Ruminations and ponderings by the Last of the Montgomery Rebels Fans on the Montgomery Biscuits and Montgomery Alabama area baseball history, author of "Black Baseball in Alabama" coming March of 2026.
Coming to Montgomery, Alabama on Saturday, May 18th, 2024 - a unique history experience! With events planned at multiple locations, the Montgomery Baseball History and Legends Conference opens the door to celebrate baseball's connections to the Capitol city.
Previously known as the Southern Association Research Conference, this SABR event is a community outreach that offers local fans and enthusiasts a rare chance to discover Montgomery's rich baseball heritage. As well as local legends, Negro League greats like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, Major League legends such as Babe Ruth and Willie Mays all dug their spikes into the dirt on Montgomery diamonds.
You are invited to walk in their steps!
Featuring presentations by leading authors and groundbreaking researchers, as well as
former Major League players, this one-time event will bring Montgomery's hidden
baseball glory to the forefront. With assistance from Birmingham's Rickwood SABR chapter and the Friends of Rickwood, along with The Montgomery Biscuits and the Alabama Department of Archives, we are excited to announce this first-of-its-kind event.
Watch this spot for updates!
SAVE THE DATE!
SATURDAY MAY 18th 2024
PLANNED EVENTS:
Author & Researcher Presentations
Former MLB player(s) speaking on the Montgomery experience
Memorabilia Displays
Tours of Cramton Bowl & Paterson Field - sites of MLB exhibition games with Ruth, Paige and Willie Mays
Previously known as the Southern Association Conference, the annual SAC Conferences draw attendees with unique baseball knowledge across all levels of research experience. Participants and presenters represent
professionals in academia, analytics, journalism, coaching and many
other professions as well as the casual baseball fan. At this #MBHLC, we hope to share ideas and research, collaborate to preserve stories of players and teams before they are lost forever, and gain understandings of how baseball became an important part of the social fabric in Montgomery and across the South.
Montgomery was home to the first Southern League meeting, entered that league in the 1880's and has also appeared in the Southern Association, Alabama-Florida League, the InterState League, Southeastern League and South Atlantic League.
Montgomery fielded legendary clubs in the Negro Southern League and had multiple levels of semi-pro and industrial leagues. There was a star studded military team during WW1 and WW2 and the city is proudly home to three standing structures that have hosted Major League exhibition games.
CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS:
We warmly invite you to submit a presentation or suggest a speaker for the Montgomery Baseball History and Legends Conference. Our conference is Saturday, 18 May 2024, with preconference days on 15 - 17 May, in Montgomery, Alabama.
Oral presentations are requested to be between 15-30 minutes, followed by a five minute Q-and-A period.
While our focus is on Montgomery, ALL baseball topics will be considered and presenters are encouraged to submit multiple presentations.
Audio/Visual support will be available for presenters, please include your format preference or a/v needs with submission request.
SABR membership is not required for submission. First time presenters will be given special consideration.
We start with a bang as the Montgomery Biscuits stand a strong chance of getting a new manager for next season. Current skipper Mo Ensberg, along with current Durham Bulls manager Michael Johns, have both interviewed for the Tampa Rays open first base coaching position. While the Rays are yet to interview "outside candidates" its been the practice of the Tampa brass to promote from within the organization more often than not.
Even if Ensberg isn't selected as the Rays new 1B coach, he would likely be given a promotion to Durham if the gig falls to Johns.
TIMMONS RETURN TO TAMPA?
Ozzie Timmons
Could former Biscuits coach and ex-Rays 1B coach Ozzie Timmons be among the "outside candidates"? A Tampa native, the likeable Timmons would be an easy hire for the cost-conscious Rays. And it could be the one factor that would send Ensberg back to manage the Biscuits in 2024.
If I had to guess now, I would put Wuarner Rincones at the top of the list for 2024 Biscuits manager.
VOGHT NEW SKIPPER IN CLEVELAND
In other news former Biscuits backstop Stephen Vogt was named manager of the Cleveland Naps. V becomes the third Skitz alum to helm a major league club, behind Charlie Montoyo and Rocco Baldelli. Long-time Biscuits fans may recall Vogt as the Montgomery catcher in 2011, batting a strong .301 with 13 homers.
