Central Catholic High School receives its own "field of dreams"
Hundreds attend grand opening of Central Catholic's new baseball stadium
March 12, 2010
Central Catholic High School now has its own "field of dreams," thanks to the vision and generosity of Clarence Kahlig II, a Central Catholic alum from the Class of 1965 and owner of Kahlig Enterprises (North Park Lincoln Mercury and North Park Lexus-Toyota Dealerships and the Bluebonnet Family of Dealerships.
Just like in the movie "A Field of Dreams," Central Catholic's new baseball stadium sits on 6.6 acres of land that just 12 months ago was a corn field. The stadium will be named Shovlin-Vehle Field at Kahlig Park in honor of the two previous land owners and Clarence Kahlig.
The land had been in the family of Clara Shovlin (pronounced shove-lin) and Mary Vehle (pronounced vay-lee) since 1939 when their grandmother purchased it. The land has produced hay for cattle and more recently, corn.
Mrs. Shovlin had two sons to attend Central Catholic -- Patrick who died during his senior year in 1976 and Michael who graduated in 1983. Mrs. Vehle had a grandson to attend Central Catholic -- Bryan Vehle who graduated in 1995.
"I knew this would be a great location being at the crossroads of IH35 and SW Loop 410," said Kahlig who purchased the land, supervised the construction and is going to donate it to his alma mater, Central Catholic High School. The stadium, located adjacent to the new North Park Toyota (10703 S.W. Loop 410) is a 17-minute drive from Central Catholic.
Kahlig played baseball during his high school career at Central Catholic and was known as "one of the power hitters."
"We never had a baseball field while I was there," he lamented. The team was bussed to various public fields owned and maintained by the city. Forty-five years later, Kahlig was disappointed to discover that the school was still without a baseball field.
"The stadium Mr. Kahlig built is a place the entire Central Catholic community can be proud of," says Mike Gomez, Head Baseball Coach. Since Central Catholic did not have its own facilities, Coach Gomez was in a constant search for fields to practice on and to play games.
"This year alone, we have practiced at five different locations. Our younger players love the new field, but the Juniors and Seniors really appreciate it. They have been here through the tough times of not having one."
"Our Button Baseball teams have a home now," Kahlig grinned. "It gives me a good feeling to help make Central Catholic athletics stronger."
The regulation field sports a nicely manicured lawn of Tif 419 Coastal Grass which is kept green with a sophisticated irrigation system. The pitcher's mound and other exposed soil areas are composed of a special blend of Quick Start with crushed lava stone and red sand.
Batting cages and a practice field are located on either side of the stadium.
Seating is available for 250 spectators. Awnings to provide shade for the spectators will be added later. Also on the drawing board is a concession stand.
The scoreboard was provided with a grant from the Ed Rachal Foundation in Corpus Christi. Lumber for the outfield fence and dugouts was donated by M.G. Building Materials.
Br. Peter A. Pontolillo, S.M., President of Central Catholic, commented, "This is a fantastic gift and addition to our sports facilities. We are deeply grateful to Clarence Kahlig for remembering his high school alma mater by providing present and future students with this great facility."
Update: More than 400 attended the Opening Day Dedication and to top it all off, the Buttons won the game vs. Austin-St. Michael's 10-2!
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Directions to the Shovlin-Vehle Field at Kahlig Park:
South on IH-35. Take the Fischer Road Exit 144.
Go right on Fischer Road. Go behind North Park Toyota.
Follow the signs to 10415 Kahlig Drive.
