A run-down two-story building is covered in vines along Greenwood Avenue in Wyncote. Despite its unassuming appearance, the abandoned house has quite a history. It’s where Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson spent his childhood. But purchasers of the property may soon turn it into a parking lot, writes Marina Affo for The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

Jackson lived on the second story with his father Martinez Clarence Jackson at 149 Greenwood Ave. His father ran a tailor’s shop and dry cleaners on the first floor.

Seeking better career prospects, young Jackson identified professional baseball as his ticket to success, he said in a 1994 Inquirer story. 

Jackson then attended Cheltenham High School, where he got his start in the sport that defined his career.

But now, the very home in which he promised his father he would amount to something could soon be demolished.

Developers Matt Sigel and Marc Policarpo from Station Partners, Morristown, N.J., say they want to turn it into a parking lot for an iThrive co-working space.  

Policarpo, however, said that despite the sale, the site will still be recognized for its historical significance.

During his youth in Wyncote, Jackson is said to have pitched three no-hitters for Cheltenham’s baseball team, according to Roger Kahn’s 1973 book, October Men.  

Read more about Reggie Jackson’s childhood home in The Philadelphia Inquirer.