Jackson Field renovation point of pride
Al K. Jackson Field, home to Shadle Park’s baseball team, became something of a reverse Field of Dreams over spring break.
For decades the players have come. This spring it was rebuilt.
The renovation came about because of the vision of Ron Brooks with a lot of help from his friends.
“It is the most used field in Spokane,” Brooks said. “It was just time to overhaul it and see what improvements could be done.”
Brooks, Shadle alumnus and current Highlanders baseball coach, has for more than 30 years made the ballpark a second home, his time spent there as a spectator, player and coach.
That’s how it has been for a lot of people. The field has been summer respite for baseball fans. Many’s the year I spent on first-base foul ground photographing the boys of spring and summer. I still remember the foul ball that singed my ear there, thankfully causing more embarrassment than serious injury.
It was the place I first got to know Brooks, who was coaching Lewis and Clark’s state-qualifying American Legion team.
Last Friday in front of a large audience he dedicated the renovated facility prior to a Shadle game. Typical of Brooks, he deferred all credit to the many who worked on the project. What started out as an idea last July, primarily a desire to put up a new scoreboard, became like an Extreme Makeover episode, done during a 14-day window during spring break.
A group of dedicated parents and supporters tore down dugouts, fences, bleachers and bullpens, jack-hammered away years of concrete and removed other obstacles. They replaced everything with new amenities, including aluminum bench bleachers, bigger steel dugouts, state-of-the-art bullpens, slatted chain-link fence, a home plate area accessorized with Astroturf removed from Albi Stadium for a touch of nostalgia. And, oh yes, the new scoreboard was aglow Friday in right-center field.
“What really got me going was that I always would drive by (during construction of) Gonzaga University’s new field,” said Brooks. “That was kind of the inspiration.”
He ran his thoughts past Shadle’s American Legion team rep Stacy Baker. She thought it was a great idea and, with her husband, Gene, spearheaded a project that took on a life of its own. Others too numerous to detail here became involved. Suffice it to say Brooks’ dream became a community reality.
Shadle’s baseball field, named for long-reigning American Legion baseball commissioner, the late Al K. Jackson, has been the league’s home for the past 40 or so years.
Great names from the past, said Brooks – Ryne Sandberg, Kevin Stocker, Mark Rypien, Bump Wills among them – played there. And, because of the improvements, great ones will continue to play there.
“For me it was really humbling to see everything happening,” Brooks said. “Even if it was just the scoreboard it would have been something.”
Having been a part of the accomplishment, he said, means even more.
“Like I told people the other night,” he said. “When you put your head on a swivel and scan the place, there’s a memory everywhere. No one can take that away.”