On this day in Alabama history: Strikeout record set
![Aug 21 feature](https://alabamanewscenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Aug-21-feature.jpg)
Crowds entering Rickwood Field attest to the popularity of baseball as an entertainment option for people in Birmingham. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives)
Aug. 21, 1943
Birmingham Black Barons pitcher Alvin Gipson struck out 20 Philadelphia Stars batters on Aug. 21, 1943, establishing a Negro American League single-game record. Gipson split his first season between two major league black teams in 1941, going 0-4 with the Chicago American Giants and 0-2 with the Birmingham Black Barons. Despite having a 1-4 record the following season with the Black Barons, he was named to the West team for the East-West Game of all-stars. Gipson recorded a 7-15 overall pitching record with Birmingham from 1941 through 1946. He had a .162 batting average in 37 career plate appearances. The Shreveport, Louisiana, native was born Dec. 11, 1913 and died Nov. 21, 1992.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.