10/15 & 10/17: Morley Field
Morley Field Cost: FREE
Location: Meet at: Bud Kearns Municipal Pool, 2229 Morley Field Drive, San Diego, CA 92104 (619) 294-8990
Accessible: Yes. Tour will stay on sidewalks.
Description: Join us for a historical walking tour of Morley Field, provided to us by the North Park Historical Society. Developed during the Depression years and built by workers under a locally supported unemployment relief program similar to the later WPA program, Morley Field is a multi-purpose public area that includes a dog field, tennis courts, pool, softball fields, a velodrome, and beautiful, grassy areas with stunning views of San Diego. Learn as we walk about the history of Morley Field, its namesake John Morley, and discover parts you may have never been aware of.
Directions: The Morley Field Recreational Area is east of Florida Drive, west of Pershing Drive, and just south of Upas Street. Our meeting place is at the southernmost extent of Texas Street. From I-805, take the University Avenue exit and go west to Texas Street, then south. From I-8, take the Texas Street exit and go south. Continue south past Upas Street and turn right into the parking lot along the tennis courts in Morley Field, or circle left to the parking lost east of the pool.
Parking: There is plenty of free parking in the lot along the tennis courts west of Texas Street and south of Upas Street, or in the lot east of Texas Street and south of Upas Street. There are ADA parking spots in both lots.
Special Instructions: We will meet at the Municipal Pool. Look for the North Park Historical Society canopy and banner in the grassy area at the north end of the pool. As this is a walking tour, please wear comfortable shoes and clothing for walking. We will be keeping to the sidewalks for safety and accessibility reasons. There are several restrooms available along the way, including near the softball fields, velodrome, and tennis courts. You may want to consider bringing a picnic and enjoying the views and atmosphere after our tour is over.
Website: https://northparkhistory.org
This week, you will visit one of the older recreation centers in San Diego. Located off of Texas Street in Balboa Park, it is a multi-faceted sports complex offering tennis, a swimming pool, a play area, some group picnic areas, an archery range, ball fields, a velodrome (for racing bicycles), bocce courts, a disc golf course, a fitness course, Petanque courts, the Balboa Park Golf Course, native trails in Florida Canyon, the golden Hill Recreation Center and Golden Hill Park. In today’s lesson, we will learn a little more about the center (trying not to cover all the highlights of our docent’s talk), some discussion on North Park and background on some of the activities that you can find there. Put on your walking shoes for this informative and inspiring venue!
History of Morley Field
(Covington, 2012)
Morley Field was named after John Morley who served as a park superintendent in Balboa Park from 1911 to 1939. It was Morley who had been interested in the recreation center in 1914, just a few years after he began his job as superintendent. He had set aside the northeast corner of the park for outdoor recreation. Supported by the public, his project was funded and on New Year’s Day 1933, the dedication was held.
The idea of Morley Field was launched as a result of the decline in building in 1932, in the height of the depression. However, that would change as San Diego began to shift focus on a project for unemployment relief. In 1931, the municipal golf course was created as a result of this shift. In 1932, discussions were held between the City Council and the North Park Business Men’s Club about developing a “North Park Recreation Center” on the northeast region of Balboa Park.
In March of 1932, San Diego voters approved a $300,000 bond issue for unemployment relief, and a committee of North Park businessmen came up with a plan for approximately 10 acres. The plan included a swimming pool, heating plant, clubhouse, two baseball diamonds, eight double tennis courts, ten shuffle board courts, a children’s wading pool and sand pits. The budget was estimated at $75,000. A crew of 20 began work on April 4, 1932.
North Park
(Where is North Park, 2010)
North Park has overlapping jurisdictions, but is marked by some major boundaries:
· I-805 on the east
· Park Blvd. on the west
· The hills above Mission Valley on the north
· Juniper Street on the south
· And Upas Street and 29th Street as the community planning area
It has two zip codes. 92104 (the original zip code) changes to 92116 at Meade Avenue, extending east past I-805 to Cherokee Avenue in City Heights.
