Allan Harvey "Rick" Woodward (1876–1950) was an American businessman and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team owner. Woodward began serving as the general superintendent of the

Woodward Iron Company The Woodward Iron Company (located in the area between Hueytown, Brighton, and Bessemer, Alabama) was founded on December 31, 1881, by brothers William and Joseph Woodward. William was the company president and Joseph was the company secretary.Mar ...

in 1899. Following his father's death, he became the company's president in 1918. Woodward also served on the board of several other companies in the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Woodward served on the Pig Iron, Iron Ore, and Lake Transportation subcommittee of the

War Industries Board The War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department (Department of the Army) and the Navy Department. Because ...

. Following his college baseball career at the University of the South, Woodward managed the Woodward Iron Company's baseball team. In 1909, he bought the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

, a local minor-league team in Birmingham, Alabama. His first initiative as owner was the construction of Rickwood Field in 1910. It was the first stadium constructed from steel and concrete in the southern United States and the first of its kind constructed for a minor league team.

Early life

Woodward was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on September 16, 1876, to Joseph Hersey Woodward and Martha Burt Metcalfe Woodward. In 1881, his father and uncle founded the

, based in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a southwestern suburb of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 census. It is within the Birmingham- Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, of which Jefferson County is the ...

. He attended the University of the South from 1892 to 1895, where he was a catcher for the school's baseball team. His father made him leave the school when his grades began to fall due to his focus on baseball. Woodward then attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

from 1896 to 1899, where he earned a degree in

mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. He also gained much business training by working with his father at the Woodward Iron Company.

Career

Woodward served in practically every capacity connected with Woodward Iron Company. Woodward became general superintendent of the company in 1899, and president in 1918 (one year after his father's death). During the

Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway The Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway was formed in 1914 as a reorganization of the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad, which had been created in 1905 to purchase the Atlantic and Birmingham Railway and extend its track into Birmingh ...

strike in 1921, to show that he had not forgotten his early training, he ran a locomotive on the company's rail for several days. His was the first train that moved over the entire line after the strike was declared. During

, Woodward Iron Company was important to the war effort, shipping thousands of tons of materials to the allies. During the war, Woodward served on the Pig Iron, Iron Ore, and Lake Transportation subcommittee of the

. Woodward also served as chairman of the board of the Woodward Iron Company, as vice-chairman of Wheeling Steel Corporation (Wheeling, West Virginia); and as the director of the Wheeling Steel & Iron Company (Wheeling, West Virginia); the Whitaker-Glessner Company (Wheeling, West Virginia); the LaBelle Iron Works ( Steubenville, Ohio); the First National Bank (

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

); the Seaboard Air Line Railway; and the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway.

Baseball

Woodward was a keen baseball player, though he was unable to make a career out of this passion. After his college baseball career, he managed the Woodward Iron Company baseball team. He bought the

, the local minor-league team, in late 1909. His first initiative as owner was the construction of Rickwood Field (which is named for him) in 1910. It was the first stadium constructed from steel and concrete in the

or for any minor league team. For decades the field was the "crown jewel of southern baseball", and today it is the oldest baseball field in use in the United States. Woodward was more involved than a typical owner, often practicing with the team and dressing in uniform. Rather than being content with throwing a ceremonial first pitch, he would sometimes insist on throwing the actual first pitch in his team's games. He also tousled with umpires and was closely involved with management, sometimes to the dismay of managers themselves. During Woodward's tenure as owner, the Birmingham Barons prospered. They finished first in the Southern Association five times, second three times, and third nine times; they also won the Dixie Series in 1929 and 1931. Under Woodward's ownership, more players from the Birmingham Barons went to the major leagues than from any other team. Financial hardship led Woodward to sell the team to automobile dealer Ed Norton in 1938. Woodward also served as Vice-President of the Birmingham Baseball Association and Vice-President of the Southern Association of Baseball Clubs.

Personal life and death

Woodward was a member of various social clubs. He supported Democrats locally and Republicans in national affairs. He married Annie Hill Jemison on November 1, 1904. They had five children: Eugenia, Marti, Ann, Joseph Harvey, and Allan Harvey, Jr. Woodward died on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1950, at his home in Birmingham, Alabama.Rick Woodward Dies
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References

External links

Woodward Family papers, W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of AlabamaWoodward Family Photo Collection, W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Allan Harvey 1876 births 1950 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople Businesspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia Sports owners Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama American businesspeople in metals American steel industry businesspeople Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia