Well-named
by Sam Matthews
Mar 12, 2008 | 260 views | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print

Tracy school trustees made it official Tuesday night: Names of four well-known figures in Tracy sports history will adorn athletic facilities at Tracy and West high schools.

Trustees, with unanimous 7-0 votes, adopted recommendations of two committees that considered names suggested for football facilities at Tracy and West highs and the new West high swimming pool.

The approved names are as follows:

 

 Tracy High stadium: Wayne Schneider Stadium, in honor of former Tracy High football coach Wayne Schneider, who retired in 1995 with 224 wins, two Sac-Joaquin Section championships and 12 league titles. He was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame last year.

 

 Tracy High field: The name of Peter B. Kyne, a San Francisco author of adventure novels, will remain on the playing field. Kyne’s name was given to the field in 1927, when he and friends from San Francisco’s Bohemian Club adopted the fledgling Tracy High football team, improving the field and presenting the annual Peter B. Kyne Trophy.

 

 West High stadium: The new stadium, now nearing completion, will carry the name of Steve Lopez, who has been West’s football coach since the school was opened in 1993. Lopez has guided the Wolf Pack to playing in two section championship games and to eight league titles. Next fall could be his last year at Wolf Pack head coach.

West High field: In accordance with the committee’s recommendation, no name will given to the playing field at this time. Trustees agreed that the field will receive a name at a later date to honor someone who contributes to West High athletics or other programs.

 

 West High pool: The new 50-meter Olympic-size pool, now under construction, will be named Pinkie Phillips Aquatic Center. The name honors a longtime swimming instructor who has taught the sport for four decades as coach of the Tracy Tritons and Tracy High and West High swim teams.

Before individual votes on the four names Tuesday night, Ron Shipman, a grandson of the late Antonio R. Souza, and other members of the Souza family asked that consideration be given to naming one of the West High facilities after Souza. He farmed the land where West High now stands before it was bought by the high school district in the 1960s.

Trustees said Souza’s name would be considered for future facility naming.

The adopted names topped lists of names given in ranked order by the two committees — one for Tracy High and the other for West High.




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