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History of Tecolote
Tecolote Park occupies nearly 11 acres of ground. In 1958, the
majority of this acreage was set aside for park development after the
Overlook Heights Improvement Association persuaded the city to forego
commercial development plans in favor of a neighborhood park.
In
1962, Tecolote Little League obtained a lease to develop the grounds
for youth baseball. Five years later 3.2 more acres were acquired and
construction was underway. In January of 1968, Tecolote Little League
obtained a Certificate of Charter and play was under way that spring
and continued to be governed by Little League until 1976, when PONY
Youth Baseball took over.
The first two fields were located
where the Tennis & Racquet Club is situated today. Much of what you
see currently has evolved considerably since the old Little League
days. In fact, quite a few changes have taken place since the mid 90’s.
The Shetland and Pinto fields were reconfigured in 1994. Prior to that,
Pony played on the Bronco field; Bronco played on the Mustang field;
Mustang played on the Pinto grounds; and Pinto played in the areas just
east of its present location. The current Pony field was a
multi-purpose field used heavily for adult softball.
Tecolote
Youth Baseball is widely regarded as one of the most competitive
leagues in all of Southern California. Numerous championships have been
achieved throughout the years. The pinnacle of that success was reached
in 1991 when our Mustang All Stars won the PONY World Series, going
undefeated throughout the competition at Pacific Grove Municipal
Ballpark. In the finals, Tecolote defeated Valencia 10-0; a ten-run
rule victory in which pitcher, Ben Luthard, threw a no hitter. Other
team members included Brad Raistrick, Ryan Bouchardt, Torrey Ward,
Anthony Rocceforte, Dustin Aglio, Paul Saccone, Jensen Smith, Dustin
Bloomfield, Jonathan Felfoldi, Michael Madruga and Brett Sangiolo. The
manager was Pete Saccone.
Just as there have been many, many
fine teams to represent Tecolote, so too, have there been a wealth of
exceptional ball players. Arguably the best in the history of Tecolote
Baseball was Bob Geren. Bob played here from age 8 through 14. He
slugged 50 career home runs during regular season and 6 in All Star
competition. Bob went on to star at Clairemont High; was a first round
draft choice of the Padres; and was named TOPPS Rookie of the Year in
1989, when he hit .288 with 9 home runs in 65 games for the Yankees.
Bob’s career was cut short by an arm injury. After brief stints with
the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox, he retired in 1992. Not ready
to give up on a career in baseball, Bob has gone from a successful
minor league manager to the manager of the Oakland A's in 2007. If
you are interested in learning more about Bob visit the San Diego Hall
of Champions.
And in 2005, Coach Mike Wilson took 12 Pony
players (14U) to the PONY World Series in Washington, PA. With a record
of 24-4, the team earned District, Region, Section, and Zone banners
for the first time in Tecolote Pony division history.
Throughout
the history of Tecolote Youth Baseball, the success of the Program can
be attributed to one major factor – Volunteerism. Parents who have been
willing to give of their time and skills to help ensure the quality of
the league. Please take a few moments to browse through the Volunteers
section of the site. We encourage you to offer your help in any way you
can. Some jobs are very short-term and task oriented, others are quite
time consuming; none moreso than the role of League President. A brief
history of the league would be remiss without going back as far as our
records take us to mention those who have given so unselfishly of their
time and abilities.
The following is a list of our recent league presidents:
David White 2008 - Present
Paul Antognoni 2007-2008
Bill Hood 2005-2007
Jim Martin: 2000-2005
Bob Amador: 1998-1999
Chris Ramos: 1997
Kathy Gleason-Pratt: 1996
Tom O'Donnell: 1995
Jim Ward: 1993-1994
John Craven: 1992
Richard del Rio: 1991
Finally,
Tecolote Youth Baseball would like to acknowledge Everett Mauger, our
League Historian for keeping track of the above information and much
more. Anyone wishing to go into greater depth on the history of the
league is encouraged to contact Everett.
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