Old Ned

Arizona Historymakers™

Arizona Historical Society

Dwight W. "Pat" Patterson

1912 - 1999

Honored as Historymaker 1993

Rancher and "Father" of Arizona Baseball Spring Training

Oral History Transcript:

Video by Pam Stevenson, Agave Productions Inc., for Historical League

Dwight “Pat” Patterson was born in Tempe on April 8, 1912, to pioneers who homesteaded in the area in 1880. This long-time leader distinguished himself in many arenas, including athletics, ranching, education and conservation.

Lettering in all sports at Peoria High School, he continued playing football while studying to become a high school coach and teacher at Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff, now Northern Arizona University. He graduated in 1934, and a year later, returned as assistant football coach.

In 1938, he married Ruby Mae Dobson of Tempe. The couple moved to Mesa, where Dwight Patterson began a life-long association with the Baseline Cattle Company and the Sheep Springs Sheep Company. As a result, and unheard of in many parts of the West, he became active in both the Arizona Wool Growers Association and the                                                                                                                                     Cattle Feeders Association.

Love of sports and civic service added hours to his long days of farming and ranching. From the time he moved to Mesa, Dwight Patterson was deeply involved in the community. His activities included serving on the Mesa Parks Board and as president of the Mesa Junior Chamber of Commerce. He assisted with the development of Mesa Country Club. Mr. Patterson attained perfect attendance in his Rotary Club and served as president. Instrumental in promoting Little League in Arizona, he also officiated at state sporting events and served as president of Arizona Athletic Officials. He was a member of the Arizona School Board Association and found time to be president of both the Maricopa Community College Board and the Northern Arizona University Alumni Association.

Water conservation was an extremely high priority with Mr. Patterson and he served on the boards for the Arizona Power Authority, the Federal Land Bank and the Arizona Water Conservation. He was also active with the State Planning and Building Commission and the Valley Forward Association.

In 1949, Dwight Patterson chaired a committee to bring a major league baseball team to Arizona for spring training and thus was instrumental in the 1950 arrival of the Chicago Cubs in Mesa. Mr. Patterson assisted in the organization of the HoHoKam, a civic-minded group that brought Little League to Mesa. He helped raise funds to build HoHoKam Park, which attracted the Oakland Athletics. Spring training baseball in Arizona was firmly entrenched in 1984 with the arrival of the Los Angeles Angels. Many visitors planned their winter vacations around spring training schedules; consequently, spring training became a major tourist industry for Arizona.

The Pattersons have one daughter Ann, who is the wife of Dallas Schwaderer, a Mesa rancher.

           

Historymaker Dwight "Pat" Patterson biography published in 1993.
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