Museums

Search for Museums Attractions, Events and Accommodations

Sports Shrines
by Callie Corley

Begin your tour of the state's sports museums in Birmingham at the three-story Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, where sports legends Jesse Owens, Hank Aaron, Joe Louis, Carl Lewis and Willie Mays are immortalized. They rank among the top 15 greatest American athletes. Celebrate 233 Alabama sports champions and view vintage equipment, uniforms, photographic exhibits, trophies, life-sized dioramas and kiosks.

While in Birmingham, see Rickwood Field, the world's oldest baseball park, built in 1910.

The Barber Motorsports Museum, off I-20 east, houses the world's largest collection of vintage motorcycles and displays Lotus and other race cars. The magnificent road track hosts the AMA Superbike Championship Series in April and the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series in July.

The Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Hear the philosophy of the University of Alabama coach and view photos, memorabilia and films of major Crimson Tide football victories. Celebrate the wins of quarterbacks Joe Namath and Ken Stabler, and watch as Coach Bryant becomes the winningest coach in the history of college football on November 28, 1981.

While in Tuscaloosa, travel "The Strip" on University Boulevard, west of campus, for food and drink.

NASCAR's fastest track is the Talladega Superspeedway. Watch Nextel Cup drivers battle three wide in the turns at 200 mph during races in April and October. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame next door is packed with record-holders, including Donnie Allison's Talladega Torino, Richard Petty's famous STP Dodge Charger and the Budweiser Rocket car, the first car to break the speed of sound on land.

Visit Auburn's Jonathan B. Lovelace Athletic Museum. See Bo Jackson going "over the top" against the Crimson Tide in 1982 and watch as Coach Shug Jordan and Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan discuss plays on the sidelines. Hear the history of each intercollegiate sport played at Auburn University. There's even a replica of the legendary Toomer's Corner getting "rolled" with toilet paper after a football victory.

Stop at the real Toomer's Corner downtown for a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade made from a recipe dating from the 1890s.