CAPTION:The official dedication of Frank Quilici Field on August 12. Photo by Jeff Strand.
Folks celebrated the grand opening and dedication of the newly renovated Frank Quilici Field, named in honor of Minnesota Twins legend Frank Quilici, at Shingle Creek Park on August 12.
Through $155,000 provided by the MPRB Youth Athletic Facilities Fund and a $45,000 grant from the Twins Community Fund, the former Field 1 at Shingle Creek Park, 5100 Penn, underwent a transformation that added new fencing, batting cages, bullpen mounds, dugouts, a scoreboard and training and maintenance facilities.
In 2009, the Park Board approved the name change of Shingle Creek Field 1 to Frank Quilici Field in recognition of the hours Quilici has served as a volunteer promoting youth sports in Minneapolis, his service on the Select Committee on Youth Sports and as the first President of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation.
Quilici is the only person in Twins history to play, manage and serve as a Twins broadcaster. Quilici made his major league debut with the Twins on July 18, 1965 and played all four infield positions throughout his career. In the 1965 World Series, Quilici tied a record as a rookie for getting two hits in an inning off Dodgers Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale.
Prior to the baseball game, 12-year-old Myah Ashley-Staple sang the national anthem. Ashley-Staple is a Northside Minneapolis parks Youthline participant, 8-year national dance competitor and youth volunteer who collected food shelf donations after the May 22 tornado.
The grand opening celebration included a baseball field dedication featuring hot dogs, brats, chips, Dairy Queen and Haagen Dazs ice cream and event t-shirts. Autographed baseballs and door prizes were provided by the Minnesota Twins.
The new Frank Quilici Field will serve as home to the North Minneapolis RBI Program. Founded in 1989, the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) league, a Major League Baseball program supported by the Minnesota Twins, has revitalized baseball for hundreds of inner-city Minneapolis youth.