Every so often in this business one can find oneself standing in a place where history has weight.  Where ghosts of famous moments still swirl in the wind. Where the ancient gentleman pushing the broom or the one hanging the ropes to keep the fans behind the lines could tell you stories that would absorb you, gladly,  for hours.

If there's buildings involved, they're made of old wood and creaks are their music. But it would be sacrilige to replace them. Yankee Stadium is a disheveled nightmare, held together with painted two-by-fours that brace old sections and tunnels And yet, you're in a state of awe as you tour it.. St. Andrews Golf Course is not what one would call "well kept" by today's standards. But you feel the place.

And, as you walk the street alongside Hayward Field in Eugene, "Historic Hayward Field" as it says on the state 4-A and 3-A track brochure, and you see the athletes warming up on a rainy day, under the stands, fenced in by chain link wire, dirty and dark cement caverns, alive with grunts and stretches, you feel the weight of the history.  Maybe you imagine Oregon track coach Bill Dellinger handing a pair of "waffle-ironed" running shoes to a brazen young towhead from Coquille. 

And NIKE was born.

Maybe your mind offers the timeless roar of the adoring home crowd in the early seventies, when that same  young man, Steve P:refontaine, hair bouncing on his shoulders, continually brought the crowd to a frenzy, in the bell lap, by throwing his arms over his head, as he started the last leg of another world record 3000-meter run.  Or the same roars for Alberto Salazar, Mac Wilkins, Dwight Stones or Mary Decker-Slaney, shaking those old wooden stands to their hinges.   World champions. And those who have visited on an international level. Edwin Moses, Carl Lewis, Florence Joiner - each had their day at Hayward Field.

It is, by its tenure and great moments, among track and field's more hallowed venues. And each year, for two wonderful days, rain or shine, our high school athletes who qualify are allowed to grace the field or the track for the 3-A-4-A state track and field championships, And it is exquisite.
On even inclement days such as May 20, when this year's meet opened, the conditions were flawless. Eight lanes of burnt-orange rubber/asphalt without a bump to be found. Stretching 400 meters brightly. An infield you could putt golf balls on - the air full of javelins, high jumping and pole vaulting youngsters, with roars erupting from the old covered bleachers with each effort.
Announcers keeping everyone plugged into the current undertakings as they develop.

Some of the kids know, some don't. That the greatest athletes in the world have graced the same long jump pit where they now warm up. But that doesn't matter. You can see it in their eyes, detect it in their routines and restlessness, this is something special.  It puts a bounce in their step and if they're a senior, they're ending their high school career in style, with a reward. Hayward Field, their name in lights on the results board, the wood-framed stands filled into the sky. It's a fine way to end their youth's athletic experience and they know it."If I'm running for the last time competitively, it's really cool to be doing it at Hayward field," said a young man to a competitor as the two  warmed up for the 3-A 3000-meter final. "Yes indeed," voiced the other with a smile.

University of Oregon is blessed with two such venues, one is Hayward Field the other is the infamous "Pit," also known as MacArthur Court, where unbeaten UCLA teams come to die. And for years, Oregon's best 32 high school basketball teams rocked that old building with state championships. You can actually feel the balcony/top-level sway on a good night.  Velda Dahl, arguably Tillamook's greatest fan, who died in 2001, made every tournament there for decades and could wax poetically about the court and its mazes of passageways, as well as the feeling she was on a "bumpy plane ride," when she sat in the top level..It's great to save the best places for the kids to end their high school years, or begin them in some instances. A true reward lies within inviting them to be part of the history, for sake of being among the state's best at whatever discipline they chose.

Recently, the transition to less lofty venues for state tourneys in other sports has saddened a lot of us. More cost effective, apparently, venues such as the one the state wrestling meet transferred to at the Salem Fairgrounds, lack the grace of the presentation that went on for many years at the old Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Brighter, better parking, concession friendly - yes. If you don't object to competing for something historical in a tin and cement tribute to Baskin-Robbins.  I'm sorry, but the more tradition we sacrifice to bright lights and shiny lobbies with $20 required to visit the concession stand, the less we begin to care or even recognize what we're there for.Shrines like Hayward Field, Mac Court and Portland Memorial Coliseum require a little extra effort and money, to retain for annual enjoyment, but the history and unique experience, which can be felt to the bone, make it all worthwhile.

History has, quite visibly, been less than a longsuit in recent times to our young people. Hayward Field has lots of it.  A tip of the hat to the OSAA for keeping that in mind wherever possible. Other voices have lacked the heart to protect similar  cherished venues in recent times.And that's too bad for everyone concerned.
 

OMED: Michael O'Brien, once a star of classic action films, played Chill Wills in Dr. Strangelove.  These days he covers sports for the Tillamook Headlight Herald    (Photo: Publicity shot of Mike O'Brien during his days in Hollywood.)

© 2005 Michael O'Brien