A Collective Memory: Bay County Black History

Above: The Birmingham News features the Panama City Tigers vs. the Negro City AllStars double-header at Rickwood Field to be held on August 22, 1943. Rickwood, homefield for the Birmingham Black Barons, is the oldest professional ballpark in the United States. Below: An advertisement in The Birmingham News for the Panama City Tigers vs. the Negro City All-Stars August 22, 1943, doubleheader.

to travel, so the Red Caps played civilian teams, including the Panama City Tigers. The Red Caps roster included Black baseball talent from across the nation and included two members of the Ethiopian Clowns, a professional Black ballclub.

A COLLECTIVE MEMORY: BAY COUNTY BLACK HISTORY

The history of Foreman Park and the stories it holds continues to inform our collective memory and awareness of African American life in Bay County. Its narrative reminds us that local “kingpins” like Farris Foreman provided an economic lifeline to Black-owned business and entertainment at a time when white controlled banks ignored the interests of African Americans. The community ran its own barbershops, dry-cleaners, bars, and restaurants with the segregated dollar. Likewise, in the mid-twentieth century South, baseball still offered an avenue for Black commercialized entertainment.