Effort Underway to Save Hamtramck Stadium with Help from Jack White

The Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium are launching a crowdfunding campaign to help restore the ballpark.

Jake Neher/WDET

Hamtramck Stadium is one of the few remaining Negro League ballparks in America.

There’s now an effort underway to restore the playing field in advance of a planned restoration of its historic grandstand next year.

The Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium are launching a crowdfunding campaign to help restore the ballpark and they have the help of some big names. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation will match the funds they raise. And Detroit rocker Jack White has pledged $10,000 of his own money to help kick off the effort.

Rosilyn Stearnes-Brown is the daughter of legendary Negro Leaguer and Hall of Fame Outfielder Turkey Stearnes, who played for the Detroit Stars.

Gary Gillette is a Detroit-based baseball historian and the president and founder of Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium.

Stearnes-Brown and Gillette join Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the effort, Stearnes’ life and career, and the impact that the Detroit Stars and the Negro Leagues had on the city.

Click on the audio player above to hear that conversation.

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  • Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.