Al “Bean” Brodsky ran the James Bailey basketball league at Washington Park, now Malcolm X Park for 30 years.

The hosts of the Boston Neighborhood Heroes Awards (from left), Travis Bogarty, Charlie “Chiz” Terry, “TWalk” Walker and Michael Bivins.

Boston’s neighborhood hoops heroes honored for decades of community service

The echoes of bouncing basketballs, trash talk and encouragement have long filled parks and gyms across Roxbury, Dorchester and Mission Hill. On Feb. 12, those sounds were momentarily replaced by applause.

Community members, former players and local organizers packed The DeWitt Center at Madison Park for the third Boston Neighborhood Heroes Awards, an event dedicated to honoring the men and the basketball leagues that have helped keep Boston’s youth alive during some of the city’s most dangerous decades through the present day.

The ceremony was organized and hosted by Michael Bivins, Roxbury native and member of the chart-topping R&B groups New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. To host the event, Bivins worked with childhood friends and business partners including Terry “TWalk” Walker, Charlie “Chiz” Deloatch and Travis Bogarty — all streetball veterans.

Around 150 attendees, a mix of honorees, families and friends, listened to the casual ceremony where humorous stories and moving histories were shared between award presentations. The trophies handed to the recipients were almost as tall as the men who received them, a testament to their long-deserved recognition.

Among those honored were 11 basketball organizers, for building programs that offered structure, safety and belonging. Some leagues were founded during the height of the crack epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in neighborhoods such as Orchard Park and the Roxbury and Dorchester sections of Boston.

“These leagues weren’t hobbies,” said Walker, Bivins’ childhood basketball coach. “They were survival.”

Though Bivins is known for hit songs like “Can You Stand the Rain” and “Poison,” Walker said basketball — not music — was always his first love.

“Mike liked playing ball more than performing,” Walker said. “Music made him famous, but basketball made him who he is.”

Walker also said the awards highlighted Bivins’ broader charitable footprint, including holiday giveaways, youth initiatives and continued investment in Boston’s neighborhoods.

“Mike never forgot where he came from,” Walker said.

A small world built around big courts

For many in the room it was an emotional day, being honored for decades of service in the community.

Tony “T-Rich” Richards, founder of the “No Book No Ball” (NBNB) program, was recognized for his more than 30 years of work combining academics with athletics. Founded 35 years ago, NBNB serves roughly 1,000 youth annually between its academic year and summer programs. The yearround program operates seasonally at the Mike Bivins Basketball Court at Derby Ramsey Park and requires students to meet certain academic standards before stepping on the court.

“‘No books, no ball’ isn’t just a slogan,” Richards said. “Kids have to show report cards. They have to show effort.”

Richards said the program’s proudest successes are not only NBA players such as Bruce Brown and Shabazz Napier who went through NBNB, but most especially the lawyers, doctors, city officials and firefighters who came through the program and stayed in Boston.

“That’s the win,” Richards said.

“When they come back and coach, when they raise their kids here.”

Other honorees included Greg Canzater, founder of the SISRUN girls’ basketball league that creates space for young women who were often overlooked in neighborhood hoops culture, and Darren Holiday, who founded the weekday leagues King Court and Strong Ballers. Holiday said his weekday league model, which ran primarily at Quincy Park beginning in the mid-1990s, was intentional.

“Guys had jobs. College kids were home,” Holiday said. “If they had a game on Tuesday or Thursday, that kept them out of trouble.”

The same Quincy Park courts also hosted Calvin Redd Cheeks’ Packey Bar & Grill basketball league, another honoree and staple of Boston’s summer basketball scene that blended competition with neighborhood pride.

From Malcolm X Park to Mission Hill

Several honorees were rooted at Malcolm X Park, long considered sacred ground in Boston basketball history.

Willie “Chill Will” Veal Jr. received recognition for his Chill Diamond Ring Basketball Tournament, which began in the early 1990s and remains legendary for awarding diamond-studded championship rings to players overlooked by the Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, circuits that are elite, structured, often brand-sponsored travel basketball leagues.

“Everybody doesn’t get picked,” Veal said. “But everybody matters.”

Veal described his tournament as a place where rival neighborhoods coexisted peacefully during years marked by gang violence and instability.

“There was never an issue,” he said. “Respect was the rule.”

Yet another honoree, Allan “Bean” Brodsky, was recognized for the James Bailey League, another Malcolm X Park fixture, while Robert Blue was recognized for founding the Old School Monday Basketball, a league that drew generations of players to the same court week after week.

Roger Roberts received a Neighborhood Hero Award for his Score 4 More Save R Street basketball tournament. Originally launched in 2009 under the banner “Silence the Violence,” the event includes youth divisions, men’s open competition and a community game of residents against Boston police officers.

The two-day summer event draws thousands. “We feed the whole park,” Roberts said of the event that began at Jeep Jones Park and later moved to Malcolm X Park to accommodate the growing attendance. “It’s about unity,” Roberts said.

Other honorees included Leo Papile for his nationally recognized Boston Amateur Basketball Club’s AAU program, Geoffrey Bynoe for the Manny Wilson Basketball League & Academy at the Yawkey Boys & Girls Club of Roxbury, and John Jackson for the Thomas L. Johnson League, which operates out of the Tobin Gym in Mission Hill.

The glue behind the scenes

While the night honored basketball legends, much of the logistical work fell to Willa Mae Burnett, a 75-year-old Roxbury native who lived in Orchard Park and proudly calls herself an “original OP girl.”

“I watched these boys grow up,” said Burnett, who knew Bivins as a child.

Charlie “Chiz” Deloatch, general manager of Bivins’ clothing line Sporty Rich, was one of the organizers of the ceremony. He said it reflected a shared history forged in adversity; the recognition is something he’ll remember for the rest of his life.

“Basketball saved all our lives from the streets,” Deloatch said. “And we’re trying to continue to do that in our neighborhood.”