All great things in life begin with a dream.
Then you surround yourself with like-minded people who have a similar vision who’ll go that extra mile and beyond to make dreams a reality.
That’s what happened Friday afternoon as several hundred people made their way to Bruce Steinbecker Field in Manitowoc to witness the official dedication of the field named in honor of the longtime coach and educator, prior to the season opener against the Winneconne Wolves.
Many who’ve had children come through the Manitowoc School District speak of the positive, lifelong impact Steinbecker has had on them during his 29-year career as a baseball coach and physical education teacher in the district.
Steinbecker tells seehafernews.com that many “a lot of’s” came to fruition Friday afternoon.
“It’s a lot of years with a lot of people behind the scenes,” he stated. “A lot of just dreaming and vision, with constantly thinking of how we can make it a better educational experience for the kids. This has always been our goal to get to this point where we have a place that everybody can be proud of. It’s a bit surreal.”
Five children of the Maurice Jones family received their education here and made a major financial contribution towards the renovation of the former Municipal Field.
Maurice says they’re honored to be a part of investing in the future of young people.
“One of our greatest responsibilities as parents is to raise children who are good,” he said. “And it helps when you have great people like Bruce Steinbecker, and I could go on and on with many names. This is an amazing community. We love everybody here. It’s our home.”
MPSD Athletics and Activities Director Stan Diedrich remembers playing on the old Municipal Field back in 1988.
“I just remember when it was really dry, and it was the first time that we played here,” he recalled. “This field has gotten plenty of use over the years from the high school American Legion, Northwoods, and Shoreland League teams, and to see it today is incredible. It’s the result of many individuals in the community and the school board working out front of and behind the scenes. The bottom line is that there’s now a quality facility where kids from all over Wisconsin and the Midwest can come and play baseball.”
Members of the Manitowoc Public School Board of Education, along with the Jones Family, Andy Konkle, and Bruce Steinbecker, were all recognized in a field recognition ceremony prior to the first pitch of Friday afternoon’s game.
Additional special events will be held during the season, with dates and times to be announced soon.
As for the game, Winneconne scored four runs in the first inning to defeat Manitowoc Lincoln by the score of 4 to 0. The Ships return to action Tuesday (April 7th) when they travel to Green Bay to play Notre Dame Academy in the FRCC opener.
