Let’s Never Forget our Volunteers – Jimmy Young by Jack Coll

Let’s Never Forget Our Volunteers

By Jack Coll

November 10, 2016

In Wednesday’s Times Herald obituaries, (November 9, 2016) I was saddened to see that Jimmy Young had passed away.  Jimmy grew up in Conshohocken and played Little League baseball at Sutcliffe Park.

In the early 1980’s Conshohocken Little League was struggling financially with uniforms, insurance, equipment, and the maintenance of their two fields.  The league had a major league field built in 1959, and a minor league field built in 1980.  The borough had yet to reap the riches of urban redevelopment so field maintenance was squarely on the league and volunteers in the league.

When the major league field was built in 1959 a beautiful concession stand was constructed behind home plate. That concession stand provided well needed funds throughout the 1960’s, but the 1970’s brought hard times to the league and its concession stand.  By the mid 1970’s the league was in jeopardy of folding and the concession stand was demolished by vandals.

By the early 1980’s as mentioned the league was struggling, the Little League Board of Directors decided to build a new concession stand, but with no money, and very few resources at that time it seemed unlikely that a building would ever be constructed.

Jimmy Young was one of the first people to convince the Board members that a stand could be built when he drew a rough sketch of what the new concession stand should look like.  Jimmy’s sister Joyce Borzelleca was a member of the Board of Directors at that time.

His sketch somehow was passed onto John Porecca, who was the President of the Conshohocken Ambucs at that time.  With Jimmy’s sketch in hand the Conshohocken Ambucs agreed to finance the project, they secured donated materials, and dozens of league volunteers went to work to produce a building working off Jimmy’s sketch.

Within months the building became a reality that served as a concession stand, announcers booth and storage area for the league.  For more than 30 years the building served as an important part of the league’s success.  By the early 1990’s nearly 500 children per season were participating in the league and utilizing the concession stand providing much needed funds for the leagues survival.

Jimmy had moved to Barto, Pennsylvania back around 1980, and wasn’t even a resident when he sketched the concession stand in 1984.

While much of the credit went to the Conshohocken Ambucs and the dozens of volunteers who constructed the building I’ve often wondered over the years if the project would have ever gotten-off the ground without Jimmy’s sketch.

Perhaps not many current residents took notice when Jimmy’s obituary appeared in the paper so I just thought it should be pointed out that thanks to his sketch, and wanting to give back a little something to the community that generations of kids playing Conshohocken Little League owe Jimmy a note of thanks for the leagues financial success, and perhaps a little thanks from the many parents who have had dinner from the concession stand over the years as a result of rushing their children to practice or the many games played at Sutcliffe Park.

Thanks for your contribution to the community Jimmy, may you rest in peace.

Below is Jimmy’s original sketch of the concession stand from 1984, notice the door was later moved to the side of the building.  Also photos of the block building during construction along with the plaster work being done on the building.  In the photo plastering the building on the left was George Gebhardt, Bob Frost who mixed most of the concrete seen in the center of the photo would later serve as president of the league and John Porecca is standing on the scaffolding on the far right.  The little girl in the background looks like Bob’s daughter Jessica Frost.