Saturday's friend-filled remembrance of the late UC Davis football icon Fred Arp got everybody thinking about the good ol' days.

Some of the talk was about the actual gridiron, but a lot of the commiseration was about how Arp had used that ever-tinier field east of Howard Way to his defensive linemen's great advantage.

Remember, it was under those oak and assorted other species of trees that the resourceful coach created Club Fred — an in-the-shade spot in which Arp had his guys practice.

But stories about Club Fred morphed and pretty soon the field itself off Howard Way became a topic of conversation ... and not just for football.

Aggie fans will remember the 37-season run of Hall of Fame baseball coach Phil Swimley and, in turn, the nifty, little baseball field on which his UCD clubs played until the 1990s.

On the diamond and beyond the fences, the Howard Way field was a hub of activity.

While games were in progress, just off Russell Boulevard in the northwest corner one might catch a glimpse of football-coaching legend Jim Sochor honing his brilliant golf game on an all-comers putting green.

In the northeast corner — precariously close to outfielders like John Patella or Gary Schlagenhauf — archery practice was conducted (as it is today).

Over at Toomey Field, track meets would unfold as the Aggies entered the middle innings of weekday games.

Way back there was a day you could park on Howard Way or behind the first-base bleachers. There was no parking structure and many a window at Hickey Gym saw its demise on a check-swing foul.

But baseball at the old ballpark was a happening. Especially on Picnic Day.

During those celebration-of-campus events, Swimley told me "you could have a couple thousand" people drop by and cheer for the Aggies.

"It got to the point on Picnic Day where the rest of the league voted to not play there during that time. They argued it was a huge home-field advantage. I argued 'Where else are your kids ever play to a bigger crowd? It's gotta be fun for them, too.' But they didn't want to do it. The vote wasn't unanimous because I voted against it."

Nonetheless, the place was a hoot.

I once walked off home plate to the right-field foul pole. I got 278 feet. Swimley swears it was 285. I did get him to fess up that right-center was only 340.

With the scaffolding of Toomey serving as a sort of West Coast Green Monster, a degree of majesty was added to home runs at Davis. And there were plenty...

"John Elway came in with Stanford ... he was hitting balls well over the football field press box. In fact, when I came to Davis, I could hit 'em over the press box. It wasn't that far." (Swimley was a standout outfielder at Washington who was later signed by the New York Yankee organization. Like his 3-wood still does, his bat once had real pop.)

Longtime Aggie trainer Dick Lewis was The Wizard behind the curtain on that scoreboard. He would drop the numbers in as the games progressed, occasionally doing double duty if someone needed physical repair on the diamond.

There was terrific shade from the trees (as Fred Arp knew better than anyone), but over time the baseball field wore out. Aggie football would frequently practice in left or right field once the bat and balls were put away.
Soccer practice, golfers working on their short irons and pick-up games of all machinations made the ol' playing surface long in the tooth.

And despite all the ambience, the non-stop action on the Howard Way field meant a bystander had to keep his or her head on a swivel.

Imagine crossing the finish line in the 1,600-meter relay as a Lee Wilcox home run went whizzing past your baton...

Or walking down an adjacent sidewalk when a batter got all of one...

"I remember one time a man was coming down the walkway behind the bleachers on Howard Way," reports Swimley, who still winces talking about the line drive that's now 45 years old. "A guy turned on a pitch, hit a rope at the man. He's walking, not paying attention. I remember he was wearing a stocking cap. The ball just brushed his hat, turned his cap around. It didn't hit him. Down three inches, he never would have known what that was."

These days there's still soccer and football practice on the Howard Way pasture. Pick-up games are more competitive than ever and archery remains a class offered by UC Davis. But Sochor's putting green has been consumed by the environs; a parking structure (although keeping Hickey windows safe), replaced the first-base line bleachers. Even the "Green Monster" is gone, Toomey Field stands demolished last year.

But one improvement coming — a build out that in a strange, little way feels like it pays tribute to Fred Arp — is the construction of beach volleyball courts due west of the old Toomey press box.

A transition from Club Fred to UC Davis' version of Club Med?