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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JULY 2022 19 By Dick Roppé, Resident If you are a baseball fan, you probably had a favorite team when you were growing up. That was the case with me. Having been born in San Diego, I was around the age of nine when I attended my first Padres ballgame with my Pops. At that time the Padres were in the Pacific Coast League and played their home games at Lane Field, named after Bill Lane, the Padres' owner in 1936. It was located right at the foot of Broadway and a stone's throw from San Diego Bay. Walking up the tunnel to the field, a pastoral panorama of a giant green lawn gradually unfolded as Pops and I entered the park itself. I was in awe… and I was hooked! The memories are still there. In addition to the Padres, I still remember all the PCL teams at that time; the Oakland Oaks, Hollywood Stars, Sacramento Solons, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Rainiers, San Francisco Seals and Portland Beavers. Then there was the food. Of course, hot dogs were a favorite and Cracker Jack was up there as well, but the most sought-after fares were popcorn and peanuts. Odd you say? Here's the reason. In the bottom of each red-striped box of popcorn and brown bag of peanuts, there was a Padres player card. I personally and quickly ruled out popcorn because the butter on the popcorn played havoc with the cards at the bottom of the box. After the 1957 season, the Padres were sold to C. Arnholdt Smith, who moved the team from rickety Lane Field to Westgate Park, an 8,200-seat facility located in what is now the Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley. Incidentally that same year, my high school baseball team was city champs and had a playoff game at Westgate Park. The minor league Padres continued playing at Westgate until 1969 when they became one of four major league expansion teams setting up shop at then, San Diego Stadium. In 1981 the stadium was renamed Jack Murphy, better known as "The Murph," after sports columnist Jack Murphy, who was instrumental in getting major league baseball in San Diego. Two stadium naming iterations followed, when naming rights became a new source of revenue for owners; Qualcomm, "The Q" and San Diego County Credit Union "SDCCU." The team moved to Petco Park in 2004. From my very first game as wide-eyed kid to a very senior Soleran, I have seen my Padres go from the minors to the majors. They survived a scare in 1974, when McDonalds' magnate, Ray Kroc, purchased the team and kept them from moving to Washington, D.C. Their journey has taken them to two World Series and as of now, the season being half over, the "Boys of Summer" are wrestling for another run at the postseason. Go Friars! In closing, I would like to thank you, the readers, for all your compliments over the many years I've been writing for the View. Lynn and I are moving south to be closer to her daughter's family and me, to the families of my two sons. It's been a good run! PLAY BALL! Petco Park The Murph and The Q Entering Lane Field Lane Field Looking West By Mary McKernan, Resident The Solera Diamond Valley Mah Jongg group is in their 2022 season. We play Monday afternoons at 1 pm and Thursday evenings at 4:30 pm. This challenging game is played with the official standard hands and rules set by the National Mah Jongg League. Barbara Garcia, Barbara Rosenberg and Sharon Larson are three of the original players who have played continuously since taking lessons from a former resident about nine years ago. I've been playing for only eight months. I started by sitting on the sidelines watching a foursome play. Hannah Fleischer and Ellen Kahn were very helpful. I was hooked. I got a hold of a set of tiles and practiced at home assembling drawn tiles into winning hands. Three weeks later I jumped in. To this day I look forward to the weekly camaraderie and strategic play of Mah Jongg. Come check it out and join us. Mah Jongg

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