Mobile, Alabama

Mobile (pronounced Mo-Beel) is a city in Alabama along Mobile Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico. It is the only saltwater port in Alabama.

Having been previously a French and later a Spanish colony, it is the one part of Alabama where Catholicism is strong in the otherwise Protestant-dominated state (the Archdiocese of Mobile, which oversees all Catholic churches in Alabama and neighboring Mississippi, is located there).

It claims to have hosted the first Mardi Gras celebration in 1703, and to this day continues to host them; unlike the better known ones in New Orleans (which are often filled with debauchery), Mobile's celebrations are more family-friendly.

Five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame came from Mobile: Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Satchel Paige, Ozzie Smith, and Billy Williams. Only the much larger cities of New York City and Chicago have more.

## See also[edit]

* Jeremiah Denton
* Robert Ewing, I
* Lawson Swearingen