Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino, California has been home to many different teams from many different leagues and age groups, but it has always been a home to the sport of baseball.

Built in 1934 (or 1936, depending on who you ask) as Perris Hill Park Ball Field, this historic ballpark has a special place in my heart, first as a child and later while pursuing my bachelor’s degree at California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB).

Although I didn’t know it when I first went to Fiscalini Field as a child for my dad’s rec league softball games, I would have a connection to this stadium throughout my life and even to this very day. But first, more background on how “Fiscy” got its name and who it has been home for nearly 85 years.

The ball park was once the Spring Training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Browns, but that was long before my time. In between the off months of Spring Training for the Pirates, the San Bernardino Stars and Pioneers played there.

Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino, California.
(Photo credit – Lauren Jennings)

From 1987-1992, and this is the big and first connection here for me, a minor league team from Lodi moved to Fiscalini and became the San Bernardino Spirit. In 1993, the team moved to Rancho Cucamonga and became the Quakes, my hometown team, whose games I have been going to since I was about two weeks old.

In 1993, the Spirit team name was passed along to a team from Salinas who took over Fiscalini Field while the Quakes moved into the Epicenter.

However, before I go further, I should also mention that Fiscalini Field was involved in the 1988 Mark Harmon / Jodie Foster movie Stealing Home. I’d give a synopsis or say something about what parts to watch for Fiscalini is in, but to be honest, I still haven’t seen the movie. I’ve been told you can see the big hill behind the stadium turning brown, but that’s about all I know.

Taking things back to 1993, the field was officially renamed Fiscalini Field. It was given that name in remembrance of John Fiscalini, a native baseball player of the area.

A memorial honoring John Fiscalini welcomes fans as they enter the historic ballpark.
(Photo courtesy of the City of San Bernardino)

I’ll fast forward now to the early 2000’s. I’m not sure what year it was exactly, but I distinctly remember running around in the bleachers with my sister while wearing a neon green, or was it pink, plastic visor. I had brought my dress up case from home and was trying to keep myself occupied while my dad played softball. I didn’t understand it well enough at the time to pay attention, but that was my first memory of Fiscalini and it’s one I will never forget.

Fast forward again to 2010 when the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes made Fiscalini Field their new home. They previously had shared a field with the Inland Empire 66ers at Arrowhead Credit Union Park, yet another Cal League connection.

Three and a half years later, enter me. I was a wide-eyed freshman at CSUSB looking to see my first college baseball game. That season, the Coyotes went 13-37, but I didn’t mind because it was new and exciting to get to see guys I could have classes with playing the sport I had grown up loving.

That year I had my favorite CSUSB baseball memory and I couldn’t even tell you who they were playing, what the final score was, or who was batting, but I just remember one of the best hitters on the team coming up to bat in the bottom of the eighth with the Coyotes trailing. He launched a grand slam over the wall that ended up being the walk-off game-winner and give me the greatest feeling of joy that I will never forget.

I couldn’t resist, I looked it up. The Coyotes were playing Cal State East Bay on 2/16/14. Pinch hitter, Richard Mount launched a rocket to left center to untie the 5-5 score and make it 9-5. It was his only home run of the season according to CSUSB Athletics, but it was a phenomenal one.

Over the next three seasons, 2014-2016, I continued to go to games, usually by myself, but with a scorebook in hand and headphones so I could record myself doing play-by-play. The games would get rough, but I got to see future Cal Leaguer Kyle Garlick play for Cal Poly Pomona. I would sit in my favorite spot in the bleachers on the first base line, rain or shine, yes, I sat through a rain delay, and wish I could be in the press box keeping score with the guys.

In 2017, my wish finally came true. CSUSB’s very own, now retired, SID (sports information director), Mark Reinhiller offered me my dream job, scorekeeping for the men and women of Coyote baseball and softball. I got to sit up in the press box with Mark, Mike, JJ, and athletes from other sports who ran the music and scoreboard. The box was cold in the winter when the season started and hot as it ended in the late spring, but nothing could deter me from it. I got to hear some great stories up there and see many things I wouldn’t have expected to see, but a nine inning then seven inning game in one day can mean anything is possible.

Now one of the… how should I put this, more interesting features of Fiscalini Field is that the San Bernardino Police Department had a firing range just beyond the center field wall. You could occasionally hear them having target practice while attending a game or practice, but I believe it has since been shut down. I also heard that they once had a pepper spray drill there during a game, but that’s all I’ll say about that.

There was also a swarm of bees that took over the field during a game one day. We suddenly saw the players on the field drop to the ground on their stomachs, but we couldn’t really see why they were doing it until the bees went up and over the press box.

One final memory of Fiscy’s press box was our siren tracking. Because the field is located relatively close to a hospital, we would hear sirens several times throughout the day, whether it came from an ambulance parked behind the field watching the game in between calls or one from the other side of the city, if there was a siren, we counted it. I think our record for one day was eight. That day we had a double-header that went extra-long which probably benefited that streak.

There were also Bull Durham-like rain delays whenever the sprinklers would turn on during night games, and watching foul balls to see if they would go through the hole in the net that separated the street from the field. When they did go through the hole, they usually just rolled across the street, but we still watched to see what would happen every time, just in case.

Overall, my time with Fiscalini throughout my life has helped shape who I am and the opportunities I’ve been given, including writing for Think Blue LA.

With that said, I can’t wait to go back to Fiscalini Field next season to watch – and scorekeep – more Coyotes baseball.