Jackson gets $25,000 donation to help build ballfield

~ Former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog has promised another $25,000 for the project.

A major contribution from a former St. Louis Cardinals manager has started the ball rolling toward developing a first-class baseball field in Jackson.

Whitey Herzog, who led the team to its last world championship in 1982, donated $25,000 to the city to help with construction of a new baseball field in Brookside Park. Herzog has a foundation that helps fund baseball fields for young people.

The cost of the new baseball field will exceed $200,000 when complete in the summer of 2007. Herzog has made a commitment to donate another $25,000 to the project.

The city does not have funding in its budget to construct the field. It will, however, provide the initial engineering and surveying of the site. The remainder of the funding will come various fund-raising projects and donations.

"Deep thanks goes to Whitey Herzog," said Mayor Paul Sander. "His funding will be considerable, but we're going to need more money to complete the entire project."

Sander said the baseball field should be similar to Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park field.

Jackson resident Jack Litzelfelner Sr. played minor league baseball with Herzog in the 1950s and developed a friendship with the former Cardinals manager. Over the past summer, Herzog was visiting Litzenfelner and discussed Jackson's need for a new baseball field.

"He mentioned his foundation had some money to build the youth a ballfield," Litzenfelner said.

When Litzelfelner son went to the city's aldermen in November to pass the information along, Sander immediately appointed members to a committee to plan and develop the new baseball field.

The committee is made up of city officials and representatives from the Jackson baseball leagues.

"We're still in the preliminary stages of getting this going," Sander said. "Mr. Herzog really kick-started an effort we had in the works, but we had no money to get it going. His donation came at a perfect time."

Sander and Shane Anderson, parks and recreation department director, said the new baseball field will fill a large need in the city's baseball programs. Currently the only full-sized baseball field in the city limits is the American Legion field, which Anderson said is in good shape but overused.

By late spring 2006, the committee will have a more definite plan for the baseball field, with fund-raising efforts to begin soon after.

Jackson is providing the land, and its parks department will maintain the baseball field.

"This really couldn't have been done without Jack Litzenfelner Sr.'s friendship with Whitey," Sander said. "The city really appreciates his ability to help us get this project going."

jfreeze@semissourian.com