House that Z Built
Bulldogs' boosters pose stadium name change
By Jenny Debevec/Vacaville Reporter Staff August 2, 2001
Vacaville High School's football stadium is sometimes informally referred to as the house that Tom Zunino built. That could soon be official.
In a time when good teachers often go unappreciated, local sports fans and students are rallying behind a petition to rename Harold Youngblood Stadium after Zunino, arguably its most renowned coach.
The petition was initiated by past presidents of the Quarterback Club. Its members will go before the Vacaville school board on Aug. 16 to request the removal of the Youngblood name from the football field, which presently graces both the stadium and the gymnasium.
"(Zunino has) made a lifelong contribution to the community," said Elmer Barker, a member of the Quarterback Club. He points out that Zunino, now retired, taught at Vacaville High for 38 years. He was a football coach and the Bulldogs' boys athletic director for 37 years.
"Tom has been instrumental in building the stadium, acquiring lighting and landscape, signs and bleachers," Barker added. "The field is Zunino's as far as we're concerned."
Barker intends to spark a dialogue between supporters and opponents of the proposal. He hopes to generate enough interest to approach the school board with significant amounts of feedback about how best to honor Zunino. Harold Youngblood, for whom the stadium was named in 1951, was a former teacher, principal and superintendent at Vacaville High before his death in 1959 at the age of 48. The field currently serves football, soccer and track teams at Vacaville High, as well as the Will C. Wood football and track teams.
According to Joan Mumaugh, Vacaville's girls athletic director, the request for the change was sent to Youngblood's only known living descendent, nephew Jim Cummins.
Mumaugh's letter stated "I have talked with Bill Carroll (county supervisor and former mayor of Vacaville), a longtime friend of both Mr. and Mrs. Youngblood. Mr. Carroll supports the change since the gymnasium at Vacaville High School will still bear Harold Youngblood's name."
Cummins responded with a letter of approval and congratulations for Zunino's service.
According to Barker, Zunino also assisted in establishing Pop Warner youth football in Vacaville. That program is a training ground for elementary and junior high school students. Moreover, his work with John Gilley through the Vacaville Special Education program facilitated relationships between the football team and the developmentally disabled, Barker said.
So far, the crosstown rivalry between Wood and Vacaville high schools (both use the stadium) seems unaffected by the proposal.
"Tom has done a lot for football in Vacaville," Said Tim Galli, Wood's boys athletic director. "The rivalry shouldn't enter into honoring a man's life work."
Likewise, Zunino acknowledged, "It's a school district facility. There is (only) one Vacaville ... and we've got to shake that idea of north and south."
Although flattered by the proposition, he voiced concern about general decisions to dedicate facilities to honor those who have made significant contributions to the community. "There are so many people who have given to the community," he said.
"My personal feeling is that there should be a way to acknowledge more than one person. There could be a plaque for all the people who have helped out," he added.
He cited numerous coaches from other school districts such as Vallejo, and Fairfield who have assisted in building up school athletic programs. He suggested the possibility of changing the dedication every 10 years so that those faculty who are making current contributions will be recognized.
Zunino also stated his reasons for using his influence to improve athletics as simple give-and-take. "Vacaville has been so good to me, I wanted to be good to Vacaville," he said.
Youngblood namesake will remain Even if the football stadium at Vacaville High School is renamed, the memory of Harold Basil Youngblood will remain. The school gymnasium will continue to bear his name. Youngblood was born in Grand Saline, Texas, on Oct. 22, 1911. He received his bachelor's degree from East Texas Station College in 1939 and his master's from the College of the Pacific in Stockton in 1951.
He served 40 months in the Air Force during World War II and was discharged from active duty at Travis Air Force Base in 1946. He taught the following term in the audiovisual department of the county superintendent of the schools office in Fairfield and served four years as principal of Elm School.
He served as superintendent of the former Vacaville High School District from 1952 until the time of his death.
Youngblood served as president of the Vacaville Lion's Club and completed his term as governor of District 4B-3 for Lion's Clubs in Northern California in 1958, making official visits to more than 70 clubs in one year.
A leader in education, he was a member of Phi Delta Kappa, honorary scholastic society and an area director of the California Association of Secondary School Administrators.
Ironically, it was the ravages of cancer that outraced him at the pinnacle of his career. He became a victim of the disease on Nov. 6, 1959, several months after completing his term as president of the Solano County branch of the American Cancer Society.
