“Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.”

~Casey Stengel

By Mary O’KEEFE

It took a team of community members, coaches, school administrators and a state senator to secure a recent donation of funds for upgrades to the landmark Stengel Field in Glendale.

On Tuesday State Senator Anthony Portantino announced his budget request of $2 million was approved. These funds will be used for the restoration of Stengel Field.

For over 50 years, Stengel Field has been home to the baseball programs of Glendale Community College and Crescenta Valley High School. For years it was the graduation venue for CVHS as well.

The field was first opened in 1949 as the Verdugo Park Municipal Baseball Field but in 1952 it was renamed in honor of hometown baseball hero Casey Stengel who lived in Glendale.

Stengel’s career in baseball spanned 54 years with his first full major league season as a player beginning in 1913. In 1923 he played with the Giants and went to the World Series. He was a manager of the Dodgers between 1934 and 1936 and the Boston Braves from 1938 to 1943. He spent some time as a minor league manager when he led his teams to 100-win seasons three times. Stengel was named the Yankees manager in 1949. The players he managed included Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto and a young Mickey Mantle. Under his management the Yankees won five consecutive World Series championships from 1949 to 1953. He later went on to the Mets before retiring in 1965. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, and died in 1975, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Maintaining his legacy has been at the heart of so many in and around Glendale.

“I am happy to help garner funds to restore our landmark baseball field here in Glendale,” stated Senator Portantino. “Casey Stengel Field has been around for decades and, with the upcoming restoration, it can continue serving the community.”

The field has had its struggles. Due to water damage the field was condemned in 2011 and a campaign to refurbish, remodel and rebuild began. In February 2020, the field was finally reopened with more than a few improvements.

CVHS baseball head coach Phil Torres, who is entering season 26 as the Falcons’ front man, proposed the idea for bungalows around 2011 when the previous dressing areas underneath the bleachers were torn down. Eight long years later, in September 2019, renovations finally began. Torres credited GUSD’s Dr. Vivian Ekchian with the changes.

“Once [she] came in and we talked about it, I believed she was going to make it happen, so we started raising money for the inside … She made it a priority for our kids, so we can’t thank her enough,” said Torres in an earlier CVW interview.

The funds will be used by the City of Glendale to replace grass with synthetic turf, and install a press box and a covering for the bleachers.

Torres is in charge of taking care of the field. He was there mowing it on July 4 because “you have to take care of it,” he said. The idea of installing artificial turf makes him happy.

“The field is used seven days a week,” he said. “If there is any field in the country that needs an artificial infield it’s [Stengel].”

Local businessman and coach Rick Dinger said he was talking to Senator Portantino over a year ago and mentioned that Stengel really needed help. Dinger put Portantino’s office in touch with those who are at the field on a daily basis.

“I played baseball at Stengel as a kid, my son played [in the] Babe Ruth championship that they won,” he said. He added Stengel Field plays an important role in Glendale.

“Stengel Field is not only one of Glendale’s best baseball fields, but also a historic gem,” stated Glendale Mayor Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian. “We are grateful that Senator Portantino recognized this and, once again, came through for us, providing the necessary funds to upgrade and renovate our beloved ball park!”

Dinger added that the improvements would be used by future generations and his gratitude for the $2 million was shared by others.

“It is with great excitement and appreciation that we hear of funds being allocated to help in our continued efforts to preserve and improve historic Casey Stengel Field,” stated Spiro A. Psaltis, acting president of the Stengel Field Foundation. “This venue is a special and iconic place in both the City of Glendale and the history of baseball itself for over 70 years, and continues to be one of the gems of the Jewel City, as the home of Glendale Community College baseball, Crescenta Valley High School baseball, as well as the hub for youth area baseball. We look forward to working with the City of Glendale to use these administered funds toward keeping Casey Stengel Field the showcase that it has always been, and will be, in the years to come. We at the Stengel Field Foundation extend our most sincere thanks to Senator Portantino and his staff for their efforts to provide these funds to historic Casey Stengel Field.”