Because subdivisions were mapped and filed at various times by different people, there is a large overlapping of areas, creating subdivisions such as Hartley’s North Park (University Avenue, Dwight St, 32nd St and Ray Street) and McFadden & Buxton’s North Park (named for real estate entrepreneurs Joseph McFadden and George Buxton who purchased it in the early 1910s.
Morley Field’s own Bill Whittaker
(Center, 2019)
When learning about Morley Field, you may hear of Coach Bill Whittaker. He was the longest tenured employee in the City’s history at 55 years. At his retirement party, then Mayor Jerry Sanders joked, “I’ve got to find a way to get more working longevity from my employees”.
He coached for 39 years at St. Augustine High School, beginning in 1956. His best team at St. Augustine was the 1967 team which went 21-4 and won the Eastern League title. He also scouted for two major league baseball teams and sent three of his ball players to the majors (Bob Spence, pitcher John D’Acquisto and catcher John Watham. He ran the Parochial Sports Leagues for the Diocese of San Diego.
Over the years, he worked as recreational leader at a dozen different rec centers and playgrounds in San Diego, including University Heights, Hoover High, Muni Gym and Morley Field.
He was inducted into the San Diego Coaching Legends in 2004 and the Breitbard Hall of Fame in 2012.
He has two days on the city calendar named “Bill Whittaker Day”.
What is Petanque and how do you pronounce it?
(What is Petanque, 2005)
OK, when looking at all of the things in the Morley Field complex, you saw Petanque. What is it, and how the heck is it pronounced?
Chances are you have seen the court. It is a game which began in France around 1907 and consists of a small ball (called a jack), six or 8 larger metal balls (called boules), a measure and a carrying case. Players divide into two teams of one, two or three players. The first player throws the jack (the target players are aiming for) from a designated throwing spot. The rest of the game is spent trying to throw your boules closer to the jack than the other team. After all boules are thrown, the team with the closest boule receives a point for each boule that is closer to the jack than their opponents. The first team to earn 13 points wins the game.
Petanque is pronounced Pay-tonk and Boules is pronounced Boolz.
Video:
This is part instructional and part entertaining. And remember, you can never be too polite. Watch the short video to learn more about Petanque.
Disc Golfing at Morley Field
(About Morley Field, 2016) (A guide to Disc Golf from the PDGA, 2016)
Video:
Want to learn more about disc golf? In this video, you are introduced to the different types of discs and tips on how to become a better disc golf player.
Video:
And this video walks you through the Morley Field Disc Golf course.
One activity at Morley Field is disc golf. Disc Golf is played much like golf. Instead of a ball and clubs, the players using a flying disc or a Frisbee. The sport was formalized in the 1970s and shares with golf the object of completing each hole in the fewest strokes (or, in disc golf, fewest throws).
The golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target, which is the “hole”. The hole can be one of a number of type of targets, the most common an elevated metal basket. As a player goes down the fairway, they must make each throw from the spot where the previous throw landed. The environment in the area (trees, shrubs and terrain) provide obstacles. The final “putt” lands in the basket and the hole is completed.
The Morley Field Disc Golf course was established by Snapper Pierson in 1978, making it one of the original disc golf courses in the world. The course overall isn’t that long, but has some lengthy holes and is maintained by shop employees. The course is challenging with many trees and tough pin placements. Pin positions change every Monday, and there are 3 to 6 positions for each hole.
The course is open to the public from dawn to dusk year-round, except during some selected championship tournaments.
Bicycle track racing at the Velodrome
(Track Cycling 101: What to Know, 2019) (San Diego Velodrome, 2018)
Another interesting sport which takes place at Morley Field is the sport of bicycle track racing. The San Diego Velodrome is one of three velodromes in the Southwestern US, and is a premiere training and racing destination. The track was constructed in 1976, and is maintained by the San Diego Velodrome Association.
