McKINNEY, Texas – At the regular meeting Tuesday night, the McKinney City Council unanimously approved the renaming of the Wilson Creek Softball & Baseball Complex to the Grady Littlejohn Softball & Baseball Complex.
Littlejohn is remembered for furnishing concessions for the ballparks in McKinney for more than 20 years, but his legacy goes back more than 40 years as one dedicated to Little League Baseball and starting girls’ Little League Softball in McKinney in 1955.
“Dad loved working at the concession stands and serving on both boards of McKinney softball and baseball. Daddy was always the first one at the ballpark and the last one to leave,” said Stacy Edwards, Littlejohn’s daughter. “One thing he was the most proud of, he would tell our family there’s never been a child that’s left the parks at night hungry because they couldn’t afford to pay for a hotdog. And as simple as that is, that just sums up my dad and the way he felt.”
Feedback gathered from a survey used to collect name proposals for another city park overwhelmingly supported Littlejohn, with more than 160 submissions to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Inspired by the community support, the board agreed a park with a softball and baseball complex would honor Littlejohn most appropriately.
"Our parks create a sense of identity within a neighborhood and the response from our community on choosing a name made the decision quite easy,” said Rhoda Savage, Director of Parks and Recreation. “I think when you have an individual that serves their community in the capacity that Grady did, it’s just a nice way to say thank you.”
