A 'family' of Cubs on Detroit's west side continue to score victories in the game of life

For longtime fans of the Detroit Lions, 1957 will always be remembered as the year when the Lions were last crowned champions of the National Football League.

However, during that same year, another Detroit organization linked to football — and much more — was just kicking off with the creation of the West Side Cubs.

A trailblazing community organization, the West Side Cubs integrated the Detroit Junior Football League. This new team would need a spirited group of cheerleaders, and that is when Myrlin Moore stepped into West Side Cubs history. And it is a history that Moore still is very proud of today.

“I am one of the original cheerleaders, and I want to say that there were only eight or nine of us,” the 77-year-old Moore, who remembers being 10 or 11 at the time, recalled. “By us being the first Black little league team in the city, all of our competition was mostly Caucasian, so (seemingly) every time we made a touchdown it would get called back, but it was fun. As kids, we really didn’t know that much about discrimination, we were just going out and having a good time.”

Moore spoke Tuesday evening outside of her home, which is across the street from McCabe Field — 4400 W. Boston Blvd. at Petoskey — which has been the West Side Cubs’ field of dreams for decades.

In a year when expectations are high for Detroit’s professional football team, Moore said the source of her “good feeling” was the scene of youth football players and cheerleaders practicing before her eyes during the evening hours leading up to, and into, darkness. Moore explained that the work that has taken place on McCabe Field through the years has made college football Saturdays a delightful day, as she is accustomed to wearing out her TV remote while bouncing back and forth between contests featuring players from the Cubs program. Many of those games have been narrated by a West Side Cubs product — the golden voice of Fox Sports’ play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson. But Moore says that behind the thousands of West Side Cubs alumni that have stepped off McCabe Field to become successful at the highest levels of athletics and life, have been hundreds of lesser-known heroes that believe helping a young person is an even greater reward than a paycheck.

Those neighborhood "heroes" are who help make the team so special — not just on the field but in the community: bringing together people from all walks of life to help mold young minds into strong, productive adults emotes a sense of pride and family that continues to unite and inspire an entire community.

“The people who are out there right now on that field helping to mentor and train the kids, I applaud every single one of them because they aren’t getting paid,” said Moore, who was coached as a cheerleader by a neighbor, Odessa Waters, before becoming a Cubs cheerleading coach herself as an adult. In turn, she had the opportunity to coach her daughter, Yolanda, who is now the president of the West Side Cubs Alumni Association.

“We didn’t get paid either when I was a cheerleading sponsor. We did it from our hearts because we cared about the kids.”

At this moment, the West Side Cubs serve roughly 200 boys and girls from ages 5 to 14, comprising five football teams and four cheerleading squads. And Moore, whose family has been connected to the Cubs for three generations, says the nonprofit’s “caring” playbook is needed as much today than at any time during the Cubs’ 66-year history.

“I think what the Cubs provide today is more important than ever because you have a whole different perspective in terms of how children are being brought up now,” said Moore, a January 1964 graduate of Mackenzie High School, who retired from Henry Ford Health System after 50 years of service. “I notice that a lot of adults are out of touch with their children, but I was on-point with mine because of the Cubs. The common goal was to keep our kids involved in positive activities so that they can have some tools to work with to become productive adults. Now, social media and cell phones have come into play. But kids still need a foundation, and the Cubs provide that for boys and girls, and it’s a positive thing.”

During Tuesday’s practice, the solid “foundation” described by Moore was on display as everything in sight appeared to have a purpose, including a 20-year-old barrel barbecue pit that stood just outside the field. The pit is ordinarily handled expertly by Randle Craighead, who has been with the West Side Cubs since 1965 when he played for his father, Milton, one of the Cubs’ first coaches. Craighead, 67, said the pit has fed fans on game days along with coaches during “Coaches Corner” get-togethers, a Friday activity he created for Cubs coaches to discuss how they can best help each other. But he revealed that the grill and the food also contribute to something much bigger.

“They couldn’t eat without me, but more than that, we’re family,” Craighead, who also is a pitmaster at Vicki’s Bar-B-Q in southwest Detroit, said. “That’s what we call each other around here — ‘family.’ I’ve been coaching for 32 years and for the past 15 years I’ve been trying to retire. But I smell that grass getting cut, and I hear those kids out there, and I’m back here again. So they gave me the athletic director’s position to satisfy an old guy.”

And if Craighead’s job as athletic director is to ensure that every Cubs football player and cheerleader has a productive and enjoyable experience at practice, on Tuesday it appeared he has mastered that job as well. From a distance, boys and girls could be seen running, jumping and executing techniques requiring maximum physical effort and concentration. But closer inspection revealed that some of the messages received by the young people contained wisdom that can be used for a lifetime. That was true for football players in the 10-and-under group whose coaches provided an ongoing volley of inspirational instructions including: “You have to apply yourself;” “Don’t get discouraged,” “Don’t get distracted” and “You can’t miss days!”

