CHICAGO (WBBM) –– Next Tuesday, there will be a gala at the United Center, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Jesse White Tumbling Team.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White founded the tumblers in 1959, as a way of keeping kids off the streets and out of trouble. But, why did he choose gymnastics? White says he was trained as a gymnast as a child.
White would later become a paratrooper in the military…and a minor league baseball player in the Cubs organization. But he wanted to work with kids.
He says he came back to Chicago to teach part-time and to coach.
The Chicago Park District had asked him to mount a gymnastics demonstration. That–he says–was the start of the team, but did not think it would last 50 years.
He thought that first night would be the last, but the parents of the kids would not hear of it, White says.
He has now worked with more than 11,000 young people over that half Century.
More information at jessewhitetumblingteam.com
Craig Dellimore, Political Editor, reporting
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
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