Upcoming Harmon Field Project Completion
Written by: Adam Orr, Spartanburg Herald Journal Staff Writer
The foundation working on a major renovation of a beloved ball field in Tryon, N.C., announced last week that work is more than half complete.
Charles Dallara said Thursday stonework has largely been completed around Ball Field A inside the park at Harmon Field, while new stands, along with new fencing around the field, are due to be installed soon.
“Our hope is to have a soft opening this spring and a formal unveiling of the statue and plaque this fall,” Dallara said.
The upgrades are in honor of Charles Dallara’s late father, Harry Dallara, who died in 2012 at the age of 95. The Harry Dallara Foundation has raised more than $400,000 to date for the project and is seeking
$150,000 more to finish it off.
In addition to stonework, fencing and field renovation, the project will include a new scoreboard and landscaping to create a park-like atmosphere. It’ll also feature a bronze statue of Harry Dallara inspired by a photograph of him hitting a baseball at the age of 92.
A fundraiser will be held on Feb. 4, from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Harley Room of the Richardson Building, at 303 Evins Street, on the campus of Wofford College. University of South Carolina Athletic Director Ray Tanner, who won two College World Series titles as coach of the Gamecocks, will be the keynote speaker.
A Bronx, N.Y. native, Harry Dallara moved to the Hub City in 1945, raised a family and kick-started a long career with Sears — a job that earned him monikers “Mr. Sears,” and “Mr. Tire,” around town. A lifelong baseball fan, Dallara said his father fell in love with Harmon Field, tucked away in Tryon, the first time he laid eyes on it.
“He was always pulling together who he could to get to the field, just to enjoy the game,” Dallara said.
“Just to be there, to swing the bat and to take it all in.”
Today, Harmon Field is a 36-acre athletic complex featuring baseball fields, tennis courts, walking trails, equestrian facilities along with a picnic, playground and camping areas. Harmon Field was donated to the town in 1927.
The field, however, wasn’t always an inviting place to play pitch and catch for everyone. During segregation, Dallara said the African American semi-pro Tryon All-Stars squad was barred from taking the field at Harmon.
That’s why Dallara said a bas-relief plaque designed to honor the team will also be installed as part of the project.
It’s a way to both remember the area’s history, Dallara said, and act as a guide for the future of Harmon Field. He said part of the foundation’s mission will be to sponsor area youth, with an emphasis on African American and Hispanic children, to encourage them to play the game of baseball.
“Coming at a time of racial and social stress, the worst I’ve seen since I was a kid, this is something we can do in our own small way to make an impact,” Dallara said. “And that’s something I think my dad would have enjoyed.”