Former MEAC Commissioner and Negro League baseball player Ken Free Sr. will manage one of the teams in these games….Ken was a long-time resident of Greensboro and his sons, Ben Free and Ken Free Jr. currently coach the JV boys basketball team at Grimsley High School….Mr. Free has contributed so much to our community over the years and has been a srrong supporter of athletics at all of our local schools and especially at N.C. A&T University and at James B. Dudley High School…..We commend Ken Free Sr. on his efforts to serve and to give back…….
Press Release:
FORMER MLB STARS GIVE BACK AT YOUTH ALL STAR GAME DURING THE MLK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
Richmond, VA – Former Major League Baseball Stars, Mookie Wilson, Gary Sheffield,
Mike Easler and others have joined forces with the Metropolitan Junior Baseball
League’s (MJBL) with their 4th Annual All Star Game. The event will be hosted by
the City of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on January 14th – 16th 2012. The games will
begin January 14th at Floyd Hull Stadium and Florida Memorial University. MJBL is
partnering with Florida Memorial University to feature the 2012 All Star Game that
will include three age groups – 12 and under, 16 and under and 19 and under. MJBL is
a 46 year old non-profit organization established during the days of segregation
when there were very limited opportunities for African-American youngsters to play
baseball. In recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. legacy and his fight for
equality, the games will be held over the MLK holiday. Today, MJBL provides
baseball, educational and cultural enrichment opportunities to primarily African
American youth across the country with teams in twenty states, Bahamas and Puerto
Rico. It has been well documented that there is a significant decline in African
American interest and participation in the game of baseball at all levels. Fred
Plump, MJBL’s national commissioner, from Birmingham Alabama said,“ I grew up in
Birmingham and experienced civil rights marches organized by Dr. King. There
couldn’t be a better way to demonstrate our concern for our youth than to have our
all star game on his holiday weekend. This will undoubtedly bring attention to
MJBL’s efforts to reunite our youth to the benefits the game of baseball has to
offer”.
Sheffield, Easler and Mookie Wilson will be joined by Wilson’s son Preston Wilson,
Tony Scott,Tom McGraw and former Negro League Player, Ken Free. They will serve as
managers for the six all star teams and conduct practices to help fine tune the
players fundamentals prior to the games. The coaching staff will bring over a half a
century MLB playing experience and numerous years of professional coaching
experience. “It disturbs me seeing our youth walking away from the game of baseball.
I believe that working with programs like MJBL can help steer our kids back to
baseball. It’s going to take nurturing, mentoring and teaching them the positive
attributes that come from playing the game. The game has taught me life time
lessons. I’m thankful that I now have the opportunity to share what I learned with
these youth,” said Mookie Wilson. The Big Leaguers along with former Florida
Memorial President, Dr. Albert E. Smith will then participate in the Bobby Bonds
Memorial Symposium that will be held Saturday, January 14th at 2:00 pm on the campus
of Florida Memorial University. The symposium is designed to address issues that
face youth in African American communities and discuss how baseball and education
can be an integral part of the solution to these issues. The symposium topic this
year will be: Baseball – Could this be a part of “The Dream”? MJBL’s national
championship, the Inner City Classic featuring the Black World Series will be held
July 31st –Aug 5th in Richmond Virginia. The winners of the Black World Series will
win free passes to Kings Dominion amusement park in Doswell Virginia.