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A field of dreams for London's Italian community passes into history

It was a field of dreams for generations of Italian immigrants in London.

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It was a field of dreams for generations of Italian immigrants in London.

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But now — three seasons after the last match was played there — the soccer pitch at the Marconi Club on Clarke Road, which was more than just a place to kick a ball around, is being plowed under before fading into the city’s past.

“It was nice to have a field of our own. It was nice to have a home,” said Rocco Cifaldi, who was instrumental in getting the field built and keeping it running. Cifaldi proudly notes it was he and another Marconi Club member who set up the first goalpost on the grounds in the early 1980s.

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On July 12, heavy equipment began grading the land that served as home turf to several teams of Italian Londoners. The east-end spot will eventually be the site of Marconi Court, a 30-home development.

“Soccer was important and having a field was a big deal,” said Guy Nicoletti, who was centre back for the club’s second-division team, Marconi B in the 1960s, then later played on the Marconi grounds as a member of other teams.

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The city’s Italian community took pride in the painstakingly manicured athletic field, which birthed squads that won provincial and national championships. Those involved in setting up the pitch say it was made to exacting standards, right down to features like drainage.

Hockey players will tell you every rink has its own personality, and the Marconi athletic field had a character all its own – starting with its size. “It was big and didn’t have any quirks in it. Some fields have bumps in them. It was just a nice field,” Nicoletti recalled.

“It was one of the best fields in the city,” added Bruno Pettinato, who played a variety of different roles at the Marconi Club, including president of soccer operations and coach. “I’m very sad that we don’t have it anymore. Very sad. That was the most-treasured piece of jewelry we built at the club.”

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The Marconi Club soccer pitch in London had been surveyed and graded by Friday July 23, 2021 in preparation for the construction of a housing development. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
The Marconi Club soccer pitch in London had been surveyed and graded by Friday July 23, 2021 in preparation for the construction of a housing development. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)

The first game was played on the storied pitch Sept. 5, 1982. Prior to that, the waves of Italian newcomers who made it to London in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, had to bend the ball at places like Labatt Park.

It was more than a field, but a link to the old country at a time before the internet, cheap long-distance phone calls, and all-sports networks made our world smaller. Keep in mind that back then, the Forest City didn’t have the rich multicultural blend of communities it boasts today. “It was difficult even finding pasta to buy,” recalled Nicoletti.

Cifaldi was 12 years old when his family arrived here. “The only thing in my blood was soccer,” he explained.

And because Marconi was known for fielding superior teams, they were able to bring in high-calibre talent, Cifaldi added: “We won Ontario and so on. We really dominated, especially in the London district.”

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“We won a lot of championships there,” echoed Pettinato. And the Italian obsession with the Beautiful Game continues, as witnessed by the Azzurri win at the Euro Cup on July 11, which surely makes them the favourite going into next year’s World Cup.

“It was a field of dreams for several generations of kids growing up in the neighbourhood,” observed Shawn Lewis, the councillor for the east end’s Ward 2.

He sees the field’s demise in the larger context of other social clubs, such as the Royal Canadian Legion, having to shut down branches from dwindling membership and use. (Although the pitch is being developed, the Marconi Club of London itself continues to operate.)

“It’s just not something that today’s generation is doing,” Lewis said. “Those kind of things just aren’t coming back any time soon. They made a financial decision.” Also, soccer has become a global game and the city now sports all-weather indoor facilities such as the BMO Centre on Rectory Street.

Lewis points out the new Marconi Court is an opportunity to increase the housing stock in an area that hasn’t seen much new construction for decades, a chance at home ownership for Londoners of all ethnic backgrounds.

“In terms of developing some new streets for single-family homes, this is the first major development (in that area) in 30 years,” he said. “The dream has just changed.”

danbrown@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/DanatLFPress

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