Pros Were Here. Pros Are Here.
When Tormenta FC joins the professional ranks in 2019, it will become part of Statesboro’s professional sports legacy – a legacy that has helped build bridges in the community and break down barriers. Darin Van Tassell, President of Tormenta FC, told the Statesboro Historical Society on Monday that small beginnings do matter – especially the start of professional sports in Statesboro. He told the group how two past professional baseball teams paved the way for Tormenta FC to rise to its professional level in 2019.
Sports, especially baseball, brought the Bulloch County community together. Since the founding of the Ruff Riders in 1914, the African-American baseball team became an important tradition and pastime for Statesboro’s black community. Ruff Riders games attracted large crowds with lots of barbecuing and socializing. This tradition lasted more than 50 years until the team disbanded in the 1960s.
The Statesboro Pilots were the second baseball team that paved the way for professional sports in Bulloch County. While this team played only six years, they made a big impact on Statesboro and the entire South. The Pilots began competing around 1950 in the Class D Georgia State League. Their games were a big deal in Statesboro with one game in 1952 breaking huge barriers for the South.
At a Pilots home game on a humid July night – several years before racial integration – an equipment manager for the Fitzgerald Pioneers made history twice in one night. At 12 years old, Joe Louis Reliford managed to break both age and color barriers. He became the youngest player to ever appear in a professional baseball game and the first African-American to play in the segregated Georgia State League.
Van Tassell highlighted stories like this in his speech to the Historical Society. They show, in a personal way, how professional sports helped break social barriers and build traditions in Statesboro.
As Tormenta FC enters the professional ranks in 2019, the franchise will follow the footsteps of the Ruff Riders and the Pilots. The team hopes to continue the tradition of making a difference in the Statesboro community. Just like the baseball field – where Ruff Riders brought together Statesboro’s African-American community or where Joe Louis Reliford broke social barriers – Tormenta FC will soon have its own home, a new stadium. It’s there the franchise will continue to grow, seeking more barriers to break.
Pros were here, and they’ll soon be back. Statesboro is – once again – a professional sports city.
Pros Were Here. Pros Are Here.
When Tormenta FC joins the professional ranks in 2019, it will become part of Statesboro’s professional sports legacy – a legacy that has helped build bridges in the community and break down barriers. Darin Van Tassell, President of Tormenta FC, told the Statesboro Historical Society on Monday that small beginnings do matter – especially the start of professional sports in Statesboro. He told the group how two past professional baseball teams paved the way for Tormenta FC to rise to its professional level in 2019.
Sports, especially baseball, brought the Bulloch County community together. Since the founding of the Ruff Riders in 1914, the African-American baseball team became an important tradition and pastime for Statesboro’s black community. Ruff Riders games attracted large crowds with lots of barbecuing and socializing. This tradition lasted more than 50 years until the team disbanded in the 1960s.
The Statesboro Pilots were the second baseball team that paved the way for professional sports in Bulloch County. While this team played only six years, they made a big impact on Statesboro and the entire South. The Pilots began competing around 1950 in the Class D Georgia State League. Their games were a big deal in Statesboro with one game in 1952 breaking huge barriers for the South.
At a Pilots home game on a humid July night – several years before racial integration – an equipment manager for the Fitzgerald Pioneers made history twice in one night. At 12 years old, Joe Louis Reliford managed to break both age and color barriers. He became the youngest player to ever appear in a professional baseball game and the first African-American to play in the segregated Georgia State League.
Van Tassell highlighted stories like this in his speech to the Historical Society. They show, in a personal way, how professional sports helped break social barriers and build traditions in Statesboro.
As Tormenta FC enters the professional ranks in 2019, the franchise will follow the footsteps of the Ruff Riders and the Pilots. The team hopes to continue the tradition of making a difference in the Statesboro community. Just like the baseball field – where Ruff Riders brought together Statesboro’s African-American community or where Joe Louis Reliford broke social barriers – Tormenta FC will soon have its own home, a new stadium. It’s there the franchise will continue to grow, seeking more barriers to break.
Pros were here, and they’ll soon be back. Statesboro is – once again – a professional sports city.
