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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2026

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrea Hawkins
Dallas Park and Recreation
[email protected] | (817) 994-2498

City of Dallas to Dedicate New Football Field at Thurgood Marshall Park to Longtime Coach Who Led Oak Cliff's Redbird Raiders for More Than 40 Years

What

Dallas Park and Recreation Department will officially name the newly renovated, regulation-size football field at Thurgood Marshall Park in memory of Earl "Coach" Thompson, founder and longtime coach of the Oak Cliff Redbird Raiders youth football organization. The field, rebuilt from a former practice area through a $2.4 million renovation, features new sod and irrigation, LED lighting, aluminum bleachers, an announcer's booth, two scoreboards, accessible walkways, restrooms, and perimeter fencing.

Thompson, who spent more than four decades mentoring young athletes, was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame and the Prairie View Interscholastic League Association Hall of Fame. His hometown of Conroe honored him with a designated "Earl Thompson Day." He died earlier this year

Who

Wife and other family members of Earl Thompson

Redbird Raiders players and coaches

Yvonne Davis, State Representative District 111

Zarin Gracey, Dallas City Council, District 3

Christopher Moorer, Dallas Park and Recreation Board District 3

Sean Johnson, Deputy Director, Dallas Park and Recreation

When

7 p.m. September 11, 2026

Where

MEDIA RSVP

Thurgood Marshall Park, 5150 Mark Trail Way, Dallas 75232

Click here to RSVP

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