Good to hear Bo Nelson mentioned again. Here is an exert from the Tarrant History concerning how Mr. Nelson was dedicated to the boys of Tarrant. I was on the Board of Directors of the Little League so I can verify this actually happened: Although there were no serious occurrences of racial problems, there were problems. One instance in the mid 1960’s occurred when the Tarrant Pony League baseball team won the area championship and was to host a tournament. Several out of town teams were invited. More than one of the teams invited had black boys playing on their teams. The Director of the Tarrant Baseball, Mr. W. P. (Bo) Nelson approached the Tarrant Park Board about allowing the teams to sleep in the recreation building and use the toilets and showers that had been installed for the swimming pool. The Board was adamant in opposing allowing the facility to be integrated. Mr. Nelson put up a very vocal response to the Board and they reluctantly agreed to allow the teams to stay in the building. No restaurant in Tarrant would agree to feed the integrated boy’s teams. Graham’s Restaurant in Inglenook did agree to feed the boys breakfast during the tournament. The boys were fed by volunteers of the League the other meals. The park was filled each night with locals and the out of town visitors. There were no problems with having integrated ball teams on the field, thanks to the hard work of Mr. Nelson. You may or may not agree with this but it actually happened. **This was posted on the Youre from Tarrant if you remember... page about my Daddy. I am so pleased that his work with the youth is remembered all these years later. He was a special person and just like Frank Sinatra, he did it his way.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 01:24:34 +0000
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