When Prentiss Hill launched the Magic City Diamond Classic, there were few restaurants and hotels near Regions Field.
“None of this was around here,” said Hill, promoter of that initial contest between the baseball teams of Alabama A&M and Alabama State universities. “Now, this is an entertainment district. You’ve got your hotels. You’ve got your restaurants. All of the amenities that you will want around the ballpark.
“They call these now ballpark villages, so why not take advantage of that?” Hill asked. “Why not create something that can grow HBCU baseball in the state of Alabama?”
Hill said that’s what he envisioned from day one, when he launched the Magic City Diamond Classic 10 years ago. That remains his vision as he relaunched the baseball event with the Division I A&M Bulldogs squaring off against the Division II Miles Golden Bears this week.
Alabama A&M won the game 8-6, holding off a Golden Bears rally in the top of the ninth inning. The game drew 1,787 fans.
“We didn’t see all of this happening, but now that it’s here, it definitely matches up with our vision,” the promoter said, “to create a situation where fans from all across the state and region are coming to Birmingham, staying in these hotels, going to these restaurants and coming in catching good HBCU baseball, whether it’s Division II or Division I.”
The initial Magic City Diamond Classic had a three-year run before taking “a hiatus,” Hill said, adding that he was determined to revive the event a decade after it began.
“We were going to get this done — hell or high water — to celebrate that 10-year anniversary,” he said. “We want to use this event on an annual basis to be a fundraiser for those youth baseball programs so that we can give our kids some exposure, give them something to do as opposed to the alternative.”
Keith Mims, who has long been the announcer of sporting events in the Birmingham area, called the action of the game on Tuesday.
“He is legendary,” Hill said of Mims. “You have to always connect with people like Mims. They’ve done a lot in the community in this space. In order to have a great event, you’ve got to have a voice like that.”
Hill envisions someday making the Magic City Diamond Classic a three-day baseball festival with doubleheaders pitting Alabama A&M against Alabama State and Miles facing its Division II rival Tuskegee Golden Tigers.
“If we could get those four schools on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday here at Regions Field,” Hill said, “magic will happen in the Magic City.”
The promoter said the baseball series could be as big as the Magic City Classic football game in the fall between the Bulldogs and the ASU Hornets.
“It would just be in the spring, and it would feature baseball and involve more schools and more games,” Hill said. “With the Magic City Classic, you only get one game. This, baseball, can be a whole weekend of activities and festivities for the family in our community. We’ve got it back on track. That was the hard part.”
Miles President Bobbie Knight said the game was originally set to be played at historic Rickwood Field, where the Golden Bears play their home games.
“The promoter did reach out to our athletic director and our head baseball coach to ask if we could come and play this game against Alabama A&M here,” Knight said as she watched the game from a skybox. “We said, ‘Sure.’ Any time, any time (Miles baseball players) have the opportunity to play at this field is incredible and amazing for them. I love it for that fact. We’re excited to be here.”
Alabama A&M Athletic Director Paul Bryant said the game is worthwhile as a means of growing interest in baseball among African Americans.
“We really need to have a good look and have a genuine interest in baseball, because I think it’s a dying sport in our community,” Bryant said. “But I think games like this will help uplift that and make it a priority in our community.”
Youth baseball players from Police Athletic Teams (PAT), Law Enforcement Athletic Partnership (LEAP), The Right Way baseball and several high school baseball squads were in the stands for the game, which was sponsored by CMC Steel of Alabama.
“This is a great event going against one of our in-state partners in Miles,” the Bulldogs athletic director said. “We knew that once Miles said that they were going to be in it, we definitely wanted to be a part of it, just because of our partnership with other things.”
Miles AD Fred Watson said he’s always looking for the opportunity to put the Golden Bears at the highest level.
“To give our student-athletes the opportunity to play in a venue of this magnitude, it was great for us,” he said. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I’m always looking for the opportunity to enhance our student-athlete experience. The guys were excited about it, so it was just my job to make it happen.”
Knight, the Miles president, said her athletic director would negotiate any future events, but she feels good about Miles being in future Diamond Classics.
“I don’t think we’d have any problem doing it,” she said. “I like the idea, again, of giving our young student-athletes an opportunity to play on a professional field like this, even though our home field (Rickwood) is a professional field. The Barons’ (Regions) Field is … impressive.”
