Jackie is 95 years old
August 29th Jackie Mitchell would have been 95 years old. My blog wasn't up on the web until September so I did not get the chance to post on her birthday.
I never got the chance to meet Jackie but I feel like I know a little about her through the years I've spent researching her. I really would like to know her reaction to my graphic novel about her. I hope somewhere she is on a baseball diamond smiling wondering what could possibly be the big deal over her and what she did.
I know she isn't smiling about Engel Stadium. The shrine that Engel built is once again in danger. Engel Stadium is one of the most historical baseball stadiums in the country. It is a shame the city of Chattanooga overlooks the historical value of the stadium. Instead of developing the stadium into a park that would attract visitors from all over the country, they would rather turn it into a soccer field or level her. If people are willing to drive into the cornfields of Iowa (field of dreams website) just to get the chance to throw a baseball on a diamond created for a movie, what would they do to get the chance to throw a baseball where the mighty Babe Ruth once stood? Or Lou Gehrig? or where Willie Mays and Satchel Paige started their baseball careers?
The list of people who have stepped onto the grass of Engel is a who's who of not only baseball history but the American experience. If Engel is destroyed, the blood of history will be on the hands of those who have forgotten Engel and her role in the history of baseball and the history of America. Up from the darkness of the depression in the poor South rose a shrine of hope. Engel Stadium was a place where anyone could go and excape the outside world. At times the riches were shared with the masses. Joe Engel once gave a house away to a fan in attendance, during the depression.
More on Engel in the coming months. I will be updating my site Save Engel Stadium.org in the next few weeks.
I never got the chance to meet Jackie but I feel like I know a little about her through the years I've spent researching her. I really would like to know her reaction to my graphic novel about her. I hope somewhere she is on a baseball diamond smiling wondering what could possibly be the big deal over her and what she did.
I know she isn't smiling about Engel Stadium. The shrine that Engel built is once again in danger. Engel Stadium is one of the most historical baseball stadiums in the country. It is a shame the city of Chattanooga overlooks the historical value of the stadium. Instead of developing the stadium into a park that would attract visitors from all over the country, they would rather turn it into a soccer field or level her. If people are willing to drive into the cornfields of Iowa (field of dreams website) just to get the chance to throw a baseball on a diamond created for a movie, what would they do to get the chance to throw a baseball where the mighty Babe Ruth once stood? Or Lou Gehrig? or where Willie Mays and Satchel Paige started their baseball careers?
The list of people who have stepped onto the grass of Engel is a who's who of not only baseball history but the American experience. If Engel is destroyed, the blood of history will be on the hands of those who have forgotten Engel and her role in the history of baseball and the history of America. Up from the darkness of the depression in the poor South rose a shrine of hope. Engel Stadium was a place where anyone could go and excape the outside world. At times the riches were shared with the masses. Joe Engel once gave a house away to a fan in attendance, during the depression.
More on Engel in the coming months. I will be updating my site Save Engel Stadium.org in the next few weeks.
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