BY DON NICHOLSON ’79
DEPARTMENTS: WMA HISTORY
Director of Athletics
Corbin Fields: A century of athletic competition memories
• Aerial view during Reunion 2019.
50
E
ach week during the fall and spring seasons, I send emails regarding game locations. The references to Corbin Field 1, Corbin Field 2 and Corbin Field 3 are very familiar to our student-athletes; but each time I send these messages, I am personally reminded of the history— highlighted this year by the 100th anniversary of their dedication—of the phrase “Corbin Fields.” On Nov. 4, 1922, the official dedication of Corbin Memorial Athletic Fields took place on our campus. The dedication served as a memorial to Chester C. Corbin, through a special bequest from his wife, Augusta C. Corbin. Mr. Corbin was a student at Wesleyan Academy from 1856 to 1859. He then served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1881 until his death in 1903. Before 1922, Academy athletic activity was restricted to the northeastern portion of the campus, which is now known as Winchester Field on Main Street. By the time I first stepped onto Corbin Fields in the late 1970s, decades of our school’s athletes had graced these fields as they engaged in interscholastic competition in lacrosse, football, track and field, soccer and baseball. Although the dimensions of Corbin Fields have largely stayed the same over time, there have been changes in the appearance of some of the venues and even some of the topography was changed to make more effective use of the overall space. My memory of the old brick and iron gate leading onto the fields is still very clear. Although the structure is now gone, one of the original 1922 “Corbin Memorial” bronze plaques
AC ADEMY WORLD SPRING 202 2
from the brick pillars is still in that area on a stone by the flagpole. The original lamps from the top of the brick pillars are still in active use on new pillars by the senior wall in front of the Rich Hall main entrance. Our current students are reminded of our old cinder track when they look at the Phil Shaw portrait hanging in the Athletic Center’s Scott B. Jacobs ’75 Board Room and see the track behind Coach Shaw. The new track, dedicated to Coach Shaw in 2009, now sits as a focal point of the modern Corbin Fields. Although the old baseball field is long gone and that space has become part of the football practice field (Corbin 2), it was visible until recent years in aerial photos of Corbin Fields. The old field was not too far away from where the old stone drinking fountain was located by Faculty Street. Lower Corbin was expanded into upper Corbin, and earth was removed in order to fit in a new soccer field and a new baseball field on the western side of the athletic field. Although Corbin Fields would look a bit different to those from previous generations, it has still retained its distinction as the center of athletic activity on our campus. The memorials and markers are passed by our athletes every day on their way to practice.
• The Girls’ Soccer team, shown here in 2014 as Western New England champions and New England finalists, has been among countless teams that enjoyed high-level success on Corbin Fields.
