Charter Member – Homer Fleetwood
Twenty-five years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for Major League Baseball, Evanston’s Homer Fleetwood was making inroads as a local pioneer for black athletes. An accomplished baseball and basketball player at ETHS, Fleetwood’s contributions to the Evanston community went beyond the diamond and the court. He served as a role model for generations of both blacks and whites to look up to and blazed a trail at a time when racial prejudice was still a major hurdle for minorities to overcome.
Fleetwood was born in Rome, Georgia in 1902. His family later moved to Evanston, where he attended Evanston Township High School and was a member of the Class of 1922. Fleetwood holds the distinction as the first black to play varsity basketball and baseball at ETHS. He was the first black athlete named as a captain for a varsity team, earning that honor for the 1922 baseball squad. He played catcher for the Wildkit baseball team and was also the second leading scorer for the basketball team as a senior, and was voted second-team all-Suburban League by the basketball coaches.
Following his graduation from ETHS, Fleetwood matriculated to the University of Illinois, where he pledged Kappa Alpha Psi with Beta Chapter in May 1923. Shortly afterwards, he transferred to Northwestern University and was the first black player to suit up for the basketball program there. While attending school at Northwestern, Fleetwood won Freshman numbers in basketball and baseball.
“Fleety”, as he was known by youths and adults in the Foster Park neighborhood — took over as the director of recreation at Foster Park in Evanston when he was honorably discharged following his service in World War II, and created opportunities for youngsters and adults while holding that job for more than two decades. He organized teams in baseball for Little League and Pony League ages, he started softball teams for women and men, and he organized tennis classes. In the fall, he organized football teams and kids from 4 or 5 blocks away would come to play there. Then in the winter, he’d flood the tennis courts so people could ice skate. He even had kite-flying contests set up at Foster. made sure the children always had something they could do, equipment they could check out to play sports. He was the ‘Godfather of sports’ at Foster Elementary School, Foster Junior High School, the Foster Street YMCA and the Foster Park playground. He was a friend, big brother and advisor to countless athletes in the 5th Ward. He pushed them to make their grades, go to college and give something back to the community.Fleetwood served as Director of the Foster Community Center in Evanston upon its opening 1956. After 26 years of service, he retired as the Director of the Evanston Recreation Board. He was also a member of the National Recreation Association.
In 1959, Fleetwood joined eighteen other men of Kappa Alpha Psi and chartered the Evanston (IL) Alumni Chapter.
In 1979, the Foster Community Theater in Evanston, was renamed, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre – since then, it has featured over three decades of African American and African Diaspora-centered storytelling, from original plays to the best of Broadway.
From his immense impact on the community, he was honored by having the Foster Community Center in Evanston, (1956) named after him and Edwin B. Jourdain Jr., Evanston’s first black alderman as the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center in Evanston (1982).
Fleetwood died in 1990 and is buried at Sunset Memorial Lawns, Northbrook, IL. In 2018, he was inducted in the ETHS HOF.