Here’s how Little League baseball blossomed in Harlem: A model for North Philadelphia

For almost 35 years, inside the white-chalked foul lines of a baseball field, children playing Little League ball in Central Harlem have been able to take the field wearing uniforms with team sponsors on their backs while being cheered on by family and fans in the stands.

It was as easy as “throwing on your cap and walking around the corner to play ball,” said Jody Mercier, the information officer at the Harlem Little League, where her children once played.

“It’s not about baseball completely,” added Sheila de Castro, who has volunteered at the Harlem Little League since it was established in 1989.

“If those children have structure, they are prepared for life.”

Watching children in the Harlem Little League enjoying baseball, de Castro said, has kept her around well after her children, now ages 51 and 46, stopped playing.

In December, The Inquirer shared the story of the Harlem Little League and RBI programs in Upper Manhattan and how they could serve as models for communities like North Philadelphia that simply want their children to be safe.

Here’s a deeper dive on how Harlem got it done.

» READ MORE: How Harlem Little League could be a model in bringing back the summer game to North Philadelphia

Creating an organization that involves as many as 850 children did not happen overnight, especially in an area where the four ball fields were discarded.

“The four ball fields the league initially had access to were littered with discarded drug paraphernalia and struck by gun violence,” the late Dwight Raiford said in July. “We actually worked with the firehouse who came out and hosed down the bleachers to blow away the glass, syringes, and other crap out of the way.”

Raiford, who died suddenly in February, served the Little League International community for almost 25 years, including a stretch from 2001-04 when he was the organization’s first African American chairman, according to the Harlem Little League.

“We are forever grateful for his foresight, leadership, and stewardship of our league and his friendship to many on our board and in the community,” Mercier said. “Even in retirement, he was always ready to lend a helping hand or a sage piece of advice, and while we mourn his passing, we are committed to keeping his legacy alive on and off the field.”

Raiford cofounded the Harlem Little League with his wife, Iris, in 1989 so their son, Joshua, could fulfill his dream of playing baseball.

At the time of establishment, Dwight Raiford was a corporate banker before transitioning into a financial planning role. Joshua went to school outside Harlem, and all his friends played in the West Side Little League. He could not play because he lived out of the district.

Before the couple formally established the league, Iris saw firsthand how troubled the youth community was in Harlem, she said. When they started the league, Iris worked alongside de Castro at Harlem Hospital before working for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

“We got all of our surgeons busy taking bullets out of kids,” Iris said. “Can’t we do something about this?

“[Harlem Hospital] was looking to start a baseball program. They found out about us, so we joined forces.”

The Injury Prevention program at Harlem Hospital sponsored Raiford’s vision. During the first year, Harlem Little League had 129 children sign up. The little league presence in Harlem was felt immediately and became a sanctuary for children.

Iris vividly remembers a young boy who would sit and watch games with the couple, and he didn’t even want to play.

» READ MORE: One of Philly’s most historic baseball fields is in disarray. Neighborhood activists are asking for help.

“He said, ‘I feel safer down here with you guys than I do in my home,’” Iris said.

With more people outside and spectators passing by, the El Barrio neighborhood felt like it was a different area.

Starting a league can be more simple than it looks.

“All you need is volunteers — that’s the engine,” Iris said.

Harlem Little League had 146 volunteers and 19 board members last season.

When the Raifords got the charter for the league, they had a core group of three to five volunteers. Of course, some parents were eager to help out in any way they could, like de Castro.

“Anything they need from me, they’ve got it,” de Castro said. “I love the kids that are involved, I try to teach them as much as I know.”

When the league had 350 children in its second year, more support was needed.

“It takes a lot to run a league,” Mercier said. “Though, it’s infectious. You see the kids and you’re like, ‘Oh well, I’ve got to stay. The kids need me.’

“Everyone thinks we’re making money off labor. We operate in a deficit every year.”

As a result, sponsors play a crucial factor. Each team usually has one, while there are also larger sponsorships for different divisions.

“Baseball is not an easy sport to pick up,” Mercier said. “You need bats, you need gloves. Those things can get expensive very quickly. Sponsorship is one of the biggest components.”

But that was not the Raiford’s primary concern in 1989.

Home to more than 150,000 residents, the bustling neighborhood of Harlem does not necessarily have a lot of field and grass space, much like North Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: North Philly’s youth baseball fields are in sorry shape. They can’t wait long for MLB’s help.

The league’s four fields were only accessible from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

But the Raifords continued to demand better for their children and neighborhood from the Parks and Recreation Department.

“If it’s only one field we have, make do with that one field,” Iris said. “The city doesn’t acknowledge you until you show the demand. I mean, that’s how we got our additional fields.”

Those additional fields were not even brown diamonds with green outfields at the time. She said many of the fields in Harlem were paved over with asphalt.

“The parks department showed us two little bitty fields in Jackie Robinson Park of all places,” Iris said. “They said, ‘Hey, we can take up the asphalt if you can use these fields.’”

Harlem Little League now has 11 open locations where kids from ages 4 to 16 can play.

John Maher, the president of the Philadelphia Dragons Sports Association, created an expansive Little League affiliate in the city in 1994.

Maher said he did not know that there wasn’t an organized Little League in North Philadelphia.

According to the Little League International’s league finder, the closest team to the 19121 zip code is indeed the Philadelphia Dragons, about a 35-minute commute.

Just like in Harlem, the desire to start a Little League in North Philadelphia is brewing. Maher’s organization, he said, fields around 700 boys and girls a year, and fewer than 1% of those children come from North Philadelphia.

“A couple years ago, someone reached out and she and I talked several times about perhaps starting a team in the 20th and Hunting Park area, but it did not happen,” Maher said. “We’d be more than happy if someone wanted to start a league up there. We’d offer start-up instructions, equipment, and advice on how to run a league. Believe me, I am a big believer in getting kids to play.”