On Friday, April 5, 2024, Tim Bennett, owner of the Hank Aaron Sports Academy, announced the formation of the Legacy League. This league will be housed at the Smith-Wills Stadium (SWS) and will start playing in June 2025.
As the commissioner of the Legacy League, Bennett has assembled a group of celebrated stars, heroes, and Hall of Fame players from Major League Baseball to offer their support. It will function as a summer developmental league consisting of collegiate athletes that use wood bats instead of the aluminum bats used in high schools and colleges. Furthermore, the league will serve as a way to fundraise and create opportunities for youth and young adults to learn all aspects of the game of baseball from the front office to marketing, concessions, stadium management, umpiring, team management, and even ownership.
The Legacy League will have 10 teams from the Jackson metro area in its inaugural 40-game season. It will represent local cities and markets that are all within a 20-minute drive of SWS. The local teams will come from Brandon, Clinton, Pearl, Madison, Jackson, Canton, and other cities in close proximity. A goal of the league is to have an economic impact on each city and the state. Every game will be played at SWS which is located at 1200 Lakeland Drive.
Bennett has garnered names that are synonymous with the Majors, including teammates of Hank Aaron, 2022 World Series Champion Dusty Baker, Atlanta Braves Hall of Famer Ralph Garr, NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, and Team Renteria of Colombia, South America. Additionally, other recognizable names like Andruw Jones, Brian Jordan, Deuce McAllister, and Jair Jurrjens will be in the mix.
In a press conference held at the Mississippi State Capitol on April 5, Bennett emphasized, “The Legacy League will not look like any of the leagues that already exist, as it will be comprised of the most diverse group of athletes that come from all over the world, with Team Renteria of Columbia, South America, bringing an international flavor to the Legacy League. We will welcome the diversity of international players into the Legacy League with European-Americans, African-Americans, Latin-Americans, and Asian-Americans represented, and these ethnicities and nationalities will be actively recruited.
“As it stands now, our plan is to have 25% local guys, 25% European, 25% international, and 25% minority players. It has been said that the way of the island is with a baseball bat but now all these guys will have a way to work on their game and open up a path to the Majors through the power, prestige, and precedent set by the Legacy League.”
During the press conference, Bennett spoke highly of his longtime friend and coach Douglass William Shanks who was instrumental in getting Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. He presented the Shanks family with a special plaque and Hank Aaron spikes. Shanks was also a coach at Mississippi Valley State University and championed diversity throughout his career in baseball.
Tim Bennett was the pioneer in returning MLB-affiliated teams to Mississippi, developing two new stadiums in 2005 and 2015 alongside the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers (MiLB) organizations. Bennett is recognized as the first African-American owner of a professional and MLB-affiliated organization in Mississippi’s history.
For additional information regarding the Legacy League, contact tim@hankaaronsportsacademy.com.
