The Green Girl's Blair Field Midday Run

Blair Field home of the Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball team

The Green Girl managed to squeeze in a rare midday run during her work-from-home lunch hour today.

I headed out sans Mr. Green Garmin and allowed my run to be governed by whim.

I ran through residential neighborhoods and then weaved over to Recreation Park where I ran around Blair Field.

Blair Field was named after the stadium's biggest advocate, Frank T. Blair, a sports editor for the Long Beach Press-Telegram from 1921 to 1953.

National Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Lemon

At the main gate, there's a memorial plaque inscribed with the words, 'Bob Lemon, it was his field of dreams.'

Bob Lemon attended the high school across the street from Blair Field, Wilson High School. He was a Major League Baseball player and coach and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.

The surface of the Blair Field parking lot is covered with graffiti. I surmised the art was the work of Wilson High School students since I saw 'Class of 2010' scrawled across a few parking spots.

You are so fantastic!

Turns out the city of Long Beach sold the parking lot to the Long Beach Unified School District for Wilson High parking back in 1992. The revenue from the sale allowed Blair Field to replace worn wooden benches with aluminum ones, replace the roof, paint the entire facility, replace the backstop, upgrade the stadium sound system, reconstruct the playing surface, including a new drainage system, and install a new lighting system.

Back of Blair Field scoreboard

I ran past the Long Beach State Dirtbags 2011 season schedule and stared up at the back of the electronic scoreboard at the backside of field.

The two most important things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen. Bob Lemon