TAMPA, Fla. — John Glenn coached the Yellow Jackets Little League team in Tampa from 1970 to 2000. The historic team produced several professional players.
But for now, his baseball team has been displaced.
“I still have kids now that played for me that call me,” said Coach Glenn. “One of my players takes me to one Buccaneer game per year. That’s one of the biggest things we had. We had the project area and all of our kids came from there.”
For decades, the team played twice a week at a West Tampa field on North Oregon Street. Registration was, and still is, free for all players.
“Our coaches bought uniforms themselves,” he added.
The team received funding through concessions and donations. Coach Glenn tears up when discussing the impact it had on the community.
“Our kids now, they tell me, ‘Coach, we used to think you were crazy, but you were the best coach out there.' I have guys that talk about me in prison saying, 'If I had played for Coach Glenn, I wouldn’t be here now,” he chuckled.
According to former coaches, players, and community members, a lot has changed since the team moved out of West Tampa in 2018.
“I started playing at 9,” former player Johnny Johnson said during a City Council meeting on June 20. “I never understood the relocation when you were going to bring kids into the community and already had a stable park. That would’ve generated our park league to match other leagues that I grew up watching.”
The team now plays at a new field on Indiana Street. Yellow Jackets Little League president James Wright says promises were made but not kept.
“They said they wanted to help us continue our efforts in the community with a first-class building,” he recalled.
The coaches were expecting to have the same amenities, or even better ones. They say that previously, they had two fields, but now they only have one, which makes hosting competitions difficult. There are also complaints about a lack of lighting and field markings.
City Council Member Gwendolyn Henderson wants this issue addressed.
“It is no longer in our hands, it belongs to the developers,” Henderson said during the June 20 meeting. “But, what is in our hands is the Yellow Jackets’ current field and what we can do cause we are not doing to the best of our ability.”
The newly formed Racial Reconciliation Committee says one of the items on its agenda is to address the situation of the historic Yellow Jackets Little League team. The West Tampa baseball team was displaced due to the Rome Yard development deal.
Robin Lockett is one of 13 members of the committee.
“It’s all about timing and opportunity,” said Lockett. “The Yellow Jackets, they should be made whole in this because they are history. That is a historical league.“
Coach Glenn is concerned that the program’s impact is now limited.
“The last time I went to the Yellow Jackets field, I cried. It just didn’t look like the Yellow Jackets,” he said.
Still, he’s rooting for a comeback.
“I would love to see it come back, but it’s going to take a lot of work," he said.
Coach Glenn ultimately hopes another generation can experience his field of dreams.
Tampa’s Director of Parks and Recreation, Tony Mulkey, says that the city is working to improve the existing location for the teams. The Yellow Jackets Park is undergoing continuous improvements, including the recent addition of new shade structures and upcoming field lighting enhancements.
Tampa’s newly formed Racial Reconciliation Committee aims to tackle systemic inequality and social injustices in the city.
In May, 13 members were selected including:
- Bishop Thomas Scott, former Tampa City Council member and Hillsborough County commissioner.
- Cheryl Rodriguez, University of South Florida Professor.
- Connie Burton, Hillsborough County NAACP’s housing committee Chair.
- Daryl Hych, Hillsborough County Black Chamber of Commerce President.
- Fred Hearns, Tampa Bay History Center Black History Curator.
- Jarvis El-Amin, Hillsborough County branch of the NAACP.
- Jeffery Johnson, director of strategic initiatives for the economic empowerment nonprofit CDC of Tampa.
- Pastor Christopher Harris, Crossover Church of Tampa Pastor.
- Kiah Wilson, Girls Inc. non-profit
- Pastor Clethen Sutton, Tampa Bay Coalition of Clergy.
- Malik Moore, State Rep. Dianne Hart Chief Aide.
- Robert Blount, Abe Brown Ministries President.
- Robin Lockett, Florida Rising Regional Director.