Little League® International mourns the passing of James Beckum, 95, a former Negro Leagues player and co-founder of Beckum-Stapleton Little League in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
An Illinois native, Mr. Beckum grew up on the farm tending livestock and picking fruits and vegetables, before he was drafted in 1952 to the United States Marines, where he served his country for the next eight years. A talented baseball player, Mr. Beckum played for two Negro Leagues teams. After hanging up his cleats, he worked for the Ladish Company as a supervisor for the aerospace industry, construction, and farmland equipment until his retirement in 1990.
While Mr. Beckum did not have a background in youth sports, in 1963, he was approached by a local Reverand who was looking to reserve a public field for a group of kids who wanted to play baseball. Three years later, field reservations turned into the chartering of the Beckum-Stapleton LL program, providing the opportunity for multiple generations of young athletes in Milwaukee’s inner city to play the game they love.
In its first year, the Beckum-Stapleton LL program, with the support of the community, registered 60 Little Leaguers®. Today, the league continues to thrive with more than 400 registered players and as a member of the Little League Urban Initiative, a program that assists more than 200 leages across nearly 90 cities with equipment acquisiton, capital improvement cash grants, field development and renovation, and access to education and training.
In 2015, Mr. Beckum was honored at the Little League Howard and Gail Paster Little League Urban Initiative Volunteer of the Year, for the more than 60 years he dedicated to the players, coaches, umpires, and volunteers of Beckum-Stapleton LL. Mr. Beckam’s legacy will be remembered by future generations who step onto Beckum-Stapleton Little League’s fields, named James W. Beckum Park by Milwaukee County in 2013.
Mr. Beckum was preceded in death by his wife, Jimmie Ruth Beckum, his parents, Easter and Green Beckum; his sons, Gerry and Gregory (Wine) Beckum; one brother, Isaiah Beckum Sr; two sisters Elizabeth (Lizzie) Verser and Doris Jefferies; three sisters-in-law, Juanita Smith, Bluemelle Beckum and Maxine Golden; five brothers-in-law Theodore Golden, Hoyle Jefferies, Hulon Verser, Cleveland Golden, Jerry Patton; and one grandson, Terrance Hall.