Lacy Park is in the process of getting a much-needed facelift thanks to a Sunday sandlot league, and it’s more than just your average neighborhood ballpark. In the ’50s, the T-Town Clowns, a semi-professional Negro League team, were the main attraction in north Tulsa.
“This field would be packed, cars would be on both sides of Madison, all the way to Pine and this whole parking lot would be full with cars,” said former T-Town Clown, Robert Pearson.
So when the Tulsa Rumblers, a Sunday sandlot team, was looking for a home they figured there was no better place than this historic field.
“There’s a history of great baseball here and we’re honored to be a part of that. So when people hear that they want to come in and lend the biggest hand they can,” said Rumblers player J.R. Phillips. “When you have a really good cause behind what you’re doing, because we’re just a bunch of late 30s early 40s dudes who hardly ever played ball before.”
Once people heard about what the ramblers were up to, the community hopped on board with the renovation efforts.
“One person hears about it, they’ve got a friend, somebody else knows, somebody else has somebody, and that’s kind of how it all started,” said Rumberlers Co-captain Josh Kampf. “We picked a day, started getting after it and there will be more days to come but I’ve think we’ve made a huge impact in a 24 hour period.”
While it’s not the same level of play that Pearson’s Clowns brought to the field, the opportunity to preserve a community landmark was a special one.
“It is more about coming out, the comradery, being around friends, being around family,” said Kampf. “Meeting new people and getting to play the game. We think we’re pretty lucky just to get to do that.”