Baldelli
Baldelli, currently field manager of the Twins, was the first Biscuit with facial hair, as a rehabbing major leaguer he was not restricted by the Rays minor league dress code and took advantage of it to cultivate what was then a very rare set of Biscuit whiskers.
TRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH ME
The Montgomery Baseball History Conference is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 18th.
A time machine usually limited to researchers and historians, this year the conference opens its doors wide to new topics and will allow casual fans a view at the past. With a focus on baseball in our city, we will host a wealth of dignitaries to offer presentations as well as tours of the old ballparks of Montgomery. Speakers will include former Major League players with ties to Montgomery as well as noted authors and researchers, along with displays of memorabilia by local collectors and a new baseball themed exhibit from the collections of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
TWENTY SEASONS
Is this gonna be the twentieth season already? Wow! Here is my list of twenty random great Riverwalk Stadium moments, rare feats, glorious victories and stunning scenes in no particular order. These are mine, what are yours? Let me know what I missed in the comments!
Man, this place was good!
TWENTY GREAT MOMENTS
Billy Gardner melts down on umpire 2007
He did wear out this umpire back in 2007, who really kicked the call badly and deserved every ounce of it after an awful series of questionable calls went against both teams. The clip went viral and the blog took off.
Heres the original video, volume up for swearing!
Brady Williams repeatedly melts down on umpires 2014-2018.
Many Southern League umps fell victim to Brady's tirades, which I consider some of the finest exhibitions of a manager being ejected ever seen in this fair city. As ejections go, Brady is on par with Earl Weaver, bringing the energy of Billy Martin and the volume of vintage Van Halen.
Fans could not have been more entertained if that band played behind Brady as he went thru the various classic moves, kicking dirt, burying home plate, emptying the bat rack onto the field and simply shouting his opinion vociferously. And he was usually right.
A master showman and baseball wizard, Brady Williams was my choice for Biscuit of the decade 2010-2019 for his Brady-Ball style of play and brilliant knowledge of the inside game.
Evan Longoria homerun in 2006 lifts Montgomery to first title in thirty years.
2006 Longoria
Truly Montgomery fans did not know how good they had it when Longo smacked that late inning go-ahead homer. Taking a second title in Huntsville the following season to go back-to-back was a special feat, made even more glowing in light of what is now nearly a twenty year pennant drought.
2007 Biscuits
Biscuits defeat Rays in 2016 Exhibition Game
SRO at Rays v Biscuits
So rare in the modern era to have a parent club face its affiliate, even more so when the little guys pull off the victory. Only a handful of Montgomery clubs can lay claim to an MLB scalp, but the guys in butter pants did just that in 2016 when the Rays visited and fell victim to their own farmhands.
A full house was on hand and many Tampa players were former Biscuits, such as pitcher Chris Archer, who was felled by his former team. A few of the players who appeared on the Rays squad would later join the Biscuits, such as catcher Justin O'Conner, who took over behind the plate for the Tampa team late in the contest.
Rays line up for Riverwalk exhib
Victor Mateo No-Hitter in 2013.
Simply the best game to watch in stadium history. A warm evening late in the summer as the Biscuits played out the string of an otherwise meaningless campaign was the perfect recipe for magic to happen.
Mateo mobbed by Biscuits after No-No
And happen it did, on that final Saturday of the season, in a feat that has yet to be duplicated at Riverwalk.
Mateo gets a hug from catcher Casali for his no-no
Six walks in one game by Joey "Blanco Suave" Rickard 2015
Rickard walks six times
Dude took six walks in one single game! You could tell who in the stands was filling out their scorecard, as a handful of exuberant fans startled other nearby patrons who didn't know what the fuss was about over an eighth inning base on balls. "Rare as hens teeth" is the simple answer. Rickard even got a special Topps Heritage card commemorating the unusual feat!
