Baseball legends’ impacts continue to be felt

Palatka’s own John Henry “Pop” Lloyd and Lefty Turner made a lasting mark on the community through the game of baseball.

That is why “finally” was the first thing that popped into Palatka Mayor Terrill Hill’s mind when he heard of Major League Baseball’s decision to incorporate the Negro League’s stats along with their own.

“It was a long time coming,” Hill said. “It’s an awesome move to finally give honor to those who so deserve it.”

According to Hill, Lloyd was considered the “grandfather of the Negro League,” which is a fitting title because he treated those who played the game of baseball as if they were family.

The perfect example of the family atmosphere he conveyed was when he came back to Palatka and convinced Turner to follow in his footsteps and give a career in baseball a try.

“They are both pillars of the community,” Hill said.

Over the years, Hill developed a relationship with Turner, who came back to his hometown after his playing days and was a neighbor of Hill’s when he was growing up.

Turner worked for years with the Palatka Recreation Department, where he strived to use baseball to teach children about life and create opportunities as Lloyd had done for him.

Hill was one of those children impacted by Turner’s wisdom and credits Turner for inspiring him to venture out from the place he knew and accept a football scholarship at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he also played college baseball.

“He always told me to believe in myself and not be afraid to step out of my comfort zone,” Hill said.

Many of the children in the neighborhood just knew him as the guy that would ride his bicycle around town.

“Anytime you have a superstar living in your neighborhood, it’s a big deal. But you wouldn’t even know it by looking at him,” Hill said.

That is until they went into his house and saw the memorabilia and photos on the walls of Turner with the likes of celebrities, such as Louis Armstrong, Wilt Chamberlin and Sammy Davis Jr.

“His house was like a museum,” Hill said. “He was one of the nicest and most humble people you would meet.”

Being a baseball player never fully left Turner, and that was evident in the fact that everywhere he went, Hill always remembers him having a baseball glove with him as if he were ready just in case anyone yelled, “Play ball.”

Although he didn’t get an opportunity to play in the Major Leagues, Lloyd is remembered as one of the game’s greatest players ever.

Once, when asked who was the best player he ever faced, Babe Ruth told a sportswriter it was Lloyd. A sign in Hastings at Al Wilke Park features Lloyd and Ruth’s statement about him.

Those words were backed up when Lloyd was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

“When you get that type of respect from your fellow players, you know you have reached the pinnacle of your career,” Hill said.

Among other baseball greats from Palatka, Melvin Dasher was selected in the sixth round of the 1995 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals. It’s the highest a player from Palatka has ever been picked.

Dasher remembers meeting Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil when he was at spring training, and as they got to talking, O’Neil spoke about how he knew Turner from his days in the Negro League.

“I got to know Lefty later in life,” Dasher said. “I just remember sitting down with him and just talking baseball.” 

Dasher acknowledged that without the many baseball players paving a trail before him, such as Lloyd and Turner, he would not have had the opportunities he’s had.

“The spirit of Pop Lloyd and Lefty Turner lives on,” Hill said. 

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