Richmond to host HBCU baseball discussion
A panel including several former baseball stars and a baseball executive recently cited as one of the most influential minorities in sports will discuss how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can stem the decline of African-American participation in our national pastime. The discussion is scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Holiday Inn Central, 3207 N. Boulevard in Richmond.
"The Bobby Bonds Symposium on the Survival of Baseball Programs at Historically Black Colleges" will seek to rekindle African-American interest in the sport by bolstering baseball programs at HBCUs. "Baseball is a tool to get these kids off the streets," said William Forrester Jr., the meeting's convener and president of the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League, a Major League Baseball-affiliated program that serves inner-city kids in Richmond.
But in recent years, several black college baseball programs have been shut down. Others are in jeopardy. And most struggle to compete outside their conferences. "If HBCUs aren't out there to give them a chance to go to school and play baseball, they may not get that chance," Forrester said.
The symposium is named in honor of the late baseball star Bobby Bonds, who was instrumental in the development of the symposium, just prior to his untimely passing.
Jimmie Lee Solomon, Major League Baseball's Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations, who was recently listed as the 7th most influential minority in sports by Sports Illustrated, is among the panelists scheduled to explore this concept.
Joining Solomon are former Major League Baseball standouts Dave Stewart, a four-time 20-game winner for the Oakland Athletics; former National League Batting Champion Ralph Garr; and Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who won 21 games for the 1965 pennant-winning Minnesota Twins, and one of twelve African American 20-game winners in Major League Baseball history.
Other panelists are Steve Baker, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics; Roger Cador, head baseball coach at Southern University; J.D. Elliby of the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau; Dan Montgomery, a top scout for the Detroit Tigers; and Steve "Preacher" Williams, a top scout for the Colorado Rockies.
As an example of what is at stake, Forrester cites one of Cador's former Southern University players, infielder Rickie Weeks. Weeks, lightly recruited out of high school, was the number-two pick in Major League Baseball's 2003 First Year Player Draft.
"Kids that could blossom into something special just need a little more time," Forrester said. "There won't be anywhere for them to go if there aren't HBCU programs."
Amtrak, Major League Baseball and the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League are sponsoring the symposium, which is free and open to the public.
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.