AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin park will now bear the name of one of the city’s most celebrated athletes and a hometown hero.
On Saturday, the city of Austin will unveil an interpretive marker at the newly renamed Don Baylor Park, formerly Westenfield Park, honoring the late Major League Baseball star and longtime community advocate.
For Don Baylor Jr., the dedication is deeply personal. His father, an Austin native, grew up in the nearby Clarksville neighborhood but was barred from playing at the park.
“Whenever we would either drive down Winsted or drive on Enfield, he would point to that park as a symbol of Jim Crow,” Baylor Jr. told KVUE. “He lived on the other side of the railroad tracks, what is now MoPac, and was really not allowed to play here by the local residents. And they essentially got chased away. So, that was something … [that] always stuck with him.”
Despite those early experiences, Baylor carved out an extraordinary career: a 19-year MLB run that included an American League MVP award, a World Series championship, and later, recognition as Manager of the Year.
His son says the Austin park renaming would have meant as much to him as any of those honors.
“I think it would be a full-circle moment for him. It would probably be one of his biggest achievements,” Baylor Jr. said. “In addition to winning MVP, Manager of the Year, this would be right up there.”
Beyond baseball, friends and family remember Baylor as a man of deep faith, generosity and humility. He left hundreds of tickets for relatives at Texas Rangers games, loved family dinners after late-night matchups and never forgot his Austin roots.
“He was extremely generous, he was extremely respectful, he was a man of faith,” his son said. “He always believed in hard work and treating people how you want to be treated.”
Baylor’s legacy extended beyond the field. His annual golf tournament benefiting cystic fibrosis research has raised tens of millions of dollars.
Clarksville residents and city leaders say renaming the park reflects Austin’s continuing effort to recognize local Black history and the people who shaped it.
Now Baylor’s name will stand in the same space he once couldn’t play — a lasting reminder, his family says, of perseverance and progress.
The Don Baylor Park marker unveiling is open to the public and will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. in West Austin.