Bicycle track racing is held on this course. Specialty bikes are used at the velodrome, bikes that are incredibly stiff which allow for fast generation of speed. They are typically made from carbon fibre with aerodynamically shaped tube profiles. They do not have a traditional groupset or brakes, which means that they can’t change gears or stop quickly. The only way to stop is to slow their pedalling. The handlebars are similar to a road bike but narrower with a sharp drop to adopt a more aggressive aerodynamic position.
If you are interested in seeing how the sport is performed, you can show up at the Velodrome during a training session. The calendar of events is on the San Diego Velodrome page and can be found here.
Video:
In this short video, you learn more about track racing and what is offered at the San Diego Velodrome.
What to do in North Park
(5 things to do in North Park, San Diego, 2019)
SoDiego Tours is a website for San Diego communities. They offer five things to do in North Park. Following your trip to Morley Field, head on up to the North Park area and check out some of these ideas:
· Explore the art scene: With many galleries, studies, performing arts venues, shows, street art and more, North Park is a haven for art lovers.
· Live entertainment: The Observatory North Park (once called the Birch North Park Theater) was converted into an intimate, red velvet-seat live theater and concert venue in 2005. It offers many concerts, shows, private parties and events. Other places with live entertainment include some North Park Theater (home to San Diego Lyric Opera, Lestats Coffee House (with local music), Queen Bee’s (poetry) and Wine Wednesdays at Caffee Calbria.
· Local shopping at specialty stores: They recommend visiting unique retail establishments such as George’s Camera, as well as other options for vintage costumes, rare records, dog photographers and more.
· North Park Thursday Market: This farmer’s market takes place every Thursday and is a family-friendly, community-focused event. There are more than 90 tents at this market with locally grown produce, artisan grocery items, prepared food and hand crafted jewelry.
· Food and drink: If you like beer, visit the corner of University Avenue and 30th Street, which claims to be “the best beer neighborhood in the nation”. Or, if you like comfort food (in a hip environment), they recommend West Coast Tavern or Urban Solace.
Summary
Morley Field is a wonderful location for exploring a number of different types of recreation. Many of these are low cost or free. From swimming and tennis, to disc golf and hiking, there is something for everyone. Learn about all of the options available in this wonderful recreational facility.
Works Cited
11 Cool Places to go in North Park, San Diego. (2017, September 28). Retrieved from localwanderer.com: http://www.localwanderer.com/new-blog/2017/9/28/san-diego
5 things to do in North Park, San Diego. (2019, February 28). Retrieved from sodiegotours.com: https://sodiegotours.com/5-things-north-park-san-diego/
A guide to Disc Golf from the PDGA. (2016, August 3). Retrieved from pdga.com: https://www.pdga.com/introduction
About Morley Field. (2016, March 3). Retrieved from morleyfield.com: https://www.morleyfield.com/about
Center, B. (2019, May 13). Longtime St. Augustine coach, city employee Bill Whittaker dies at 92. Retrieved from sandiegouniontribune.com: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/story/2019-05-13/bill-whittaker-death-st-augustine-coach-city-san-diego-employee-parks-recreation
Covington, D. (2012, May 10). Once Upon a Time in North Park. Retrieved from northparkhistory.org: http://northparkhistory.org/historical-information/once-upon-a-time-in-north-park-articles/articles-about-infastructure/a-short-history-of-morley-field/
San Diego Velodrome. (2018, October 21). Retrieved from balboapark.org: https://www.balboapark.org/recreation/velodrome
Track Cycling 101: What to Know. (2019, February 5). Retrieved from bikeexchange.com: https://www.bikeexchange.com/blog/track-cycling-guide-everything-to-know
What is Petanque. (2005, February). Retrieved from playaboule.com: https://www.playaboule.com/What_is_Petanque.aspx
Where is North Park. (2010, February). Retrieved from northparkhistory.org: https://northparkhistory.org/historical-information/where-is-north-park/