Isenia Sleeps on the Field
Catcher Chairon Isenia knocked unconscious on a dramatic play at home plate in 2004. Later he was fined in kangaroo court for "sleeping on the job," Isena was the first injury at Riverwalk to silence the crowd.
GREAT PITCHING PERFORMANCES
Biscuits Price
Jaime Schultz posts single season Biscuits strikeout record in 2015 with 168 K's.
Chris Mason and his fast windup and pink hair ca. 2004. that earned him league Pitcher of the Year honors
David Price 7w 0L in 2008 was simply unstoppable and well on his way to making his MLB debut later that year.
TOP HITTERS AND FIELDERS
Omar Luna won the 2012 batting title but the team had an embarrassing postseason performance.
Willy Adames in 2016 doing everything right with a smile on his face was reason enough to go to the park.
Adames having fun
Brett Sullivan over three seasons posted 123 RBIs and swiped 43 bags while batting .275 and being shuffled from catcher to outfielder. His 2019 numbers .280avg/10hr/21sb were stellar as he was a team leader and fan favorite.
Brett Sullivan
KNIFED BY AN ANNIE
2018's team had amazing players and many memorable moments but I will always recall it as the time a pretty young lady I hadn't ever met before practically knifed me for outbidding her on her guys jersey during an in-stadium auction. You bet I backed down!
UmpCamp2016 was an unbelievably informative and uniquely exciting experience!
He reads the blog
Meeting Hall of Famers
Greg Maddux and Ryne Sandberg visited Riverwalk as Cubs coaches. Hearing Sandberg tell me "oh I've heard of you" was the compliment of the decade!
Kershaw warms at Riverwalk
Clayton Kershaw
The future HOF'er made two appearances at Riverwalk, one at the tail end of 2007 and another in 2008. It was a pleasure to stand by the wall next to the catcher warming him up in the bullpen and hear the sound of young Clayton's breaking pitches rip through the air with the sound of a buzzsaw.
Host of the 2008 & 2015 Southern League AllStar Games
Biscuits Snell started 2015 ASG
These games brought huge names and big crowds to Riverwalk. In the ASG at Riverwalk in 2006, the first Montgomery had hosted since 1972, future star Joey Votto and MLB veteran Craig Brazell competed in the Homerun Derby final round, thrilling the crowd when hometown hero Brazell took the crown.
The second ASG in Montgomery in 2015 saw Blake Snell start for the hometown crowd against a lineup featuring Sano, Buxton, Vogelbach and others.
The Dancing Biscuit
WILLIE MAYS BRINGS "THE GREATEST TEAM EVER" TO MONTGOMERYS PATERSON FIELD
So our recent history has a nice gem... or two!
October 20th was the anniversary of the Willie Mays All-Stars visit to Paterson Field in 1955, which I have written of before.
Many have said that the '55 Mays All-Stars are the best team ever put together, with a core of MLB's finest black players. Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Don Newcomb, Larry Doby, Hank Thompson, Monte Irvin and many other great stars filled the lineups of both teams in the barnstorming exhibitions.
1955 Willie Mays Negro All-Stars
Legends were sprung from that tour, including Mays hitting one of the longest homeruns in Atlanta history at old Ponce De Leon Park.
HOWEVER - THEY COME BACK!
Thats not the only trip Mays makes with his All-Stars to Montgomery. The tour came back in 1956 and featured a loaded All Star team of Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson and Elston Howard. The teams faced off at Paterson Field as the MLB All Stars defeated the Negro American League All Star contingent in a nice contest.
Much later, in 1962, Mays is denied permission to hold a barnstorming tour for 1962, sadly signaling the end of true barnstorming baseball teams.
The Biscuits exited the playoffs in the first round. Rays also. Just like we teach em in Double-A!
Be sure to keep an eye out for next springs Baseball Conference in Montgomery, likely to happen in May. Some big names and interesting exhibits are planned, as well as tours of the ballparks around the city!
In other news.. when can I find a player with a regular history to research??
I picked up a rare card with a Montgomery player - a 1910 T210 Red Border Barnett.
