San Diegan Enters Unique Hall of Fame

Steve Wightman named one of the greatest groundskeepers of all time

San Diego sports fans probably don’t know the name Steve Wightman. But they certainly know his work.

Because anyone who went to or watched an event at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium from 1988 to 2011 saw Steve Wightman’s playing surface ... and there was ample opportunity to see that turf.

When Wightman took over as the Field Manager at (as it was known then) Jack Murphy Stadium it was the most active professional stadium in the country, hosting around 220 events a year. Wightman always relished a challenge and this job was certainly that.

“Because of all the nice weather it was a year-round facility with natural grass and that was very difficult to do,” said Wightman. “In order to convert from baseball to football it required a pretty archaic system. The stadium was build way back in the 1960’s and back then it was basically just a whole bunch of heavy weight we had to move with ten ton forklifts all across the field to convert the seating arrangements. We’d do that overnight so we could have a football game the next day then turn right around and take it back to baseball.”

Wightman and his crew were really good at doing that and making sure the quality of the hybrid Bermuda grass (the most wear-tolerant turf grass) that on Sunday, January 21, Steve Wightman will be inducted to the Major League Baseball Groundskeepers Hall of Fame.

Yes, that is really a thing and yes, it is the ultimate honor for anyone who’s cared for the grass and dirt of a Big League ballpark.

“It was a total, complete surprise because I’ve been retired for almost six years now,” said Wightman. “Then all of a sudden I get this phone call and I just had absolutely no idea that I would ever even be considered for something as prestigious as this. It’s straight from Major League Baseball so it means an awful lot.”

To be considered for the MLB Groundskeepers Hall of Fame a candidate has to have been retired for at least five years, just like the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. So that means Wightman is basically a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he certainly deserves that. In his formative years, Steve would have never expected he would even be in a position to be considered for an honor like this.

“I came from a completely different path than most of them. My degree was in marketing, finance, and economics. I spent a year and a half in the banking industry and didn’t like that.”

So he went back home to Denver (he earned his degree at Northern Colorado University) and got a job at the Parks and Recreation Department overseeing the maintenance of 250 recreational ball fields. Success there earned him the Head Groundskeeper job at Mile High Stadium, a position Steve says he “fell in to.”

“I just enjoyed taking something that was fairly difficult and trying to stay with it and make it work.”

Steve credits the great crews he worked with over the years for making it all go off without a hitch. Being in charge of a playing surface that is seen on TV nearly every day and has to be top-notch to protect the health of the world’s greatest athletes can be immensely stressful. In fact his job kind of put a damper on one of the greatest sports years in San Diego history.

“Probably 1998 was the worst year,” said Wightman. That was the year that started with the Broncos and San Diego native Terrell Davis beating the Packers in the Super Bowl and progressed to the Padres making it to the World Series.

“We’d had nine football games on the field before the World Series came in with the Padres and Yankees. We wanted the field to look its best but there was no time to do any re-sodding because the World Series game (Game 3) was played two days after a Chargers game. Thank God we had nice weather or it could have been a lot worse.”

But those were the times that made Wightman and his crew come alive.

“It was so gratifying to have that pressure and work your way through it with all the great people you had around you. Finally you get to the end of it and you sit back and look at what you went through and it was just a win-win. It was an adrenaline rush.”

Wightman’s induction will take place during the 20th Annual MLB Groundskeepers Meeting at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. When he comes back home to Vista, his name will be inscribed on the Gary Vanden Berg Trophy in recognition of his “dedication and outstanding contributions to Major League Baseball and the sports turf industry” next to the best in his field to ever do it.

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