A city baseball legend enters politics

frank-whiteFormer Royals star Frank White announced today he is running for the Jackson County Legislature.

Surrounded by family and supporters, he spoke to media outside a house at 2912 Olive St.

It is next door to where he grew up in the Key Coalition neighborhood, where many of his family members still live.

“You can grow up in the city and you can achieve in the center city,” he said.

If elected, he will work with county anti-drug and anti-crime programs, he said, and work to expand and enhance county parks programs.

When he was a child, children played outside all day without reason for concern, he said. He played baseball in a nearby park.

He attended Lincoln High School and one of his first jobs was as a laborer on construction of what is now Kauffman Stadium.

He played second base for the Royals for 18 years, with eight gold gloves and five All-Star game appearances.

He batted cleanup in all eight games of the 1985 World Series, the only one the team has ever won.

He is in the Royals Hall of Fame and there is a statue of him inside Kauffman Stadium.

White, 63, said he is close to being able to retire and wants to give back to the community. He now lives in Lee’s Summit.

He is running for the open 1st District at Large seat being vacated by Theresa Garza Ruiz.

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