I knew nothing about the player himself, only that he was one of a handful of Montgomery players to appear in these early tobacco card sets. I quickly learned his first name and is Jack and that Jacks last name is actually Burnett, Though both spellings appear to reference the same ballplayer, he is more often referred to as Jack Burnett.
Barnett, or Burnett if you prefer, is a switch hitting utilityman. Jack was 30 years old when with Montgomery in 1919 and had spent most of his career in the Northwestern League. He appears to have broken in with Tacoma in 1906 and midway through the 1907 season his strong batting skills earned him a big league opportunity. Sold to St. Louis, Barnett batted a pedestrian .238 in sixty games with the Cardinals and found himself back in the NorthWestern League the next spring.
After being told he was to be sold back to Tacoma by the Cardinals, Jack refused his salary offer and threatened to play in the outlaw league. The $750 was upped to $1000 and the contract was signed as Jack headed back to the Northwestern League.
In 1908 Jack signed with the Tacoma Tigers and was moved midseason to Spokane via trade for cash, though he would return to the Tigers in 1909. With Tacoma, Jack played mostly third base and was one of the more dynamic players on the Tigers roster.
Jack joined Montgomery in 1910, just in time to be featured on a tobacco card. In fact the photo the newspaper uses for Jacks bio appears to be the same as was used for his 1910 card.
Burnett was acquired during the 1909 Winter Meetings in a trade between
Montgomery and Spokane, with Ike Rockenfeld dealt away in a straight up
swap of two players who both would get on Montgomery tobacco cards!
Whiteman 1910
The Spokane Indians were also where George Whiteman had signed before being sold to Montgomery. Whiteman would be one of the cities most prolific deadball era sluggers in his 1909 & 1910 seasons with the Climbers.
Local area newspapers praise Jack Barnett in the outfield, though he was utilized mostly at second base for Montgomery through the first half of the season. In the second half of the summer, Jack is moved to right field after recovering from an early season ankle injury that slowed him. Jack is also dropped from third in the batting order to fifth or sixth. In 131 games that season Jacks average tails off badly, ending the year with a .209 average.
Unfortunately that sprained ankle kept Jack from appearing in the team photos for 1910.
In February of 1911 Jack is traded from Montgomery to the Lawrence Colts club of the New England League for veteran shortstop Otto Kruger, who would not appear with Montgomery.
Barnett, or Burnett as it appears on the card, plays with Saginaw in 1911 and the following season is on the move again in a contract that sends him to Scranton, who deals him midseason to the Binghamton Bingoes.
At this point there is a huge gap in the timeline on Baseball Reference dot com. At the age of 33 Jack is out of baseball. Dr. Jack Barnett opens his dentistry practice in Elmira, New York in 1913.
Then, eight long years later, he pops up again for ten games with the 1920 Springfield Massachusetts low-level Hampdens before apparently hanging up the cleats for good.
LATER: THE HORROR!!
Later in life, Jack Burnett appears to have spent time as a Game Warden in California, where he died in a tragic hunting accident. Jack, along with two friends, were deer hunting in remote Modoc County when Burnett was mistakenly shot by one of the others in the party. The shooter, who mistook his friend for a deer, was so beside himself he tried to commit suicide on the spot before being disarmed by the other hunting party member.
Leaving the body deep in the woods, the other friend had to help the distraught shooter back to camp, where he then had to inform Jack's wife of the fatal event. The wife fainted and was "prostrate" for hours and the friend then had to learn to drive a stick shift twelve miles over dirt roads to the nearest rangers station.
The ranger station got word to a coroner, who arrived to make the trek with the friend into the woods, chopping a path through to the body. The friend, the coroner and two others then had to improvise a stretcher to carry the body of the nearly 250-pound deceased through the woods for more than a mile before getting back to the car. They then had to modify the back of the car to hold the stretcher and body for the 96 mile mountainous dirt road drive to the nearest town... where the body was then transferred to a train for the final leg of the trip to Ventura with the friend, the distraught shooter and the disconsolate widow in tow.
Time for news! I keep my ear to the ground and have picked up a few items of interest for the casual as well as the die hard fanatics.
