When Michael Jordan Mania Hit Birmingham
The Lead
Audible
3.7 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2020
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Last night on The Last Dance, we got the chance to re-live Michael Jordan’s time as a minor league baseball player, for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, in 1994. Today, we’re joined by James Fegan — who covers the White Sox for The Athletic — to hear some behind the scenes stories from Jordan’s time in Birmingham, including a wave of celebrity appearances, and a local pickup basketball game featuring MJ himself.
Read James Fegan’s stories about Michael Jordan playing for the Barons: https://theathletic.com/1803492/2020/05/10/thanks-to-1994-michael-jordan-will-always-be-the-most-famous-birmingham-baron/?source=theleadpodcast
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to the lead, add free on Amazon Music. |
| 0:04.9 | Download the app today. |
| 0:07.5 | In a four-part series, The Generation Y Podcast unravels the story of Khalif Browder, a young |
| 0:12.8 | boy falsely accused of stealing a backpack and held it Recker's island for three years |
| 0:18.0 | without trial. |
| 0:19.4 | This is a story about a young life caught in the middle of the justice system. |
| 0:23.4 | Listen to Generation Y on Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:31.0 | You never in his Leoniers would have fucked your mind early game. |
| 0:37.0 | You can't believe, commotion, the excitement. |
| 0:41.6 | Never has one rookie gotten so much attention. |
| 0:44.4 | Folks are lying on the ground for a glimpse of MJ. |
| 0:47.9 | Last night on The Last Dance, we got to relive Michael Jordan's run as a minor league baseball |
| 0:52.3 | player. |
| 0:54.9 | In 1994, Jordan showed up in Birmingham, Alabama to play double-a ball for the Birmingham |
| 0:59.8 | Barons, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. |
| 1:03.7 | Today, we're joined by James Fiegan, who covers the White Sox for the Athletic, to hear |
| 1:08.1 | behind-the-scenes stories from MJ's time in Birmingham, including random celebrity |
| 1:12.8 | appearances at games, a failed impersonator, and a surprising pickup basketball game. |
| 1:18.7 | And Michael Jordan basically gives him a look of like, do you really think I need a screen |
| 1:22.5 | to get by, you know, the lead ticket sales guy of the Birmingham Barons? |
| 1:29.7 | From Wondry in the Athletic, I'm Andre Skeleton. |
| 1:32.1 | And I'm Kavita Davidson. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Audible, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Audible and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.