Jackson, MS

Park # 30

What I Remember

We had driven to Jackson after filming in Birmingham so we were in Mississippi’s capital that Thursday morning and had a decision to make. The weather was threatening again and we hadn’t yet decided whether we should drive back to Birmingham or not so we didn’t look for a campsite and instead opted for a picnic lunch at a park outside Smith-Wills Stadium. The rain held off and we went to the Jackson Generals game against Tulsa, which was scheduled to be an afternoon doubleheader, and planned to drive back to Birmingham after the first game if the Barons were going to play.

Alas, neither the second game in Jackson nor the game in Birmingham would take place. The first game in the Generals twinbill ended after six innings and the second was postponed when it started pouring mid afternoon and when we called over to Birmingham (a 3.5 hour drive) they were rained out too. Thus, we settled for six innings that Thursday afternoon and headed for Little Rock with hopes of drier weather.

The Game(s)

Jackson Generals 10 Tulsa Drillers 8 (6 Inns)

Greenville Braves @ Birmingham Barons ppd Rain

The Box (Click on the arrows to see more images)

The Generals program labeled the season a New Beginning. After many years as the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, Jackson started a new relationship with the Houston Astros and changed the team name from Mets to Generals that year.

The Generals moved out of Mississippi after the 1999 season but oddly enough there is still a Jackson Generals team in Minor League baseball. They play, however, in Jackson, Tennessee. Meanwhile, after several years without professional baseball, the Jackson area has a team again too, but that team is called the Mississippi Braves and plays in the suburb of Pearl, Mississippi. Got all that? There will be a test.

The Trip