BALLPARK WORK TO BEGIN
Coming soon we will see construction at the ballpark as the new clubhouse is built in centerfield. Players will enter and leave the field by crossing to centerfield, which should prove interesting when a player or manager is ejected! I have not seen plans or renderings but am told that its a done deal.
NO NETS!!
Also coming are the dreaded pole-to-pole nets, encasing fans in a cage and ending an era of enjoyable baseball because SOME people can't be arsed to pay attention to the event they paid to get into. Tell your city officials we don't want more than they have already done.
GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
Speaking of paying lots of money to see in person something you can get a better view of for free on tv - did you hear how much tix for that Rickwood Field of Dreams game are? Someone told me they start at a thousand bucks!
The Biscuits and Barons play the annual Rickwood Classic next year, just days before the MLB game, and its expected to be a dress rehearsal of sorts as the game will be broadcast nationally. I am sure many will show up for that, either in Slagtown early for the Field of Dreams game or to take advantage of the somewhat lower ticket price!
Obviously the huge up-side to the Field of Dreams game is the renovation of historic Rickwood Field that will allow the annual throwback game to continue to enthrall baseball fans for years to come.
RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION UPDATE
For those that don't keep score at home, I am helping to organize a baseball history conference here in Montgomery next spring. I was asked to help in bringing together groups for an event that is the first of its kind, the Alabama chapter of SABR, along with the Southern Association Baseball Researchers group, the Alabama Dept of Archives and History, the Montgomery Biscuits and the city of Montgomery will all be pulling together to highlight our local baseball legacy.
My own research topic is the 1954 Montgomery Rebels, our first integrated team. And quite frankly, I am going to blow the roof off the place. I will be answering questions that have never before been asked and those answers will startle you. I guarantee it. This will be more than the usual baseball history talk.
Known among researchers for not wanting to bore listeners, I try to make history discussions a more lively experience, encouraging active participation from the audience in a way that is fun and educational for everyone, myself included!
This lecture is one I hope will open eyes about the amazing hidden history of Montgomery baseball's darkest secrets and shine the light of truth in a dark corner that hasn't been looked at in over fifty years.
HOW BOUT THEM BISCUITS?
These Biscuits are good Biscuits. Not great Biscuits but not bad either, somewhere in between. With the summer winding down I felt it was time to share some info that I have gleaned about the guys wearing Montgomery togs this year. Not all biographical information was fully vetted, some stories may be enhanced and/or fabricated for entertainment value, statistics via fangraphs, BREF and MiLB.com .
Ronny Simon - smiles A LOT, enjoys bubblegum and is able to carry the team for a couple weeks at a time, once purchased a Ford Gremlin because he "liked its face", Ronny Simon's .278 BABIP is among the lowest on the team though his WRC is fourth among active Biscuits so Ronny gets it done without knocking down fences
Junior Caminero - nickname: El Maximo, prospecty and knows it, displays collection of rare gold chains, solid defense and line drive hitter, listed at 6'1 157lbs its obvious he is most of a hundred pounds heavier and at least three inches taller, Caminero's High-A bat was a lot more potent than his Double-A bat has been so far, look for Junior to finish the season strong as he adjusts to Southern League balltossers.
Mason Montgomery - nickname Mace, Biscuits best hurler has trouble getting deep enough into games to earn the W, probably shoots 68 at golf but loses his clubs on the 17th fairway and is denied final score, so far the only Biscuits pitcher to log 100K's this season, third in the Southern League in K-9 at 11.20
Eric Ostberg - nickname: Lord of Girth, Bergie, couldnt buy playing time after pissing Ensberg off in April by showing up relief staff in early mop up appearances, owns a luxury condo in Maui and is just playing baseball during the busy tourist season to have somewhere to stay during the summer.
Patrick Wicklander - nickname Big Wick, stingy with the free passes and once he learns to miss a few more bats Big Wick will be wearing a Bulls uni.
Carlos Garcia - been to Durham and back so many times this year he bought an extra set of clothes to keep there, hard throwing reliever is perfecting his slider and forcing the big club to find room for him in their plans, brings bling to the bullpen along with a sparkling 16.6% swinging strike ratio.
