Shirley D. Parker had a vision and a commitment to the community's need for athletic and educational opportunities that endure to this day. As founder of Yakima's first professional baseball team in 1937, he built Parker Field on the same 10-acre plot on which the ballpark stands today. At the same time he donated to the community college an adjacent 10 acres where the Yakima Valley Community College main campus and the Larson Art Gallery are located. His mother, Rose B. Larson, donated an adjacent 20 acres to the City of Yakima to be used as a park named in honor of her late husband, A.E. Larson, owner and builder of Yakima's Larson Building. Mrs. Larson and Mr. Parker also gave a trust fund of approximately $100,000 to the Junior College for the purpose of helping to build the campus.
Parker Field and Larson Park became the center for community baseball and softball programs and other recreational activities. Larson Park was also the site of four softball fields, including Dunbar and Noel Fields, and 12 tennis courts, home of the Larson Park Tennis Club for many decades. All of the ball fields and the tennis courts were lighted for night play, making this the primary and most-utilized outdoor recreational facility in the community.
The fields were used to full capacity for fastpitch, slowpitch, and flag football recreational leagues, and the Junior College utilized the fields for physical education classes, intramurals, and varsity football practice. Until 1967, Parker Field was the home of the college and professional baseball teams and is still the home for YVCC baseball and the Yakima Beetles American Legion team.
The Parker-Larson vision and desire for an educational, cultural and recreational center for the city were realized. Today, the 40-acre tract of land comprises the YVCC main campus, the Larson Gallery, Larson Park, Dunbar Field, and Parker Field.
