NO MYSTERY HERE. B Street Pier lies in the foreground. I wonder how many Colts can say they saw a baseball game at Lane Field.

I don't know if your question about Lane Field was rhetorical or if you really were taking a survey. In case it was the latter, my dad took me to a game there in 1954. I just remember seeing a bat up close; it was huge. It was a lot bigger than our little league bats -- Rodger Gredvig '64

I remember attending ball games at Lane Field with my family. Baseball was a big deal and the memories are priceless. I remember our 1940 Oldsmobile. We named it "Silver Streak". I'm remembering a couple of ballplayer's names but probably won't spell them correctly. Whitey Wheatleman? and Luke Easter? Am I right, or is my mind just making this up? San Diego is still wonderful, but it was a very sweet gem, back then --
Judy Drake Williams ‘60

I’m one of the Colts that saw a game in Lane Field. I think it was in 1958. The Rozelle photo may have also put an end to a long-standing baseball legend. The story goes that when Ted Williams was playing for the minor-league Padres, before going up to the Red Sox, he hit a home run over the right field wall that landed in a “hopper” car on the railroad tracks. That car went all the way to Baltimore. Therefore, the story humorously concludes, Teddy Ballgame’s home run traveled about 3000 miles further than the second longest home run on record! (I think that was Babe Ruth’s 602-foot shot one year in spring training.) As I remember, Lane Field was pretty spacious. So, Ted would have had to hit the ball over the fence and also over what appear to be buildings behind the wall and then all the way to the tracks next to the station. That seems pretty unlikely. I believe the home plate area is now a parking lot. Maybe I’ll go down one day and try to step it off --
Jerry Brooksher ‘64

John, When my family first came to SD in '49 my Dad was in the navy and we lived in little Italy. He took me to Lane Field often and though I don't really remember too much I do remember some of the names because the announcers made such a big deal of them LUUUUUUKE EaSSSSSter!! EAAAAARL RAAAAAAApp!!!!! DIIIIIck Sisler. Some times we would stand out on PCH to catch balls hit over the right field fence during batting practice and they would let us in free when we turned the ball over. Plus I think it was the 6th or 7th inning when they would let us in free. Plus if there was any security, they kind of turned their backs when the local kids snuck in. In the long run that was better security for the park 'cause nobody fooled with the park while so many local kids kept an eye on it. Many good memories --
Don Tineo ‘63

I saw a game at Lane Field...I also saw Eisenhower speak there when he was running for President --
Jeannine Berger Passenheim ‘60

I think I might be the only Crawford grad to watch his Father play baseball at Lane Field. My Dad, Red Mathis, was a catcher for the Padres in 1953 and 1954. He broke his arm in a bench-clearing brawl in Seattle during the 1954 season (the Padres won the PCL Championship that year) and never played again, but we stayed in San Diego and I ended up graduating from CHS -- Ed Mathis ‘66

I attended one game with my father, brother, and grandfather, in about 1950. Our seats were in the top row, where I could stand up, turn around, and watch the ships in the harbor. For several reasons, I found the game uninteresting, and spent most of my time watching the ships. It might have been a very uneventful game, but I think it was the time when I needed glasses, but didn't know it. The whole world was out of focus for me, and I could see ships much better than baseballs -- Mike Fry '60








Return to Howard Rozelle Page

Return to Historic Photos Page