Harrisburg will never forget Dennis Green.

The late NFL coach who grew up in the city was memorialized Saturday at the corner of Walnut and 12th streets, a few yards from his childhood home.

Cheers, claps and tears filled the intersection as family members and officials pulled a green cloth away from the corner street sign, officially unveiling Dennis Green Way. The renaming ceremony for the 1100 through 1300 blocks of Walnut Street included a launch of green balloons.

“Anytime I come down this street from 13th street I’m going to see Dennis Green Way. I’m going to smile, maybe laugh a bit and maybe I’m going to have a few tears. It’s an emotional thing. That’s our baby brother and there he is recognized,” said Green’s brother, Billy Green of Harrisburg.

He recalled the days when his younger brother, nicknamed Midge, would play in the street and walk to the corner store for Popsicles with his brother and the family dog, Penny.

“This was a lot of their play area. The backyards in these houses were like postage stamps. There wasn’t a lot of room. They played from Summit Street to down to here,” Billy Green recalled.

From those streets, Green went where most kids dream of going.

He became the first African-American head football coach in the Big Ten Conference in the 1980s, and then the just the third African-American head coach in the NFL - and the first who hadn’t played in the league - when he started a successful 10-year run with the Minnesota Vikings in 1992.

He later coached with the Arizona Cardinals. Green died from cardiac arrest in July 2016 at the age of 67, leaving behind his wife, Marie, and four children.

Former NFL player Robert Tate, who was in attendance Saturday and played with Minnesota and Arizona, recalled the lessons he learned from Green.

“He’d always been there for me, not just as a player but as a son. He always taught me right from wrong.” Tate said.

He said also instilled in Tate to help others and have a plan beyond football. Tate, who played for Harrisburg High School, hosts football camps for kids.

“What I’m doing now helping the people and giving back is valuable from what he taught me as a coach,” Tate said.

The tribute for Green started in March, when city council passed a resolution honoring his life and career. Green’s family sought the new recognition, Dennis Green’s niece, Michelle because they felt it important for the city residents to remember one of its most accomplished native sons, and as a source of inspiration for current and future residents.

“It’s an honor. It means a lot he’s being recognized for all of his accomplishments,” said Jasmine Green, a relative from Harrisburg.