REFLECTIONS "Growing up in the 50's"- Chapter 5 Field of Dreams

Nostalgia Tidbit: It only took a hand full of us and an open field of some kind for us to play some baseball. We even had neighborhood versus neighborhood games. Everybody was always ready to play. So few of the “toys” we know today were available in the 50’s. Besides, our Moms didn’t even have to make us get out of the house. We were in our element.

 Chapter 5

Field of Dreams

As I grew up we had a ballpark convenient to the

neighborhood. We lived on a dead end street of about

twenty houses. At the entrance to our street just across

the main highway was our “field of dreams”. It was

built and we came! It was called Connie Mack field.

While school was in session it was used for all the

junior high and high school football and baseball

games. During the summer it was used for Little

League and Pony League baseball.  

We spent many hours inside those fences whether it be

organized baseball, football or the unorganized games

we often played. The most special times were when the

whole gang of us would shimmy over the six foot high

fence during the summer while no one else was there.

The whole gang could have been anywhere from four

or five to nine or ten of us. Whether it be a few of us

or several, we always found a way to have a baseball

game. We would always use second base as home

plate, hitting the ball toward the outfield. That way

some of us or I should say some of them would have a

chance of hitting the ball over the outfield fence.

 Throughout those years, I don’t think I ever put one

over the fence. Often we would play three on three or

whatever we had to do in order to make it a game. 

We chased a lot of balls in Connie Mack Field. Even

though nowadays, many would question the fact that

baseball is “America’s pastime”…there is no question,

in those days it was definitely our major pastime and I

truly believe it was America’s pastime. I loved every

minute of it and often recall those great moments spent

at Connie Mack Field with the ole gang. Nowadays

and for many years now, the former location of Connie

Mack Field is covered with commercial storage

buildings. Unless you are old enough and lived there in

the 50’s you would never know it had been the sports

center of our community for many years. 

Even though I moved from that area many years ago, I

still, often ride by what used to be our “field of

dreams” and can catch a glimpse of the old oak tree

still standing. This tree is all that remains from

those days. It was just outside the park, behind the

home plate bleachers. We spent a lot of time

resting in the shade of that tree after some hard fought

competition.

That old oak tree is almost like an old friend. To this

day as I give it a passing glimpse, it sparks my fond

memories of those great moments at Connie Mack

Field.

Somewhere, under all that commercialization, remain our footprints never to be erased.