JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville city councilman and other community leaders celebrated the history of Scott Park on the Northside with a family fun day and youth football camp on Saturday.
Councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr., who represents District Eight, said that there are a lot of historic and prominent people who have come from Scott Park, which is located at 2745 Hamilton Circle.
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“We’re teaching our youth about the importance of what you can come from when you just put your hard work into it,” Gaffney said.
John Gaffney, Reggie Gaffney’s uncle, was the first Black quarterback at the University of Florida. Greg Coleman was the first Black punter in the NFL.
“And it’s a lot more individuals...anywhere from like 20 to 30 major league players, whether that was in Major League Baseball, NFL,” he said.
Gaffney said this is the first time that they’ve held the event.
“I’m excited anytime you get a lot of legends to come back and a lot of kids to come out and you can talk about community, you can talk about teamwork, you can talk about unity, and you can talk about the history of the park,” he said.
Greg Coleman is on the event committee. He said this event is important because it takes a village of coaches, teachers, and parents to raise children.
“All these young people need is an opportunity, need support, and we’ve committed our support to them, not only physically, emotionally, spiritually, but economics drive opportunity,” Coleman said.
Terry LeCount, a Raines alum and former Minnesota Viking, said it’s about the legacy of the park.
“It’s not about the guys that made the NFL, it’s about the legacy,” LeCounty said. “So everybody that played here, that played baseball, that played football, that did basketball, they’re part of the legacy.”
Gaffney said he hopes that Saturday’s event can help push the city to renovate Scott Park and others in the city.
