JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Each Fourth of July for the past 18 years, people in the Springfield community come together for a throwback baseball game at Klutho Park.
“It started as a neighborhood game that really wasn’t even run by the neighborhood,” Stuart Poplin, Eastside Red head coach, said. “It was just two sides of the neighborhood coming out to have a nice time and it’s grown to pretty much a spectacle.”
The Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council President, Tyler Grant, said the game is an opportunity to showcase the community and its historical nature.
“America’s pastime is a great opportunity to do that,” Grant said.
The Eastside Reds battled the Westside Giants and the only rule to participate is that you have to own property or a business in the neighborhood.
“Pretty competitive,” Grant said. “There’s been overtime, more and more practices, more and more people. They got a JU guy, we got a former JU guy. It’s going to get really competitive out there.”
As the game suggests, players wear turn-of-the-century uniforms and use vintage equipment.
“It’s the slightest way that we can pay a little tribute, little homage to the founders of this neighborhood, the founders of the city that laid the groundwork so that we can have this game,” Poplin said.
This year, Sheriff T.K. Waters threw out the first pitch.
“It brings a lot of joy to see people come together in such a good community event and I’m noticing this a lot around the city,” Waters said.
This tradition and its fanfare have grown so much over the past 18 years, reflecting the pride in Springfield’s rich history.
“We have an immense amount of pride in this neighborhood,” Poplin said. We also understand that it’s a real privilege to live in Springfield, to live in the oldest neighborhood in the city. To have that historic designation, we take it very seriously. We want to take any opportunity that we can to show how much this neighborhood has grown, how much the people in it have grown and how it used to be a place where you may not have come, but now it’s a place where people want to flock to."
It’s a celebration of the past and a pitch toward the future.