Benedict College to host
Baseball Symposium and Classic
June 7, 2006
RICHMOND,
VA – The Metropolitan Junior Baseball
League, Inc. (MJBL) will sponsor its third
Annual Bobby Bonds Memorial Symposium for the
Survival of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities Baseball Programs on July
27 at 7 p.m. in Swinton Hall on the campus
of Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. Former
N.Y. Mets All Star Mookie Wilson, who has a
nephew that plays baseball at Elizabeth City
State University, will be among the panelists.
“There
is a definite absence of African Americans
in the game of baseball. Baseball just isn’t
being promoted in our communities. Our
youth have to be exposed to baseball and this
is one way we can provide them exposure,” said
Wilson.
MJBL
will also sponsor its 16th Annual Inner City
Classic that weekend with over 500 youth coming
to Benedict College to showcase their talents.
MJBL
Chairman, commissioner of the Eastern Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference and former Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference Commissioner Ken Free said, “There
has been so much discussion about getting African
Americans back into the game. It is beyond
my comprehension why this program appears to
be under the radar. HBCU baseball programs
already have a large number of African American
baseball players. However, they just need some
financial assistance that would afford them
the resources to refine their baseball player’s
skills.”
Invited
panelists for the symposium include: Joe
Morgan, the voice of Major League Baseball
and Hall of Fame member (providing a video
taped message); Dr. William Lide, Southern
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Commissioner;
former Grambling baseball standout and Houston
Astros scout J.D. Elliby; Jimmie Lee Solomon,
Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations
for Major League Baseball and Chris Murray,
sports columnist for the Philadelphia Tribune.
Other panelists will be
announced later.
“Sometimes
we have to solve our own problems," said MJBL
Executive Director William Forrester. "Too
often we fail to realize the value of establishments
indigenous to our culture, we abandon them
and years later we look back and wonder what
went wrong. We are returning home to our educational
institutions to bring baseball back to our
community.”
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