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There's a lot going on in the local golf scene. Let's take a closer look... * A.H. "Rick" Woodward Sr. to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame A.H. "Rick" Woodward Sr. has been dead for 59 years, but his impact on the citizens of Birmingham is still felt strongly through two sports he touched deeply: baseball and golf. He will be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as their Distinguished American Sportsman in 2010. The ceremonies will take place May 21-22. Woodward, who built Rickwood Field and was owner of both the park and the Birmingham Barons, made his name and money in the iron making business. Rickwood Field will celebrate 100 years of baseball next year and, as such, is the oldest concurrently used baseball park in existence. However, this is a golf magazine, so onto golf. He also started Woodward Golf & Country Club in Bessemer and this club opened in 1916. As such, it is one of the oldest golf clubs in the state. Originally comprising eight holes built in a cow pasture in Brighton, it was not initially stretched to nine holes because a suitable location for the ninth green could not be found, according to club board member Hinky Verchot. Originally built for the enjoyment and benefit of his employees at Woodward Iron Company, it is the oldest golf club at its original location in Jefferson County. It began with around 80 members and was first called the Employees Club (of Woodward Iron Company). World War I changed things and shortly thereafter the course reorganized under its current name. In 1920 a clubhouse was built and the course subsequently expanded to 18 holes under the watchful eye of Charlie Hall. Further changes occurred to the course when, in the early 1970s, I-20/59 necessitated the clubhouse being moved to its present location and several holes where moved and/or reconfigured. In 1986 course designer Ward Northrup presided over a renovation of the course, which has hosted the Alabama Open and its invitational attracts top amateurs from across the state every year. Like many area clubs, it is actively pursuing members. "Granddaddy used to like to sit on the porch at the (Woodward) club and watch the golfers playing golf, so they tell me," A.H. "Rick" Woodward III, one of nine grandchildren, said. "He was also an avid golfer himself and really loved the place." Tim Witt, in his book "Bases Loaded With History," wrote "As summer turned into fall in 1950, Rick Woodward spent his time at the country club he had built in Woodward, silently watching the young golfers. "October brought the World Series and a predictable triumph for the DiMaggio-led Yankees. And then came November, and there was no baseball at all. Rick Woodward still reported to the Woodward Country Club daily, but by late in the month the weather had turned cold, and there were no more games to be played. "On Nov. 23, 1950, the first snowfall of the year fell on Birmingham. As an early winter settled on the city, high atop Red Mountain, Rick Woodward, a lover of the summer, died."
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