Why a rival baseball icon joined the roster for this KC museum’s big league upgrade

Baseball hall of famer Reggie Jackson values the 18th and Vine district’s rich history, he said Wednesday, but the Yankees icon known as “Mr. October” by fans across the globe is even more excited about what the Kansas City cultural hub’s future holds.

Young fans visiting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum listen as hall of famer Reggie Jackson discusses the next chapter of 18th and Vine’s story; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

“If I can be a part of that, I’m absolutely thrilled to be,” continued Jackson, who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball, reaching the postseason in 11 of them, winning six pennants and five World Series. (The sports legend began his career as a rookie in 1967 for the Kansas City Athletics at Municipal Stadium.)

Midweek museum-goers got an unexpected front-row seat Wednesday when Jackson — once a nemesis (now a friend) to Royals’ giant George Brett — returned for an unannounced visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum at 18th and Vine.

His latest play at age 79: signing on as an equity partner and cultural ambassador for the Pennant Hotel, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio space being built as part of the expanded Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Campus.

The 132-key boutique hotel is planned adjacent to the future 30,000-square-foot NLBM expansion. A $20 million parking garage project nearby augments the planned development.

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Pennant Hotel building elevation plans; image courtesy of Grayson Capital

Reggie Jackson, left, speaks alongside Michael Collins, CEO of Grayson Captial, and Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, during an announcement event at the museum; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“The greatest focus, for me: ‘What’s good for the people is good for business,’” he said at a press conference inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “If you make contributions to the community and are conscious of how you are going to impact people socially and are able to weave unity and social consciousness together, then we can all pull the wagon in the same way.”

Jackson’s baseball accolades are well-documented, noted Bob Kendrick, president of the museum, but he’s also a successful businessman.

“To have your name associated with this project, to have your presence and your leadership and guidance means the world to all of us,” Kendrick said, addressing Jackson, whose father, Martinez Jackson, played for the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues.

The future NLBM campus is expected to feature the expanded museum, the official hotel, the historic Paseo YMCA where the Negro National League was founded, and a new residential development all inspired by Black baseball’s legacy, according to Grayson Capital, the developer on the project. 

Michael Collins, CEO of Grayson Capital, discusses plans for the Pennant Hotel and broader development in the 18th and Vine District; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

“Reggie’s story, his legacy, and his commitment to honoring the Negro Leagues align perfectly with the vision,” added Michael Collins, CEO of Grayson Capital. “His involvement will elevate the project’s national visibility and deepen its cultural roots.”

The museum’s expansion project, Kendrick noted, will allow it to tell the larger story of players like Jackson, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, and Roberto Clemente — baseball icons who followed the Negro Leagues barrier-breakers.

“They don’t get to play had it not been for these guys who built the bridge, as Buck O’Neil said, across the chapter of progress,” Kendrick said.

“I want to see people like that be honored in the museum,” Jackson said of players like Clemente, “because they’re part of what went on back in the day to create that bridge of unity.”

A historical marker for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum overlooks the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy in the 18th and Vine District; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Immersed in history

Despite social progress made when Major League Baseball was integrated, Kendrick noted, areas like 18th and Vine were economically devastated by the change.

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, discusses the legacy of baseball in the 18th and Vine neighborhood; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

“Wherever you had successful Black baseball, you typically had thriving Black commerce,” he explained. “When we lost the Negro Leagues, we lost that spark, that catalyst that drove Black commerce in so many urban communities.”

Organizers chose to build the museum in the 18th and Vine District in 1990 in hopes of revitalizing that spark to the area that was once one of the most recognized cross sections in the world, Kendrick said. 

“We haven’t looked back since,” he continued. “People are working, living, and playing at 18th and Vine again. And we think through this project that 18th and Vine will now reach another level that we have not seen since its heydays in the ’30s and ’40s.”

The Pennant hotel will offer visitors a new and immersive way to experience the legacy of Black baseball and the broader cultural impact of the historic district, Kendrick shared.

Pennant Hotel building elevation plans; image courtesy of Grayson Capital

It is expected to include Reuben and Ella’s, an upscale restaurant named in honor of Reuben and Ella Street, the former proprietors of the Street Hotel (Kansas City’s last majority Black-owned hotel). The eatery will serve a blend of elevated Southern cuisine with inventive takes on classic ballpark favorites.

“The hotel will have Negro League-inspired influences within the hotel itself,” Kendrick said. “So as guests come to stay at the hotel, they’ll have every way of knowing that they are immersed in a Negro League experience, and then that will transition over to the new museum.”

“You can see why we’re so excited about all the energy that is stirring about this project, and again, to have Reggie being a part of this team, helping shape this and bring this to fruition, makes it even more dynamic and even more exciting,” he added.

Reggie Jackson discusses his hopes for the 18th and Vine District in Kansas City, as well as his sharing his thoughts on the Royals trajectory and the ball club’s commitment to community; photo by Tommy Felts

Eye on Royals’ next move

While in Kansas City this week, Jackson also attended a Royals-Yankees game at Kauffman Stadium. The Pennant Hotel project with the NLBM makes sense now, he said, in part because the Royals are hot and preparing to move.

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Reggie Jackson shakes hands with a young Royals fan at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Having worked in the front office of the Yankees and Astros organizations in retirement, Jackson noted he’s gotten to know John Sherman, chairman and CEO of the Royals, through the years and sees that Sherman has the city’s best interest at heart. 

“He is a very socially conscious person and really is a spectacular person,” Jackson continued, “And he’s certainly looking to do all the right things and make a community contribution — a social contribution and a community contribution, if you will — not only a business contribution for the Royals.”

“His comments to me are,” he continued, “‘Reggie, this team belongs to Kansas City and the fans, and we’re going to make the right decisions for that. That’s paramount. So the opportunities to create something that’s going to unite the community socially is what I think is so great about the Sherman family and the community minded things that they have in store for Kansas City.”