Philadelphia memorial park a work of art in honoring city's Negro Leagues past

PHILADELPHIA -- For decades, the intersection of Belmont and Parkside Avenues was defined by a single historic marker sitting on a traffic island. On Sunday morning, that same stretch of West Parkside became the blueprint for a structural tribute to the history of Black baseball in the city.

Major League Baseball and Phillies Charities, Inc., hosted a community dedication to unveil the official renderings for the reimagined Miller-Parker Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park. The project, part of a $5.5 million All-Star Legacy investment in the region, marks the official start of a comprehensive revitalization designed to transform the historic public space into a permanent fixture of Philadelphia’s baseball identity.

The park serves as a direct homage to the Philadelphia Stars, the city's legendary Negro Leagues franchise that occupied the area from 1933-52. Event emcee and MLB Network announcer Harold Reynolds put the lineage into perspective, highlighting how foundational icons passed down traditions to the next generation.

"There was a man named Raleigh Biz Mackey ... known as a tremendous catcher, one of the best catchers in the history of our sport," Reynolds said. "But he mentored a young man from Philadelphia, a 15-year-old at one time, named Roy Campanella. Campy went on to play with the Baltimore Elite ... and then was signed by Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers, and was a three-time National League MVP and Hall of Famer. So you're always touching somebody and moving traditions on."

The origin of the memorial park itself is rooted in pure grassroots community effort. Marjorie Ogilvie, wife of the park’s late founder and namesake Miller Parker, admitted the ceremony brought up unexpected emotions as she recalled the early days in 1996, when the site was barely recognized.

"That marker was on an island in the middle of Parkside ... and we kept going by it and, frankly, not noticing it a whole lot," Ogilvie recalled. "And then, we said, 'Well, that's a shame. People should notice this historic marker.'"

Ogilvie explained that her husband called a community meeting where former Stars player Bill Cash arrived and noted that nobody had ever formally done anything to honor the team. When local organizers realized the state would only donate funds to official parks, they adjusted on the fly.

"The state said, 'We can donate money, but we only donate money to parks.' So we said, 'No problem. It's a park.' So we named it a park," Ogilvie said smiling. "So now it is really the longest name for the smallest park, I think [in] the whole state of Pennsylvania, but I think one of the most important parks. Without everybody at the state level, the city level, the community level, none of us would be here today. So I'm ever so grateful to everybody."

Now, through a partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia and local sculptor Miguel Horn -- whose studio sits just blocks down the street -- the park is evolving into an interactive public art space. Rather than utilizing generic architectural models, the perimeter fence will feature a network of "3D" baseball-themed steel sculptures constructed using the real-life silhouettes of the neighborhood's current youth.

"David [McShane] is doing an amazing job with the athletes and the depiction of the actual heroes of this space," Horn said of the accompanying park mural. "But I keep coming back to the community that welcomed me. ... This neighborhood continues to be a traditionally Black neighborhood, and the kids who are growing up in this neighborhood are going to be reflected in this new artwork. I would love for those kids to be able to turn around and see themselves reflected, represented in this community."

To create those silhouettes, students from the JYK Discovery Charter School took over the park grounds for an afternoon of movement, dance, and play led by Jamie Merwin of Olive Dance Studio. The kids participated in a game modeled after "red light, green light."

One student acted as the "gatekeeper," standing with their back turned to the crowd while holding a baseball glove. As long as the gatekeeper’s back was turned, the other children crept forward across the diamond. The moment the gatekeeper spun around, the kids had to freeze instantly. The objective was for a student to sneakily pass the baseball glove forward and get it past the gatekeeper without being detected. If the gatekeeper correctly guessed who was holding the glove, the entire line had to reset at the starting boundary.

The kids also danced and froze in dramatic poses mimicking vintage baseball cards. As they held their stances, Horn’s team captured their exact physical shapes, which will be translated directly into the steel molds for the final structure.

The dedication brought out generations of Philadelphia baseball figures, including Phillies alumni Dickie Noles, Mickey Morandini, and Gary “Sarge” Matthews, alongside immediate family members of the original Stars roster -- including Cal Puriefoy Jr., the grand-nephew of legendary catcher Stanley Glenn.

For the West Parkside community, the project ensures that the grounds where the Stars once played will remain a living, breathing reflection of the neighborhood. By capturing the physical forms of local children, the memorial ensures that the legacy of Black baseball isn't just a story told in the past tense -- it's built directly into the neighborhood's permanent framework.