Flashes from the Past

When Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson returned to Austin in 1990, he visited his old high school to find that the legendary stadium where he and other stars such as Dick "Night Train" Lane once played had been turned into a parking lot.  Rather than complaining and pointing fingers, he decided to take it upon himself to transform the old, abandoned lot back into a beautiful place for kids in East Austin to play.  With this vision, Henderson formed ESYSSO in 1992, and in 1993 he built East Side Field at the old Yellow Jacket Stadium.

In 1997, Henderson noticed that people in East Austin had no place to run for sport or health.  East Austin track teams were forced to ride busses to other facilities far across town.  Henderson had a new vision: to add a first-class running track to the field so kids and teams in Central-East Austin would have a place to run and compete.  Determined to raise the money for this endeavor, he pitched a tent in the middle of East Side Field and announced to the city of Austin that he would not eat or leave the field until the Austin community pulled together and brought him $250,000 for the construction of the track.  The fast lasted seven days, and by the end of 1998, he had raised a total of $300,000 . . . and the track was built.