Tag Archives: Hank Aaron

When Artis Gilmore Led a Whole City to the NCAA Championship

Posted on May 28, 2023 | Leave a comment

Click below for this week’s story, or navigate the city through the search bar or the direction buttons at the top of the page:

In 1970, Jacksonville University marched toward the NCAA championships, David v. Goliath, and enraptured its city in the process. Sports Illustrated called JU a “transformed junior college” and Jax the urban heart of the Okefenokee Swamp. The first page of the yearbook caught the front of one shoe, nothing more: Artis Gilmore stood 7’2″, but some added six inches for his afro.

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Tagged Art White Mike Blevins, Arthur White Mike Blevins, Artis Gilmore, Ax Handle Saturday, Blodgett Homes, Chip Dublin, Gurney Kennedy, Hank Aaron, Haydon Burns, Jacksonville Braves, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville University NCAA, JU Dolphins, Mike Blevins, Pembrook Burrows, Rod McIntyre, Swisher Gymnasium, Valerie Kennedy-Grisham

When Governor Claude Kirk Hopped the Fence and Took the Mic from “Black Power Agitator,” H. Rap Brown

Posted on April 28, 2018 | Leave a comment

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This ballpark has been the heart of Durkeeville for more than a century. It was Jacksonville’s municipal baseball stadium until 1954. The Negro Leagues played here. Hank Aaron “integrated” the Jacksonville Braves and won MVP, 1953.

White people had lots of guns and white cops all had guns, so black people! should get guns too. So said H. Rap Brown, who bridged the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to the Black Panthers.

Claude Kirk, 36th governor of Florida, Jax insurance salesman, hopped the fence at Durkee Field, tromped toward the pitcher’s mound, and snatched the mic from H. Rap Brown.

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Tagged Art Hamilton, Ax Handle Saturday, Babe Ruth, Ben Geraghty, Black Panthers, Black Power, Bubbling Small, Buck O'Neil, Charlie Griffin, Claude Kirk, Dale Carson, Durkee Field, Durkeeville, Felix Mantilla, Fred Dickinson, H. Rap Brown, Hank Aaron, Hemming Park, honkies, Horace Garner, Indianapolis Clowns, J.P. Small, Jackie Robinson, Jacksonville Braves, Jacksonville Red Caps, Jacksonville Tars, James Baldwin, James Small, jaxpsychogeo, Joseph Durkee, LaVilla, Lorraine Motel, Manuel Rivera, Manuel's Tap Room, Martin Luther King, Negro Leagues, Negroes with Guns, Robert F. Williams, Sallye B. Mathis, SNCC, Stanton School, Stokely Carmichael, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Sugar Hill, The Fire Next Time, Tim Gilmore, Willie Weston