03/15/2024
Love the vision my friend…thank you for all that you do!
Greetings, Crusaders!
Watching the "sandlot" that was a big part of his childhood deteriorate over the last few decades did not sit well with this Crusader. From the 1940s to the 1980s, Hubbard Park was a magnet for activity. Ice skating in the winter months, a traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial and home to the circus, not to mention world-class fast pitch softball in the summer. After a few decades of minimal activity and upkeep, it’s been restored to its original glory. One major reason: The vision and leadership of Bishop Heelan Class of ’78 alum Pete Sandman.
Softball fans have been enjoying Hubbard Park since 1940. In fact, nearly 4000 fans showed up in July of 1940 on opening night. Once home to world-class fastpitch softball, a group of volunteers led by Pete, joined forces in 2021 to bring the park back to its former glory. Over the last two years Hubbard Park has seen more than $350,000 in improvements and softball has returned to Hubbard Park and Hard Rock Field.
“I literally grew up here. I lived nearby at 2814 Jennings Street and played softball down here. Softball players were my heroes. I used to be a batboy in the dugout,” Pete said. Pete became one of the world’s most feared fastpitch softball pitchers with Penn Corp and the Gateway Soos. An Iowa Softball Hall of Fame inductee, known as a "flame thrower", Pete will also be inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame this October in Oklahoma City. While his playing days are over, his love for the game and this park are not. “A few years back I was there and it was like Hubbard Park was just going to become history. I just thought it was time to get something done and an opportunity for me to give back to the game I love,” said Sandman.
So, Sandman, longtime park caretaker Steve Hauge and legendary umpire Delbert Christensen hatched a plan to bring the unique ballpark back to life. The goal was eventually putting the park on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2022, they approved the park’s recognition. That registry is maintained by the U.S. Interior Department and Park Service.
It was a labor of love for these three who not only raised funds for the project but invested their own blood and sweat. The work started almost immediately, and support came nationwide. A rededication was held last summer with an alumni reunion game. Former Hubbard Park fast pitch softball icons traveled from near and far to participate and celebrate the rebirth of the park they all called home. Finishing touches continue to this day for “old glory.”
Christensen, who passed away in the spring of 2023 before seeing the renovation completed, reflected, “In Iowa, this is comparable to Wrigley Field. This is the Wrigley Field of softball and darn near as old.” There were many former players from high above smiling down at what had transpired. "Delbert not seeing this project completed was one of the saddest things in the world," said Pete.
As the Hubbard Park facelift continues, so do the opportunities to put the park back on the softball radar. Plans are for more summer youth and high school games being played there as well as creating more opportunities to promote this sport that has been a part of Sioux City for so long. Pete, a longtime coach of the youth softball team P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude), continues to give back to the game that was introduced to him by guys like Steve Maguire and Dan "Boone" Simon.
Thank you to Team Sandman for your passion and commitment to bringing life back to a place that created lifelong memories for so many of us, AND for your P.M.A.!
— Tom Betz '85, BHCS Vice President of Advancement
