Local philanthropist Ted Haddock is trying to install a monument at Lake Lorna Doone Park.
The “Barrier Breakers Monument,” would be paid in part by the Edward E. Haddock Jr. Family Foundation, and would be meant to celebrate the first interracial Little League baseball game played in the Deep South, which took place at Lake Lorna Doone Park in 1955. It was also the first interracial game to be played in the State of Florida.
The monument will feature the likeness of two 12-year old boys, one Black and one White, in baseball uniforms representing each team, standing shoulder to shoulder, approximately 4.5-feet by three feet wide, in bronze.
Haddock also recently funded a documentary that was featured on Netflix called “A Long Time Coming” which told the story of both teams. Check out the trailer below.
If approved, the Families, Parks and Recreation Department would maintain the area around the monument and provide daily trash pick-up and general cleaning as part of the department’s regular maintenance of Lorna Doone Park.
Special care of the monument sculpture, foundation, and plaques will be the responsibility of the Edward E. Haddock Jr. Family Foundation for the first five years.
In addition to the monument, two identical historic markers would be installed – one near the west entrance to the NFL 360 Field and a second at the corner of Church Street and Nashville Avenue for the enjoyment of and visibility to pedestrians and commuters along Church Street.
