On Thursday, August 12, when Kevin Costner and members of the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox walked out of a cornfield near Dyersville, Iowa, almost six million people were watching on TV. Most of us probably got chills to see the iconic scene from the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” re-created in real-life. For those lucky few at the baseball game, the scene was even more powerful. Joe Nelson, one of those spectators, called the event the best baseball experience of his life.
Nelson, who is the superintendent of the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows School District, is a lifelong baseball fan. He is originally from Slater where his dad was his little league coach. Baseball soon became his favorite sport and hobby. Nelson said that though he wasn’t destined to play ball after high school, he still loved the sport and eventually began coaching in conjunction with his teaching duties.
He also took another step that would keep him involved in the sport for years to come – becoming an umpire. Over the decades, Nelson worked hundreds of games, including over a dozen Iowa State Baseball Championships and many Division I college games. Naturally, over the years, he developed close friendships with many other umpires. This eventually included Pat Hoberg.
Nelson and Hoberg were actually acquainted well before Hoberg’s umpiring days. He is an Urbandale native and Nelson ended up umpiring Hoberg’s high school baseball games. Nelson went on to watch him play basketball at Grand View University. Hoberg later approached him about umping and the two were soon traveling around Central Iowa, Nelson umping and Hoberg learning the ropes. When the younger man eventually became an umpire himself, the two worked games together.
In the years that followed, Hoberg relentlessly pursued his umping career as Nelson became more involved in education. Hoberg worked his way through the baseball ranks over the years, making it to the bigs in 2017 when he was hired as a full-time MLB umpire. He says he now works between 115 and 125 games per season, in addition to preseason games. “It was clear that Pat was a natural from the very beginning,” said Nelson. “I could not be happier for him and the great work he’s doing in the bigs.”
Hoberg has continually stayed in touch with Nelson over the years, and even floated him a few perks. As an MLB umpire, Hoberg gets stadium passes good for free tickets to EVERY game, all season long. Hoberg has given Nelson one of those passes every year he’s been in the big leagues.
In the last months, when Hoberg learned that he would have the chance to call the majestic Field of Dreams game, he of course did not forget his old friend and mentor, Nelson. The umpire acquired game tickets for Nelson and three other umpire friends. And to say that Nelson was ecstatic about the opportunity is an understatement.
On the fateful day of the game, Nelson said that he and his crew arrived in Dyersville around 2:00 in the afternoon. They checked out the surroundings and did a little tailgating. They entered the ballfield area at around 3:15, walking in at the same time and grabbing photos with the White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf.
Nelson said from the moment he walked into the stadium, it was pure magic. He added that he was always a big fan of the movie “Field of Dreams” which came out when he was 19. “I probably went to it over ten times,” he said. So to be at the actual game was a dream come true. He describes the energy and buzz of the crowd as being electric. Everyone seemed to realize how special the experience was.
Nelson and his group had seats not far behind home plate amongst the families of many players. This also gave them a great vantage point to see Kevin Costner, who Nelson said he heard call the field “perfect” a number of times. Nelson joked that he had better seats than Governor Reynolds and the many other state officials who were present.
Their seats of course also gave Nelson and friends a great view of Hoberg working home plate. For his part, Hoberg described the game as “nerve wracking” from a professional standpoint, noting that working just feet from friends and family and under the watchful eyes of so many Iowans was added pressure.
Yet, Hoberg too said it was a surreal experience to be at that place at that time. “I’ll never forget it. It just felt different out there, from the corn and the field to the hot air balloon that drifted by later in the game.” He added that he had never been to the movie location before and took some time to take in the grandeur of it before the game. “My dad and brother and I even played catch on the movie site field,” he laughed.
Though Hoberg was of course focused on the game, he could tell that the major league players were taken in by the location and spectacle as well. There were plenty of videos and photos of players even trying to eat the corn in the outfield. “The players were very involved and amped up to be there. They said that the venue was way better than they could have imagined it being,” mused Hoberg. He noted that he later heard Yankees Manager Aaron Boone say it was the best place they had ever played on.
As the game went on, Nelson said there was never a dull moment. “Every pitch had a postseason vibe to it,” he stated. Also adding to the excitement were the eight homeruns hit during the game. The crowd loved it when a ball sailed into the corn. Nelson confirmed that the storybook ending of the game with Tim Anderson’s walk-off two-run homer for a White Sox win followed by massive fireworks was truly the icing on the cake.
After the game, Nelson and his friends just sat in their seats for an hour squeezing the final magic from the moment before they exited the stadium. Over a week later, he still gets swept up in the experience. He added that it was extra special since Hoberg was involved. “When your good buddy that you’ve worked with and invested in is there working, you just want to see him successful,” he said.
In the end, Nelson highly recommends people try to attend a future Field of Dreams game. The MLB recently announced that a game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will take place at the site next year.
“Whether you’re a hardcore baseball fan or not, take advantage of the opportunity to go if you possibly can,” said Nelson. Since he also happens to be a diehard Cubs fan, he said he’ll very likely find his way to the Field of Dreams again.
