EAST ORANGE, N.J. - For an East Orange, NJ legend seeing his city about to breathe new life into his childhood ballfield, what does it do for his heart?
"It keeps it beating," said Billy Holt, a former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect and city councilman who once sat in the grandstands of Oval Park watching the New York Cubans host other Negro League teams like the Newark Eagles and New York Black Yankees.
"When they came to The Oval, they knew they came to a place that was neat and well-prepared for baseball," said Holt.
But The Oval wasn't just for the pros, it was for all of East Orange, where Holt and countless others played from dawn to dusk.
"It just kept you going," said Holt.
"This is our home, man," said East Orange native Abdul Hassan.
On Thursday, the city broke ground on the long-awaited renovation of Oval Park. The project will give the park a new turf field, basketball courts, more than 100 trees, new bleachers, and more.
"We didn't just think of redevelopment," said East Orange Mayor Ted R. Green. "We didn't just think of building apartment buildings and residential. We know how important green space is and open space."
Legends like Satchel Page and Larry Doby used to play at Oval Park. Renovations are expected to be completed later next year.
"Now, it's going to go from a 19th-century park to a 21st-century park," said East Orange native Jimmy Small, "and that's going to be good for the community because East Orange is indeed an up-and-coming community."
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