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Belmont Heights Little League players pose for a photograph Monday in Tampa. The program, which has produced several Major League Baseball players, will host a celebrity softball game Saturday.
BELMONT HEIGHTS
LITTLE LEAGUE
Major League Baseball's past – and future
The storied Belmont Heights Little League has produced over 35 African-American baseball players in the Major Leagues. Former players and coaches from the program are playing in the Belmont Heights Celebrity Softball game on Saturday, July 8. Some of players include Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield, Floyd Youmans, Carl Everett and Vance Lovelace among others.
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Dwight Gooden, 54, a former Belmont Heights Little League player spent, 16 years in Major League Baseball. Gooden was drafted in the first round in 1982 by the New York Mets. He spent 11 years there before moving to the New York Yankees. Gooden also played for the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Houston Astros.
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Carl Everett, a former Belmont Heights Little League player, spent nearly 15 years as a Major League Baseball player. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1990. Everett now resides in St. Petersburg.
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Ann “Ms. Ann” Sullivan, 79, coached at Belmont Heights Little League from 1971-79. “Not only was I the only woman coach in the league,” said Sullivan, “but I was the first in a lot of things.” Sullivan went on to say, “I loved those boys like they were my own sons.”
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Derek Bell, 48, a former Belmont Heights Little League player spent 11 years in Major League Baseball. Bell now calls St. Petersburg his home.
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Jimmie Gardner, 52, a former player at Belmont Heights Little League and a standout athlete at Tampa Bay Vocational Technical High School, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1984. He played four seasons with their minor league teams. Gardner was released from prison last year after being wrongfully convicted of a sexual assault and armed robbery charges in 1990.
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Dwight Gooden recalls his baseball start with Belmont Heights
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A Belmont Heights Little League team picture and hat from the 1979 Senior National team is on display at Belmont field. The items belong to former player Andre Darby.
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A field dedicated to former Major League Baseball player and Tampa native Gary Sheffield is seen as children play. Sheffield was a star on the Belmont Heights Little League teams. The facilities at the park are dilapidated and in need of upgrades.
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Dwight Gooden, left, signs his autograph for Henry Fajardo, 44, of New Jersey during a tour of Yankee Stadium in New York on July 1.
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Former Major League Baseball player Gary Sheffield hugs Ann Sullivan at Belmont Heights Little League in Tampa on Thursday. Tampa native Sheffield has a long history with the Belmont Heights Little League program.
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Gary Sheffield, 48, speaks with his grandson Se'an Sheffield, 10, at Belmont Heights Little League.
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Floyd Youmans, a former Belmont Heights Little League player and former star pitcher at Hillsborough High School, reminisces while looking at trophies on Thursday.
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Gary Sheffield, left, gives batting tips to Eliott Butts, 10, a player on the Belmont Heights Little League team on Thursday.
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READ MORE: Fennelly: Belmont Heights Little League reunion overflows with pride
READ MORE: Man falsely imprisoned for 27 years returns to his Tampa field of dreams
Contact Octavio Jones at [email protected]. Follow @OctavioJones.
Contact Alessandra Da Pra at [email protected]. Follow @DaPraAlessandra.