| I.S.C. From The Ballpark |
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The Trip
By Bob Otto / Yucaipa, CA
One short block down Bennett to Anaheim Avenue and hang a left past Tommy's World Famous hamburgers. Two blocks to Park Avenue turn right and with a quick left into the parking lot, you're there.
The trip is four blocks long and about a seven-minute walk.
The trip is one that Irvin "Red" Meairs and his wife Connie made from their Bennett Street home "often".
Six days a week, ten months out of the year for about 30 years, they say.
The trip was repeated a dizzying number of times. "Too many to count," said 79-year-old Red. "I enjoyed the walk to the park with friends," said Connie, 70.
The trip was born out of love and necessity. Once Red took ownership of the Long Beach Nitehawks men's fastpitch softball team, he and Connie became the team's lifeblood until the team folded in 1988.
And the money that financed the team flowed from the cozy little concession stand at Joe Rodgers Field.
The concession stand was our "primary fundraiser," said Red. "Without it we wouldn't have been able to do it. It would have been nice to have a big sponsor (but) we didn't."
Connie was the chief cook and bottle washer. She worked tirelessly. "We started at six and closed after 10 Monday through Friday nights," she said. "We worked all day either Saturday or Sunday depending on when the games were."
Remember: Five nights a week, and either Saturday or Sunday for 10 MONTHS year in, year out. Connie and Red worked with incredible devotion to keep their world-class fastpitch softball team in existence.
Connie sold Nitehawks souvenirs and a variety of food. Her Tamales the big hit. "Friday nights we did real good," Connie said. "Some came to watch the game and eat. Some came out for Friday night dinner and went right home. Some came to eat with friends. We had such wonderful times."
But financing the team took more than the concession stand. When Red finished work at the Long Beach post office in early afternoon, he was off to his second job hustling for sponsors.
"It was a battle every year (raising money)," Red said. "I'd get off work and start knocking on (business) doors trying to raise money. I didn't call or send letters, it was too easy for them to say no. When the season was over I took two months off, then got back to it."
And if they came up short? "I took care of airfare, food, and hotels for the players and their wives," said Red. "If I was short I paid out of my personal finances."
The couple was admired for their devotion and hard work. Friendships made through the years kept them going. But every year was touch and go.
"Every season I'd say this is the last one," Connie said. "But the fans and friends kept me coming back. It was exhilarating being around them."
And they drew quite a following. "We had a loyal fan base," said Connie. "About 200 never missed a ball game. They became our friends and fans. They saved up their vacation time to follow us around."
The Nitehawk concession stand was billed as "the place to eat" in the Nitehawks official program that Red printed yearly. It was a fundraising tradition begun by Joe Rodgers, with his "beat up trailer," Connie says chuckling about the memory. Later a permanent concession stand was built (year unknown) which, of course, became Connie's second home.
Connie's menu offered chili dogs, hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, soda, cigarettes, tea, coffee, and of course, the renowned tamales. "Some people came to the park for the tamales," she said. "They kept me pretty busy in back (cooking)."
After the Nitehawks folded operation in 1988, Joe Rodgers Field underwent a complete facelift.
The cozy little concession stand where friends gathered. The cozy little concession stand that offered the best tamales money could buy.
The cozy little concession stand, once the lifeblood of the Nitehawks, was torn down.
And the trip was no more.