Florida congressmen propose historic designation for Daytona's Jackie Robinson Ballpark

Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal
Updated ·3 min read
Baseball fans watch the Daytona Tortugas and Palm Beach Cardinals on Friday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the oldest stadium in use in Minor League Baseball. Florida Congressman Michael Waltz is co-sponsoring a bill to make the field, where Jackie Robinson made his professional debut in 1946, a National Commemorative Site.
Baseball fans watch the Daytona Tortugas and Palm Beach Cardinals on Friday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the oldest stadium in use in Minor League Baseball. Florida Congressman Michael Waltz is co-sponsoring a bill to make the field, where Jackie Robinson made his professional debut in 1946, a National Commemorative Site.
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Before Jackie Robinson stepped over the white line at Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947, breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, he spent a season as a minor-leaguer with the Dodgers' farm club, the Montreal Royals.

And his first spring training game with the Royals was against the Dodgers on March 17, 1946. The stadium where that took place still stands: City Island Park in Daytona Beach, now known as Jackie Robinson Ballpark, home of the Daytona Tortugas.

Florida Congressman Michael Waltz is co-introducing a bill Monday that could put Jackie Robinson Ballpark on the road to becoming a National Historic Landmark.

The bill will propose to make Jackie Robinson Ballpark a National Commemorative Site and request Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to conduct a special resource study to evaluate its significance and the feasibility of designating it as part of the National Park System as a National Historic Landmark. It would also add the ballpark to the African American Civil Rights Network.

Michael Waltz
Michael Waltz

"Daytona Beach’s ballpark has been a historic landmark and reminder of Jackie Robinson, the civil rights movement, and the integration of modern professional baseball," Waltz said. "We must preserve and honor Jackie Robinson’s legacy and the impact he had in Daytona Beach and across America."

Waltz, whose 6th Congressional District includes Daytona Beach, is filing the bill Monday with all members of the Florida House delegation co-sponsoring, while U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio was expected to propose a similar bill in the Senate, said James Hewitt, press secretary for Waltz.

A young baseball fan takes a batter's stance next to one of the many tributes to Jackie Robinson at the Daytona Beach ballpark where he played his first professional game in 1946.
A young baseball fan takes a batter's stance next to one of the many tributes to Jackie Robinson at the Daytona Beach ballpark where he played his first professional game in 1946.

The proposal also has the support of Major League Baseball.

“Jackie’s transcendent legacy as a Hall of Fame player, activist and civil rights pioneer remains an inspiration to communities across our nation.  We are proud to join Rachel and the Robinson family in supporting efforts to celebrate these important landmarks connected to Jackie’s history-making journey,” April Brown, senior vice president of social responsibility for Major League Baseball, said in a news release provided by Waltz's office.

After the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Ebbets Field − where Robinson made his major league debut − was demolished in 1960 to make way for apartments. Yet the ballpark on Daytona Beach's City Island remains.

The Daytona ballpark is the oldest in use in minor league baseball, having opened on June 4, 1914.

Banners are some of the many tributes to Jackie Robinson at the ballpark named after him, Friday April 12, 2024 in Daytona Beach
Banners are some of the many tributes to Jackie Robinson at the ballpark named after him, Friday April 12, 2024 in Daytona Beach

“Jackie Robinson’s journey in professional baseball, where he became an American icon, started in Daytona in the ballpark which now bears his name, and it is appropriate that this location be recognized in this manner,” Greg Rosenbaum, chairman of Minor League Baseball’s Government Relations Committee, said in the news release. “Minor League Baseball is proud to have one of our most historic ballparks designated as a National Commemorative Site, and we appreciate the bipartisan support that made this piece of legislation possible.”

Two other sites in Volusia County are among the 47 National Historic Landmarks in Florida: the Mary McLeod Bethune home in Daytona Beach and the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet.

Jackie Robinson Ballpark was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1998. The registry is separate from the landmark designation.

"The city of Daytona Beach is proud to be the birthplace of the modern civil rights movement via Jackie Robinson's historic integration of America's pastime," Mayor Derrick Henry said in a text message on Monday. "As the heirs and custodians of this landmark event, we are excited and hopefully that the bill ignited by Congressman Waltz will find the success that Robinson's unassailable legacy so greatly deserves."

Bob Fregolle, co-owner and operating partner of the Daytona Torgugas,is on board with the landmark designation.

"We are extremely honored to be entrusted with further stewarding the legacy of Jackie Robinson in Daytona Beach,” Fregolle said. “This designation is greatly appreciated by the community here and will only strengthen his legacy for generations to come.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach nominated as future landmark