The young men in the group were about 100 yards away from the McCabe Field scoreboard, which was donated by Michael Westbrook. It is the same Michael Westbrook who as a star college receiver at Colorado came into the Big House and broke the hearts of University of Michigan football fans, when he hauled down a 64-yard “Hail Mary” pass from Kordell Stewart to deliver a stunning defeat to the Wolverines on Sept. 24, 1994. However, on Tuesday evening, near the scoreboard, there was no heartbreak, only exuberance, as a group of cheerleaders worked together, which included singing "Happy Birthday" to 12-year-old Shashu Terry, a seventh grader at David Ellis Academy West who said she has the “best coaches ever.”

Standing nearby was Barbara Mosley, the team mom for the 12-and-under cheerleading team.

“The West Side Cubs are like a family, and they look out for the children,” Mosley, who has had one daughter and four granddaughters come through the program, said. “Also, they’re really keen on ‘God, Books and Ball’ and ‘God, Books and Bows’ for the girls. I just like the ethics behind everything and how they inspire girls and the boys to be the best they can be.”

Larry Price was not at McCabe Field on Tuesday, but the next day the 79-year-old lifelong Detroiter was happy to do something he loves — talk about the Cubs. In June, the West Side Cubs Alumni Association honored Price during the inaugural “CUBS4LIFE Hall of Fame Gala” at The Corner Ballpark. Price began his relationship with the Cubs by coaching football during the 1970s and later served as athletic director. Price said that he was humbled to receive the honor, but Wednesday he wanted to call attention to other outstanding contributors to the Cubs who “dealt with things that made life better for many.” And these pillars of the community that Price said laid the foundation for the Cubs included names that are sacred in the Cubs circle and beyond, including Sam Washington, Ron Thompson, John Cunningham, Samuel Poole Jr., Burton Lowe and Gladys Hazel, just to name a few.

Like Moore, Price confided that he witnessed some experiences during the West Side Cubs’ early days when Cubs teams did not always receive fair treatment on the field or from fans at certain places. But he said the response from the Cubs was never lasting resentment. Shortly afterwards, Price also spoke passionately about the Cubs’ willingness to share with other youth organizations, which ultimately led to a collection of youth football teams in Detroit that are known across the state and nation.

“When other programs and teams came to us, we shared,” explained Price, a January 1962 graduate of Mumford High School and a Navy veteran, who was invited to join the West Side Cubs when he was working in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. “They wanted to learn how we did things and we provided guidance.”

Price’s thoughts were echoed by a Cubs legend who also grew up across the street from McCabe Field. Before Thomas Wilcher was an All-American performer in football and track and field at Central High School (Class of 1982); before he was a football teammate of Jim Harbaugh and an All-American in track at the University of Michigan; and before he won three state championships in football and three state championships in track and field as a head coach at Cass Tech; Wilcher was, and remains, a proud West Side Cub.

“Tradition, history, great players, championships, family and helping to establish the Police Athletic League football program in Detroit, the West Side Cubs have been about all of those things,” said the 59-year-old Wilcher, who spoke Wednesday from Hartford, Connecticut, where he is teaching high school physical education. “When you think of youth football in the area, you think of the West Side Cubs because everyone came to that team. And everyone couldn’t make the Cubs, and that helped to build other teams. It’s something that I had to reflect on later to understand the era I grew up in, because you had an All-American on this block and an all-state athlete on the next block. There were all of these great young men, and at the time you felt like you could do it too.

"The stepping stones were already paved for you, and that’s the way it should be.”

It could also be said that a person holding a key position with the West Side Cubs today should have a deep connection to the program, neighborhood and Cubs legends, which is the case with Robert Height, the nonprofit’s president. Height grew up on Tuxedo between Dexter and Petoskey, and he began his “career” with the Cubs on the 10-and-under team and later played football for Wilcher at Cass Tech (Class of 2002). Before Tuesday’s practice, Height confided that he previously never cared much about titles and never thought he would become president. But today, he finds himself in that position, which includes making arrangements for a Sept. 30 homecoming game at McCabe Field against the Oldtown Ducks, which will be preceded by a Sept. 29 pep rally.

“Grown men with jobs, and grown women, took time out for me when I was in the program. So, what better way to give back,” said Height, an assembly line supervisor at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant, whose support system within the Cubs includes his wife Briahna, the Cubs’ treasurer. “The West Side Cubs are nothing but a big family. We’re still around; we’re still thriving and pushing; we stand strong for one another; and we care about our kids as we get them ready for the real world.”

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and lifelong lover of Detroit culture in all of its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at: stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber

A 66-year tradition committed to Detroit youth with a family approach

• Who: West Side Cubs

• History & Mission: By promoting physical, social and mental development, since 1957, thousands of boys and girls participating in West Side Cubs programs — including football, cheerleading and more — have gone on to make contributions in virtually every area of society.

• Upcoming event: Sept. 30 homecoming game at McCabe Field (4400 W. Boston Blvd.) against the Oldtown Ducks. Homecoming festivities will begin with a Sept. 29 pep rally at McCabe, including a neighborhood parade, food and fireworks at the end. Both teams are members of the Sound Mind Sound Body Youth Association.

• Learn more: For additional information about the West Side Cubs organization or the West Side Cubs Alumni Association, please contact Robert Height at West_side_cubs@yahoo.com or Yolanda Moore at wscalumniassoc@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Winners at life for 66 years and counting: Detroit's West Side Cubs