LOXLEY, Alabama — It’s been over two decades since Richard Teal returned to his hometown to live and work after receiving his degree from Auburn University.

“At Auburn I had a chance to play baseball on fields all across the country and when I came back I wanted to do something that would give kids here a chance at the same opportunities I had,” Teal said, but he also wanted something more. “I wanted to give kids something I didn’t have growing up, a decent place to play right here in Loxley.”

Teal said he was approached by some of the local residents, asking them if he would coach their 13- to 14-year old ball teams, but as he looked around, he found they there wasn’t a regulation field available in Loxley for them to play.

He along with several others in Loxley, including Dean Black and his son Alton, Bob Savage, James Wilson and Mary Geiger, set about to renovate the existing ball fields, which at the time were located next to what was then Loxley Middle School and is now Loxley Elementary School.

But those ball fields were still better equipped for younger athletes, leaving no place for the older athletes to play. Thus set in motion a mission for Teal to build a new ball park in Loxley.

In 1988, Teal decided to run for election to the Loxley Town Council.

“I talked to several others who were running,” Teal said, including longtime friends Katherine Breeden and Billy Middleton, who ran successfully that year for his first term as mayor, along with others on the council at the time like Tim Barnhill. “They were all on board.”

So the work began through more than two terms on the town council with new council members Lloyd Keuler, Barbara Black Owen and Frela Griffin Wojciechowski, joining the cause.

After nearly a decade of work, Teal said, the final piece of the puzzle was put in place when he received a phone call from L.H. Schmieding with the Schmieding Foundation.

“He asked me how much it would cost to build the park there,” he said. “I was a little reluctant to give him an exact figure.”

But after talking with others, who assured him it was OK, Teal said he called Schmieding back and gave him a figure.

“He asked if we had the money in place to build the park and I told him we had secured a bond for the project,” Teal said. “He said, ‘well if you build the park there, then I will give you the money to build a civic center.’”

Work began on the municipal park and civic center in early 1998. In April of 1999 the town voted to hire Glenn Hedden as the parks superintendent and the facility was completed in time to host that year’s Loxley Strawberry Festival. The park with two regulation ball fields opened later that summer.

“There’s a running joke that this is my baby,” Teal said. “And it’s still what keeps me going. I’m here pretty much every day. It’s still one of the main reasons I’m still running for town council. It’s not the only reason, but it’s the main one. I want to make sure the kids here are taking care of.”

Nearly a decade and a half after its opening, Teal will have the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy at the park. In June, the council voted unanimously, with Teal abstaining, to change the name of one of the fields, now known as White Field, to Richard Teal Field.

“It’s an honor that they wanted to do that for me,” he said. “It’s something I never dreamed would happen when I set out on this journey.”

Teal is quick to point out, however, that he was not alone in getting the ball park built. It took the help of a lot of people to bring the dream into a reality, including his own boss, Flowerwood Nursery, who donated all the materials and labor for the landscaping at the park.

“We think it’s one of the better facilities around if not the best,” Teal said. “So many people helped out and put in a lot of work to make this happen. I’m just glad to have been a small part of it.”