Black History Month, Duncan Park, and the Spartanburg Sluggers at Cleveland Academy of Leadership

During the week of February 24-28 the Cleveland Academy of Leadership on the Northside of Spartanburg County School District Seven sponsored schoolwide exhibitions of the contributions of prominent Black Spartanburg citizens and others to the history of the City of Spartanburg and the United States. A prominent part of this celebration was the exhibition featuring Negro Leagues Baseball in the front entrance hallway of the school.

The Negro Leagues baseball exhibit was sponsored by Child Development Aide Benjamin Wright and Cleveland Academy Principal Dr. Marquice Clark. It was facilitated by Mr. Luther Norman, the Director of the Youth Sports Bureau, and Spartanburg County Librarian Mr. Todd Stephens. Mr. Norman possesses one of the finest personal collections of Negro Leagues memorabilia in South Carolina and lent vintage Spartanburg Sluggers equipment, Negro Leagues replica uniforms, posters, newspaper articles, and books to the exhibit. Mr. Stephens, a longtime supporter of documenting and spreading the history of the Negro Leagues, lent glass display cases from the Headquarters Library to showcase and protect the items from Mr. Norman's collection.

Harry Dallara Foundation Announces Dedication of Renovated Youth Ballfields and Plaza

The Harry Dallara Foundation has announced that it, the City of Spartanburg, and the Mary Black Foundation plan to dedicate the recent improvements to the youth ballfields beyond the right field fence at Duncan Park stadium on Saturday, May 2, 2025.

The celebration will feature a full day's worth of activities, beginning with a youth baseball clinic on the new fields at 10:00 in the morning. The clinic for area kids is sponsored by the City of Spartanburg Department of Parks and Recreation and the Youth Sports Bureau and will be free of charge to participants. The sponsoring organizations welcome boys and girls who live in the Duncan Park area and other City neighborhoods; clinic staff will include current and former high school and college players, adult coaches from Hillbrook League baseball and other leagues, City of Spartanburg and Youth Sports Bureau staff, and others who love the game.

At noon there will be an official dedication ceremony conducted by the City of Spartanburg, officers of the Dallara Foundation, representatives of the Friends of Duncan Park, and one or two surprise guests. Speakers and honored guests will comprise City Parks, Recreation & Special Events Director Kim Brown; Mayor Jerome Rice; Charles Dallara, Chair of The Harry Dallara Foundation; Mitch Kennedy, Deputy City Manager; Luther Norman, Leader of The Spartanburg County Foundation’s Youth Sports Bureau; Dr. Ed Epps, the author of Duncan Park: Stories of a Classic American Ballpark; and officials of Mary Black Foundation and Clayton Construction Company.

The conclusion of the day's activities will be one or more youth baseball games on the new fields at 2:00 PM. Ceremony guests, clinic participants, ballplayers, parents, and residents of neighborhoods near the park are invited to stay for the games in a modern, state-of-the-art facility that is part of significant ongoing improvements to the park as a whole, including historic Duncan Park stadium.

Among the features of the day's activities will be the presence of one or more food trucks and the sale of tee shirts and other memorabilia commemorating Duncan Park and the teams that have played baseball and softball there.

Among the many upgrades to the youth ballfields at Duncan Park on display May 2nd will be new grass and irrigation, new lighting and fencing, and improved dugouts for the players. New bleachers and shade structures will also be present for spectators. Additionally, the concessions area and restrooms have been renewed, and a new plaza area has been constructed.

Along with physical improvements to the athletic fields, the plaza will also include a special bas-relief plaque honoring the Spartanburg Sluggers, the Negro Leagues team who played at Duncan Park for more than four decades.

The City of Spartanburg and the Youth Sports Bureau are providing free transportation for City youth who wish to take part in the morning clinic and other activities of the day. For additional information, contact Kim Brown, City of Spartanburg Director of Parks, Recreation, and Special Events, at (864) 562-4059; or Luther Norman, Director of the Youth Sports Bureau, at (864) 205-7249.