Side One: The 1955 Pensacola Jaycees was the first Black Little League team to compete against a white team in the segregated South. Known as the Pensacola Negro team, the Jaycees became Northwest Florida’s Little League champions after regional white teams refused to play. The Jaycees sparked state-wide controversy when they entered the Florida Little League Championship in Orlando, forcing city officials to check state and city rules to determine if the Black team could play. State Little League officials cleared the Jaycees to play. On August 9, 1955, the Jaycees met the Orlando Kiwanis at a crowded Optimist Park where hundreds of white and Black spectators filled the bleachers. After a well-played game, the Kiwanis triumphed, 5-0. A few days later, famed sports reporter Sam Lacy wrote, “the Pensacola youngsters didn’t last long in the playoffs at Orlando, being eliminated in the first round. But that’s not important. What is important is that they played.” Despite their loss, the Jaycees bravely bridged a divide at a time when racial segregation defined the South. During a time of segregation, 27 little leaguers integrated the world of youth sports. Side Two: The 1955 Pensacola Jaycees - Coach Nathaniel Black, Coach Fred Hicks, Freddie Augustine, Pesslean Brye, Percy Boykins, Clyde Charlie, Cleve Dailey, Robert East, Admiral LeRoy Jr., Harim McFarland, Richard Morris Jr., Willie Preyer, Willie V. Robinson, Phillip Stewart, Willie Stromas. The 1955 Orlando Kiwanis - Coach Mel Rivenbark, Coach Bob Gould, Randy Cooper, Jerry Cowart, Billy Dyer, Gary Fleming, John Fly, Stewart Hall, Bobby Hickey, Ronnie Homan, Bill Hudson, Gary Jenkins, Johnny Lane, Danny Rivenbark, Jimmy Slade, David Smith.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.