Allen Harvey Woodward

Allan Harvey "Rick" Woodward (September 16, 1876–November 23, 1950) was an American businessman and baseball team owner.

Woodward began serving as the general superintendent of the Woodward Iron Company 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. During World War I, Woodward served on the Pig Iron, Iron Ore, and Lake Transportation subcommittee of the War Industries Board.

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, 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 Woodward Iron Company, based in Bessemer, Alabama. He attended the University of the South from 1892 to 1895, where he was a catcher for the school's baseball team. During the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway 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. He bought the Birmingham Barons, 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. and today it is the oldest baseball field in use in the United States. 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. Under Woodward's ownership, more players from the Birmingham Barons went to the major leagues than from any other team.

Woodward also served as vice-president of the Birmingham Baseball Association and vice-president of the Southern Association of Baseball Clubs.