Clairemont Mesa Little League: History
Hickman Field History
Hickman Field was named for Ensign Joe Hickman who died December 4, 1959 at the age of 21. Ensign Hickman was a pilot based at the Miramar Naval Air Station. During a flight his jet had a flameout near the base. Rather than bail out and let the plane crash into Hawthorne Elementary School playground, which was full of children, Ensign Hickman stayed with the plane and guided it into a canyon. This act of bravery cost Ensign Hickman his life. The first games played on Hickman Field were in 1970. With this, Clairemont Mesa Little League’s 49th season at Hickman Field, we dedicate ourselves in the memory of the brave young man who gave his life to save the lives of many young people whose children may in fact now may be playing at Hickman.
Lance Rose Memorial
Lance’s first love was baseball. He wanted to play for the Cincinnati Reds and his favorite player was Pete Rose. Lance was diagnosed with Leukemia in the summer of 1976. He never gave up, even after a bout with pneumonia he had his dad sign him up for another season of baseball. This Little League picture was taken on the field while his family held him up for the picture.
Lance noticed that our fields had no scoreboards. His wish was fulfilled when the original memorial scoreboards were dedicated May 27, 1978 by “Uncle Pete” (Rose). With a love of baseball such as Lance’s, no doubt he would have grown up to be a great Little League manager, if not a Major League player himself. In 2005 we rededicated the new scoreboard in honor of his memory.
District 32 Little League Division (Majors) history
Here is a history of the District 32 Champions
