Reggie Jackson’s childhood home at 149 Greenwood Avenue in Wyncote is facing demolition, writes Michael Tanennbaum for Philly Voice.  

His father, Martinez Jackson, ran a tailor shop there on the first floor in the 1950s and 1960s, and for a time operated a bootleg whiskey business from the home.

Martinez Jackson, a World War II pilot and Newark Eagles second baseman in the Negro Leagues, raised Reggie Jackson with two siblings as a single father.

Cheltenham Commissioners OK’d the demolition to make way for a parking lot, with a stipulation that a commemorative plaque be placed to honor the history of the property. 

A date for demolition was not given.

Reggie Jackson, 78, played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball and won five World Series. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.

He played sports at Cheltenham High School as a way of avoiding work at the tailor shop.

“I did anything I could do not to go into the shop and have to work on the pressing machine … when it was 100 degrees with all the humidity in Philadelphia,” Reggie said.

Read more about the history of the property and the Jackson family in Philly Voice.