The Oakland Royals is a children's and youth baseball team in a neighborhood of
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
locally known as
Ghost Town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
, that was founded in 2004 for children ages four to thirteen.
It was founded by
Roscoe Bryant and a film was made about it by
Gene Corr in 2010, called ''Ghost Town to Havana''.
The team plays in a league consisting of five teams.
In their first year, the Royals lost every game. After their trip to
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , they turned things around and won their next 48 games.
Background
Roscoe and Lehi Bryant founded the team after witnessing the murder of Thomas Simpson, a 15-year-old freshman at
McClymonds High School
McClymonds High School is a public high school in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States.
In addition to being the third oldest high school in Oakland, it is the only comprehensive high school in West Oakland, operat ...
, in front of their house in 2004. They wanted to create an opportunity for the neighborhood's children, to keep them off the street. When they launched the team, they lacked resources and experience. A donation of a 1988 Dodge van helped them to provide transportation for the players.
The equipment for the team was originally donated by Goodwill and Salvation Army. In their first year, the Royals lost every game they played.
Bryant sought to expose the players to a wider world, and would arrange games across the San Francisco Bay in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
In 2010, Bryant brought the team to Cuba, at the urging of film director Eugene Corr. Bryant was reluctant at first to take the trip, due to his skepticism about how his program and neighborhood are often portrayed in media.
He was persuaded when Corr agreed not to include stereotypical drug scenes, pimps, guns, or gangs in the film.
''Ghost Town to Havana'' documentary
A documentary film called ''Ghost Town to Havana'' was released on September 15, 2015 about the team's 2013 trip to Cuba. It was directed by
Gene Corr. Corr conceived the idea for the film in 2007, when he met
Nicolas Reyes
Nicolas Reyes (born 22 November 1958) is the lead singer, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, producer and founder of the French musical group Gipsy Kings, along with Tonino Baliardo, the group popular for their Spanish music in the 1980s. Even tho ...
, the coach in Havana featured in the documentary.
The film was screened for free on October 27, 2015, at Oakland's
Grand Lake Theatre
The Grand Lake Theatre is a historic movie palace located at 3200 Grand Avenue and Lake Park Avenue in the Grand Lake, Oakland, Grand Lake neighborhood of Oakland, California.
History
The Grand Lake Theater, designed as a single auditorium theat ...
.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Facebook group page*
Movie trailerof ''From Ghost Town to Havana''
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Baseball teams in the San Francisco Bay Area
Amateur baseball teams in California
Sports clubs and teams in Oakland, California
Youth baseball in the United States
2004 establishments in California
Sports clubs and teams established in 2004