Jeff Belge - nickname Bulge, formerly nicknamed Beige after opening-day jersey typo, lefty reliever deals heat from the hill and witty sarcasm in the pen
Tristan Peters - nickname Stinky P, wallclimbing parkour outfielder plays shallow to show off his ability to chase deep flyballs, Peters has been challenged by Southern League pitchers but shows signs of making the adjustment in the second half, Part of the trade that sent Brett Wisely to the Giants, Peters was flipped by the Giants after they got him from the Brewers, Peters has done much to shake scouts notions that he was lackings defensively and continues to make solid contact
Graeme Stinson - nickname Donkey, the ginger bearded lefty from Georgia is learning how to navigate the late innings, tho he has shed the long whiskers that earned him a Yukon Cornelius nickname last season. Leading the staff in groundballs, the southpaw likely has a long career ahead once he finds a way to miss just a few more bats, prefers PBR to PFP.
Biscuits pitchers Gau (l) and Belge(r)
Chris Gau - nickname Holy Gau/Gausser, earning fine marks for his low opponent batting average and high baseball IQ, Gau's wit is as fast as his four-seamer, sub 1.00 WhIP likely tickets him to Durham next spring if not before
Nate Soria - newest Biscuits catcher on the roster, splitting backup backstop time means Nate spends a lot of time in the bullpen warming up pitchers and honing his wit, while we are still waiting for Sorias first base hit the silver lining is that he is just 1 for 5 in GIDPs, listed at 5'8 he catches while standing upright and is looking to put a hit out on whoever it was that drastically underestimated everyones height and weight on the Biscuits media handouts.
Logan Driscoll - nickname Bufalo, brings power and 70's era chesthair displays to the catching postition, takes over as BigBiscuit in the lineup after Moose Shenton's promotion, listed at 6'1 195 the beerbarrel backstop is obviously using a fake ID at weigh-in, Logan's .373 BABIP might indicate he is living large and due a regression but those pecs dont look at numbers so expect a strong finish - possibly in Durham
Nelson Alvarez - his strikeouts are up and his infield fly balls are at a career high, so you know that means he is probably throwing high heat effectively, Nelly also leads the squad in swinging strikes and has been more dominant than his 4.20 ERA would suggest.
Antonio Jimenez - nickname Frijolito, listed at 5'11 145 lbs, Jimenez is at least two inches and thirty pounds above that estimate, the Dominican southpaw has numbers this year that are a painful result of surrendering eight home runs in just twelve relief appearances, in his first season converting from being a starting pitcher, being in a new role likely gives Frijolito plenty of leash for learning and won't be punished for having bad numbers in his limited action this season.
Heriberto Hernandez - nickname The Kraken, leads active Biscuits regulars in On-Base Percentage at .372 in large part owing to his excellent understanding of the strike zone, Heriberto seems able to earn a walk in every game and has collected over fifty to lead the club in free passes, Hernandez hits well when he does swing and posts a .345 BABIP good for second on the team among regulars.
Cole Wilcox - nickname Big Country, Wilcox has been a staple in the Skitz rotation this summer and provides quality work, with a career high in innings approaching nearly double his workload in 2021 and second on the Montgomery staff in pitches thrown one has to wonder if he will be shut down or moved to a relief role in the final weeks, though that would be a real blow to the Biscuits pitching staff but would help the Rays protect a big piece in the deal that sent Blake Snell to the Padres.
Johan Lopez - nickname The Johan, Dont mess with the Johan, back with a vengance!
John Doxakis - nickname The Warden, but could also be the Punisher for leading the Skitz staff with 10 hit batsmen, Doxakis is one of the main men skipper Mo Ensberg turns to when the Montgomery team needs relief on the bump, sure he walks too many batters and he hits a few and yeah he is sometimes good for coughing up a longball but John Doxakis doesn't allow teams to pepper the field with hits and that is what brings Mo out of the dugout to wave in The Warden.
Apologies to the guys who didn't get mentioned due to lack of time and space!
