Tag Archives: Eric Davis

April 13, 2012 April 9, 2012

Harvard Park

BET presents a new film to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson day. From the press release:

BET celebrates the 65th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day with the world television premiere of “Harvard Park,” a poignant documentary chronicling how a neighborhood park in the midst of the economically devastated and crime-infested South Central LA of the 1980s became a destination for many future baseball legends. The Park provided a safe haven for many to hone their baseball skills and later give back to their community as their careers skyrocketed to the Major Leagues.

The “program,” as it was called, helped cultivate the careers of former MLB stars Darryl Strawberry (Mets and Yankees) and Eric Davis (Cincinnati Reds), among many other prominent Major and Minor League players. Throughout their triumphs and challenges over the years, Strawberry and Davis relay in the film how the friendship they forged at Harvard Park sustained them during those times and has endured to this day. Other players who appear in the documentary to share their experiences at the Park include: Chris Brown, Barry Larkin, Kenny Williams, Damon Farmar, DeJon Watson, Frank Thomas, Royce Clayton and Lenny Harris, to name a few. They look back at the significance of participating in building a community where they came from, where they could dedicate part of their year to practice in the off season, and teach each other to improve their game. Harvard Park drew a gathering of these legends. It was nothing short of special.

Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Renard Young and Diane Sokolow serve as executive producers on the project, directed by Bryan Coyne. “Harvard Park” is produced by Wild Life Productions in association with The Sokolow Company, and is distributed by Sony Pictures Television.

Film premieres Sunday, April 15 at 11a.m. PT/ET and on BET’s sister network, Centric at 8 p.m. PT/11p.m. The film will be available to stream on Netflix the next day, April 16.