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WEEKS of December 24 & 31, 2007
@BFS! archives

70 Years Ago at Brooklyn Friends: A Field of Our Own

by John R. Martin

Many students of Brooklyn Friends have probably been to Friends Field Park in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. Maybe it was for a league baseball or football game, or maybe it was just for a recreational day at the park. What few of these students may have realized is that they were playing on a field that was once a vital part of their own school.

Athletics and physical fitness have been integral parts of the life of a BFS student since the early part of the 20th century. By the mid 1910s, competitive boys basketball, football, and baseball teams were emerging, while girls were starting to view basketball and dance as good forms of physical education. The need for a playing field for team sports was so strong that in the spring of 1915, the school leased a field near Grace Court in Brooklyn Heights. Also in the summer of 1915, an indoor gymnasium, measuring 65 by 37 feet, was constructed in the school building at Schermerhorn Street.

While the gymnasium was a boon for indoor athletics, the growing sports program needed an outdoor field that the Brooklyn Friends students could call their own. In 1921, Friends purchased the land that is now Friends Field with the help of a Brooklyn Friends parent named Henry Turner. The founder in 1902 of now world-renowned Turner Construction Company, Mr. Turner generously donated the initial down payment on the field. Poly Prep Country Day School was the field’s previous owner. When Poly moved from Downtown Brooklyn to Dyker Heights after World War I, they no longer had a need for the field.

With 6.7 acres, the new field had enough space where football, soccer, and field hockey games could occur simultaneously. Two red-clay tennis courts were built on the land in 1924, and the demand for tennis was so high that in 1927, four more were built. A school bus transported students from Schermerhorn Street to the Field so they could engage in numerous sports activities outdoors.

In 1928 the field was used for the first time to celebrate May Day, an outdoor festival in which the lower school students could shine. Typically grades kindergarten through 6 would perform plays or skits based on a theme, the first year’s being how early European settlers celebrated May Day. The students also would split into blue and gray teams (the school colors) and would face off in a series of athletic events.

SPORTS POWERHOUSE

The early years of Friends Field saw many great sports teams, none greater than the 1931 varsity football team. This team not only compiled a perfect record of 6-0, but they were not scored upon once the entire season. Students and fans witnessed one of the school’s greatest sports achievements right on Friends Field, where the team played its home games.

When the field was purchased in 1923, it came with two field houses where boys and girls could change clothes, shower, and keep their things when they were out playing. By 1935 it was apparent that the old field houses were inadequate and unsatisfactory and more modern field house would be needed to take its place. A fundraising program was started, but it didn’t pick up steam until the Parents Club launched a campaign in March of 1937. At the time, the cost to build a new field house was estimated at $41,000; by the beginning of May, $15,000 was raised, a sufficient amount to begin building.

The architect chosen for the job was a Brooklyn Friends parent named Lorimer Rich, who besides designing buildings in Washington and New York, was the architect of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Plans for the new field house called for a multi-storied brick building. The first floor would have lockers, changing and shower rooms for boys and girls. The second floor would have a large open room for social events, dining, and dancing.

By Thanksgiving 1937, the Friends Field House was up and running. In the spring of 1938 the Parents Club held their annual athletic dinner at the Field House for the first time. The event drew a record crowd as some 200 people had dinner and celebrated the official opening of the building.

For half a century students of Brooklyn Friends spent a good part of their growing years at Friends Field, playing sports, improving their physical fitness, and taking part in annual “May Day” celebrations and other extra-curricular activities. But times had changed. When the school was planning a move from 110-112 Schermerhorn Street to 375 Pearl Street in the early 1970s, it was decided that it was time to cut ties with Friends Field. While the field was a great place for students to participate in outdoor sports, it became burdensome to transport students back and forth.

The parcel of land was offered for sale, and there were several bids from private developers that exceeded $2 million; Friends, however, decided to accept a similar offer from the City of New York that guaranteed the continued recreational use of the property. The Federal government contributed half of the acquisition cost to preserve what is considered an indispensable feature of Midwood.

The park is bounded by Avenue L, East 4 Street, McDonald Avenue and Avenue M; it is visible from the elevated F subway line between the Avenue J and Avenue M stations.