Last week, city and county officials stood alongside Newark native and longtime major league baseball player, manager, and coach Marquis “Bo” Porter to host a ceremony to rename the St. Peter’s Park baseball fields after the former Houston Astros manager and current Atlanta Braves third base coach at St. Peter’s Recreation Center, located at 378 Lyons Avenue, in the City’s South Ward.
Mr. Porter began his major league baseball playing career in 1999, breaking in with the Chicago Cubs, and played for the Oakland Athletics in 2000 and the Texas Rangers in 2001, making it to the American League Division Series in 2000. He spent 10 years in the minor leagues, where he collected 113 home runs, 503 RBIs, and 236 stolen bases. He served as bench and third base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, and third base coach for the Washington Nationals from 2011 to 2012.
In 2013, Mr. Porter became the Houston Astros’ 17th manager, and helmed the team until 2014. He is now in his second year as a member of the Atlanta Braves’ coaching staff. Residing in Houston with his wife Stacey, Mr. Porter founded Real Excellence, Inc., in 2015, a business conglomerate that focuses on providing business development, optionality, personal growth, and superior services. In 2012, he and Stacey established the Stacey and Bo Porter SELF Foundation (Sports, Education, Life Skills, Faith) in Houston, which provides and supports programs that are dedicated to improving and impacting the lives of underprivileged and underserved youth and communities through sports, education, life skills, and faith.
Photos courtesy of Newark Press Information Office.
