Field of Dreams Marks 20th Anniversary

Larry Wolfe

The Field of Dreams, the home of Sun Lakes Softball, was dedicated on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2002. We’ll be recognizing the 20th anniversary of the field this November.

Sun Lakes Softball was founded in 1984 by Jack Lander with the help of many other pioneers and the support of Ed Robson. The very first “makeshift” field was at the corner of Minnesota Avenue and EJ Robson Boulevard in Cottonwood. In 1988 we played briefly at an empty lot at the corner of Riggs Road and Dobson Boulevard where the First Baptist Church now stands. Then in 1989 we moved to our first “real field” with fences, a backstop, dugouts, stands for fans, and other amenities. This field was located where the Robson Library Branch is today. The only drawback was that a lot of foul balls ended up on Riggs Road!

Then in 2002 we moved to the current Field of Dreams. The Opening Ceremonies on that November day included the introduction of the many individuals and companies that contributed to the construction of the field. There was also a brief memorial service in remembrance of the softball players who had passed since the 1984 founding of our association. That was followed by a tournament featuring our then four men’s teams. We’ve now more than doubled our membership to include eight men’s teams, the Lady Sluggers, and a recreational program.

There are still a dozen guys involved in our program who played in that 2002 Opening Day tournament. They include Dennis Bernaiche, Dennis Colbert, Bill Corso, Denny Davidson, Jim Dunn, Dave Graham-Armstrong, Evan Hansen, Bob Hutchins, Tom Lorgan, Ron Pennington, Tom Vitolo, and Larry Wolfe.

Here’s to the next 20 years of Sun Lakes Softball!