BIRMINGHAM – The Birmingham Barons LLC, one of the most historic and celebrated franchises in minor league baseball, was honored today by the Alabama Retail Association as an Alabama Centennial Retailer, a retailer with 100 or more years in business in Alabama.
2013 marks the 114th season of baseball in Birmingham and the Barons’ 129th year of existence. The Birmingham Barons have played in three different stadiums under 11 different owners since 1901. With its latest move, the teams’ new home “has changed the landscape of downtown Birmingham,” said the Alabama Retailer of the Year judges who endorsed the Birmingham Business Alliance’s nomination of the Barons as a Centennial Retailer.
“For businesses to survive despite the dramatic changes of the past century is a remarkable achievement,” said Alabama President Rick Brown. “It is fitting to celebrate the enduring first-century contributions the Birmingham Barons organization has made to the Birmingham area.”
The Birmingham Barons were honored at the 2013 Retail Day Luncheon at The Club in Birmingham. The business received a bronze plaque to place outside the stadium and a certificate suitable for display inside.
The Birmingham Barons traces its history back to 1885 when the team was known as the Coal Barons. The team won its first Southern Association championship in 1906. On Sept. 15 of this year, the team won its latest title, the Southern League Championship.
In 2013, the Barons’ partnered with the city of Birmingham to build a new downtown stadium. By Aug. 20, BaseballParks.com named Regions Field, which had opened April 10, as Ballpark of the Year. The next month, on Sept. 13, the Southern League tabbed the Barons as Organization of the Year and General Manager Jonathan Nelson as Executive of the Year.
The 2013 season ranks fourth in the history of the Birmingham Barons for attendance, dating back to 1901. This season set the record for the highest attendance of a league team playing its first year in a new ballpark. The Barons set its all-time record attendance in 1994, the year NBA superstar Michael Jordan became a professional baseball player and played for the Barons.
Today, Birmingham’s professional baseball team employs about 30 full time and 250 part time.
The Alabama Retail Association presents awards annually to Centennial Retailers. To notify Alabama Retail of a retail business that has been in operation for 100 years or more, please contact Nancy Dennis at (800) 239-5423 or ndennis@alabamaretail.org.
>> List of Centennial Retailers honored previously
Media Contact: Stan Logan, Birmingham Barons | 205.988.3200
Media Contact: Nancy King Dennis | 334.551.0643 | 800.239.5423