Former Simpson Road Trojans baseball players Levi Miller (left) and Larry Morrow Sr. (right) are honored by the Atlanta City Council on Monday, Feb. 16. (Daniel Bishop/Atlanta City Council Communications)Daniel Bishop, Atlanta City Council Communications
Over 20 people dressed in bright yellow and green baseball uniforms stood behind Atlanta City Councilmember Byron Amos in the chamber on Monday.
“We, the members of the Atlanta City Council, on behalf of the residents of Atlanta, recognize the Simpson Road Trojans Little League team for their historic achievement,” Amos announced, followed by applause of family, friends, former players and coaches who smiled from ear to ear.
To many of the reunited team members, it was a recognition over six decades in the making.
In 1962, the Simpson Road Trojans, a self-organized neighborhood Little League baseball team in what is now Joseph E. Boone Boulevard on the Westside of Atlanta, was formed.
The remaining members of the Simpson Road Trojans are honored by the Atlanta City Council on Monday, Feb. 16. (Daniel Bishop/Atlanta City Council Communications)
The young men quickly rose to victory, becoming the first Black Little League team to be invited to the Little League World Series in 1963.
“We beat everybody. I’m talking bout everybody, we don’t care what color you are… we beat you,” said 77-year-old Levi Miller, the team’s captain. “We was the best little league team in the whole United States!”
However, the team’s toughest opponent was right at home, in the segregated South. And, unfortunately for the Trojans, it was often a losing battle.
The discriminatory treatment came to a head when a last-minute dispute over a player’s age by Little League officials denied the Simpson Road Trojans a chance to attend the Little League World Series.
“When we got denied, we knew what racism was,” Miller bemoaned. “We was hurt.”
The shared disappointment drew the team even closer together — building what they call “A League of Friends.”
The remaining members of the Simpson Road Trojans are honored by the Atlanta City Council on Monday, Feb. 16. (Daniel Bishop/Atlanta City Council Communications)
As time passed, some went on to play semi-pro baseball, others joined the military, but they all still made time for each other.
Today, nine of the original sixteen players are still alive. And, according to 79-year-old Larry Morrow Sr., who had originally led the team at 16, the recognition could not have come at a better time.
“It means a lot to be recognized because most of us are in our 70’s — there’s an old saying about giving flowers while you’re living,” said Morrow. “And these are flowers for us.”
