their Double-A affiliates play in Birmingham and Rickwood Field.

Note: When the White Sox returned to Birmingham in 2013, after playing at Hoover Met Stadium from 1988-2012, they moved to Regions Field.

Players to have played at Rickwood Field

The list of former MLB players to have played at Rickwood Field — either in the Negros Leagues or MLB or both — is quite legendary. According to MLB.com, 181 Hall of Famers have either played or managed at Rickwood Field over the years.

While Hank Aaron, "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks, Paige and Robinson are on that list, perhaps the most famous player to ever play at Rickwood Field is Birmingham's own, the late Willie "SayHey" Mays, who played three seasons for the Birmingham Black Barons before signing with the then-New York Giants in 1950.

Here's a list of some Hall of Fame players who have played at Rickwood Field, according to MLB.com:

• Willie Mays

• Hank Aaron

• Ernie Banks

• Satchel Paige

• Jackie Robinson

• Larry Doby

• Roy Campanella

• Babe Ruth

• Lou Gehrig

• Ty Cobb

• Mickey Mantle

• Stan Musial

• Joe DiMaggio

• Yogi Berra

• Roberto Clemente

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: MLB at Rickwood Field: Why Giants, Cardinals are playing in Birmingham Thursday