In the 1950s four Pacoima dads, fed up with the town’s refusal to let their Black boys join the Little League, banded together to lease a vacant piece of land and form their own team: The North Valley Broncos.
That team went on to make history in 1965 as the first all-Black baseball team to compete in the Little League World Series. And now, almost 60 years later, their training ground is being recognized for its place in history, as the site of the newly designated North Valley Broncos Little League Team Square.
L.A. City Councilmember and Northeast Valley native Monica Rodriguez spearheaded the initiative to name the square, located at the intersection of Dronfield Avenue and Osborne Street in front of the field where the Broncos first came together.
Rodriguez, who represents City Council District 7, proudly unveiled the signage on Friday, Feb. 16 alongside two original members of the world series team, Anthony Davis and Ricky Chapron.
“I thank these men for what they did for their generation and for the inspiration that they leave in their wake,” said Rodriguez at the unveiling celebration. “Everyone that sees this sign that comes to play at Pacoima Little League, or is just driving through the neighborhood, they’re going to know that history was made here many, many decades ago.”
Davis was a star baseball and football player at San Fernando High School and a Hall of Fame running back at USC. He was drafted to play football for the New York Jets and baseball for both the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles. He ultimately joined the Southern California Sun in the short-lived World Football League due to concerns over what the other teams would pay him.
“If I didn’t have this park, I wouldn’t have gone on to be drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, go to USC, and play on three national title teams,” said Davis. “I started right here and there are a lot of kids that started their careers here.”
Back in the 1960s, the Broncos’ field was…
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